Hi! Please read on to get to know me a bit. I first became a student of healthcare at age 18 and am trained by two of the top nursing schools in the country. I have been working in the field professionally for almost two decades. For the first half of my career, before becoming a Nurse Practitioner, I worked as a Registered Nurse in a variety of settings, including inpatient nursing, leadership positions within the hospital, hospice and palliative care, primary care, and school nursing. Over the last ten years I have been practicing as a Nurse Practitioner in primary care, urgent care, and psychiatry, serving pediatric and adult populations. My diverse set of clinical experiences have given me a strong foundation in caring for clients and their families through many different stages of health and life.
I am from the Bay Area, California, now based in Santa Cruz. I am bilingual in Spanish and bi-cultural. I have a deep passion for serving underserved communities and clients from diverse backgrounds.
I am a lover of life long learning. I have a strong interest in holistic health and am currently a student of Ayurvedic Medicine. I appreciate approaches that support the whole person — mind, body, and spirit — while staying grounded in safe, thoughtful, evidence-based care.
I strive to provide care that is warm, accessible, non-judgemental, culturally responsive, and centered on each person’s unique needs, preferences, and values.
Outside of work, I enjoy being outdoors, going to the beach, hiking, traveling, cooking, baking, reading, making art, seeing live music, and connecting with friends and family. These parts of my life help keep me grounded and they reflect many of the values I bring into my practice: balance, creativity, compassion, and care for the whole person.
Allison Whitehead, PMHNP-C, FNP-C 