Meet JL Fields

We were lucky to catch up with JL Fields recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi JL, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

Resilience, for me, isn’t something I mastered. It’s something I’ve practiced again and again across the many chapters of my life.

I grew up in a blue collar family, where “figuring it out” was less a motto and more a way of life. I watched my parents stretch themselves thin so their kids had options they didn’t. That kind of quiet, persistent problem-solving planted the earliest seeds of resilience.

But it wasn’t until midlife that I truly understood resilience not just as surviving, but evolving.

Over the years, I’ve held roles that required a steady hand: nonprofit CEO, university faculty member, culinary instructor, coach leader. And in each chapter, I had to release a version of myself to step into the next. That’s a form of resilience we don’t talk about enough: the courage of reinvention.

Lately, resilience has taken on a different tone, one rooted in aging, and in the physical, emotional, and spiritual shifts that come with it. At 59, I’ve reshaped how I care for myself. I’ve rebuilt my relationship to my own body and energy. I paddleboard, play pickleball, strength train, and make space for recovery. Not out of performance, but purpose.

And this lived experience is now central to how I coach. My clients often come to me in their own season of change: navigating burnout, rethinking wellness, and recovering agency after years of caregiving or overworking. They’re not looking for a silver bullet. They want something honest, grounded, and sustainable.

Because I’ve walked through the discomfort of change, not just once, but many times, I can hold that space for them with steadiness and empathy. I coach with compassion, but also with clarity: the kind that comes from knowing what it’s like to start over while holding on to your hard-earned wisdom.

Resilience, for me, isn’t just the fuel that’s kept me going. It’s the gift I now offer others: the belief that it’s never too late to rebuild, reimagine, and rise.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

What I’m Focused on Now: Coaching with Purpose, Aging with Intention

After years in leadership as a nonprofit CEO, university faculty member, and author of eight vegan cookbooks, I’ve stepped into a new chapter that’s more aligned, more spacious, and more intentional.

These days, I run a private health and wellness coaching practice that helps people navigate the complex terrain of midlife and beyond. My clients are often in transition: recovering from burnout, adjusting to post-menopausal bodies, rethinking nutrition, or trying to define what thriving looks like in their 50s, 60s, and beyond. I don’t offer quick fixes. I offer structure, support, and strategy grounded in lived experience.

What makes my work special is the integration: I draw from decades of leadership, my training as a board-certified health and wellness coach, my culinary expertise in plant-based nutrition.

My coaching services range from 1:1 work to seasonal group programs. I also teach a biweekly Brain Healthy Kitchen class, combining brain-boosting nutrition education with simple, plant-based cooking demos.

My brand reflects this holistic approach. I support clients in living with more purpose, energy, and ease, whether that means meal planning, preparing for semi-retirement, or reclaiming wellness after years of putting others first.

At 59, I’m not “winding down.” I’m choosing the work that lights me up and the pace that supports my peace. And I’m helping others do the same.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Looking back, the three most impactful qualities in my journey have been:

1. Adaptability.
My career has taken many shapes: nonprofit leadership, culinary arts, faculty work, private coaching. Each role asked something new of me. What helped most wasn’t technical knowledge, but the ability to pivot with purpose. I learned to let go of roles that no longer fit, even when they looked good on paper, and trust that growth often requires reinvention.

Advice: Practice listening to what no longer feels aligned. Pay attention to resistance—not as a sign of failure, but as an invitation to adapt and evolve. Flexibility is a superpower.

2. Communication.
Whether I was standing in front of a nonprofit board, on TV doing cooking demos, or now coaching clients through deeply personal transitions, being able to communicate clearly, compassionately, and confidently has shaped every opportunity I’ve had.

Advice: Get comfortable with your own voice. Learn to express ideas in a way that connects, not just informs. And if you’re coaching or leading others, remember: tone, timing, and transparency matter.

3. Courage to Start Small.
Most of my biggest shifts didn’t come from bold leaps: they came from small, consistent choices. I built my coaching business one client at a time. I transformed my health one meal and walk at a time. Starting small didn’t mean thinking small, it meant honoring the process.

Advice: Don’t wait until you have it all figured out. Begin with what you know, serve where you are, and let momentum build from there.

Wherever you are in your journey, give yourself permission to change. To learn out loud. To start again. The best paths are rarely linear … and that’s where the magic happens.

Tell us what your ideal client would be like?

My ideal client is someone standing at a crossroads. Not necessarily in crisis, but in a moment of questioning.

They’re often in midlife or beyond, asking:
What does thriving look like now?
How do I take care of this changing body?
Is this how I want to keep living and working?

They might be recovering from burnout, adjusting to post-menopausal changes, rethinking how they eat, or simply craving a more intentional rhythm to life. Many have spent years caring for others, performing in demanding roles, or holding everything together. Now, they’re ready to focus on themselves. Not out of self-indulgence, but out of self-respect.

What makes someone an ideal client for me is not having a perfect plan or polished goals. It’s having a willingness to reflect, to experiment, to be honest about what’s not working, and to stay curious even when it’s uncomfortable.

My clients don’t need to have it all figured out. They just need to be ready to move with intention. Together, we create structure, clarity, and routines that support meaningful change. We do it with compassion and without shame.

If someone is looking for a quick fix, I’m not the right coach. But if they’re ready for thoughtful, sustainable progress rooted in who they are — not just who they think they should be — then we’ll work well together.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Allison Daniell Moix

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