THE SHORT STORY:
A nutrition nerd and real life rocker develops a rock & roll approach to nutrition called Jump with Jill to revolutionize the way kids learn about health.
THE LONG STORY:
The Early Years
Jill was born in Pittsburgh to an art teacher and construction worker, where she learned how to teach and how to work. In high school, Jill was captain of the cross-country team, lead of the musical and valedictorian. Jill attended Penn State where she graduated with degrees in nutrition and theater. She developed a reputation as the singing nutrition major by creating and performing original musicals and producing rock & roll versions of the Penn State fight songs that appeared on ESPN.
Just before graduation, Jill landed a job as the writer and host of a nationally-syndicated children’s nutrition program on PBS. Realizing that she could apply her interests in media to address the growing childhood obesity epidemic, Jill moved to the children’s entertainment capital of the world, New York City. While pursuing her registered dietitian (RD) credential and MS in Nutrition Education at Columbia University, Jill worked as a public school teacher and racked up stage credits as an off-Broadway actress, Radio Disney DJ, model and puppeteer.
Development of Jump with Jill
Drawing from her experience in entertainment and training in nutrition, Jill took to the streets to create her own show that could use the same tools of effective mass media to teach kids about health. Jump with Jill debuted in 2006 in Central Park as a free street show, where Jill took tips in a pot.
During this time, Jill was also writing and performing with Sunset West, a rock band formed with her brother Mark, spending summers on The Vans Warped Tour and a season of The Next Great American Band from the producers of American Idol on FOX. Jill decided to combine the most successful elements of the rock band and the nutrition street show into the greatest nutrition rock show the world would ever see. The Jump with Jill CD was released in 2008 and by 2009, the Jump with Jill show completed the first national tour. CDs were selling, Jill was blogging, people were Friending and reporters wanted interviews.
Today
Jill is now a professional Rockstar Nutritionist, and that little idea―to use entertainment to address childhood obesity―is now a company, Note to Health. Jill keynotes regularly at conferences throughout the country about the science behind her work. Jill is an expert at creating and delivering interactive media about health for kids and families. She is the poster child for redefining how we teach kids about health, taking her rock ‘n roll nutrition approach to other age groups, audiences and media formats.
Since Jump with Jill’s inception, the show has been performed for over a quarter million kids across the United States and Europe. With the show’s growing popularity, Jill personally casts and trains a Jill army to perform Jump with Jill around the country. Jill’s original music and video productions have led her to the White House to meet Michelle Obama and a 2012 Grammy nomination consideration for Best Children’s Album. With the recent release of the Nutrition Rock Invasion curriculum, Jump with Jill has grown from a one-hour rock & roll nutrition assembly into a year long rock & roll nutrition intervention.