Life and Work with Nancy Montuori

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nancy Montuori.

Nancy, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
After a long career at Warner Bros Records and making independent films, I unexpectedly changed the trajectory of my life and profession. In May 2011, I went to see a documentary film called “Forks Over Knives.” When I left that movie theater, I was convinced about the connection between food and chronic disease. And I wanted to scream it from the rooftops – “you don’t have to be sick anymore, you just have to change what you eat!” So I started a blog called Ordinary Vegan to share my journey and recipes. As time went by, I realized how passionate I was about helping people become healthy, protecting the planet and animal welfare, and I made it my mission to do everything I could to spread the compassionate plant-based message.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I believe the biggest rewards in life come from big changes. My advice to any woman embarking on a new journey in life is to just do it. Jump in with both feet. Don’t hold back. Change is scary, but I can honestly say that every big change I have made in my life turned into serendipitous discoveries. For example, I, a music-loving girl, moved from my beautiful hometown of Boston to visit a boyfriend in Indianapolis and ended up getting a job and a career with Warner Bros Records. In Indianapolis of all places! Had I listened to all my friends and family I wouldn’t have moved out of the city I loved. This has happened to me a lot in life because I am always willing to go all in. I promise the same thing will happen to anybody who is open to taking risks.

Please tell us about Ordinary Vegan.
Ordinary Vegan specializes in keeping people healthy. And with great health comes great happiness. I do that with my website Ordinaryvegan.net and my health and wellness podcast Ordinary Vegan on iTunes and Spotify. What sets Ordinary Vegan apart from many vegan organizations, is that I don’t ask people to be a perfect vegan. We are all imperfect and I encourage people to embrace that side of themselves. Even if someone is just adding one plant-based meal to their diet a week, they are making an impact on their health, on the environment and on animal welfare and we welcome everyone. Ordinary Vegan also makes the journey to plant-based nutrition simple by providing free vegan protein lists, vegan shopping lists, vegan nutritional checklists and every vegan essential a person would need to eat a healthy plant-based diet. Ordinary Vegan also launched a vegan CBD Oil from Hemp line of supplements. I believe it is the next natural step in overall health and wellness, and I wanted to provide a safe, effective, vegan CBD oil to our community.

Do you think there are structural or other barriers impeding the emergence of more female leaders?
In my opinion, double standards and casual misogyny are the biggest barriers to female leadership in any industry. When I started out, I was one of the few females in my position at Warner Bros Records. Fortunately for me, the men at the top encouraged female leadership, but I encountered a lot of misogyny among my peers. I decided the best thing for me to do was keep my head down, do my job and always remember “what goes around, comes around.” When I was made a Vice President at WB with no college education, I knew I made the right choices. The industry I am in now is dominated by very successful male plant-based doctors who are leading the charge. Even the cast of Forks Over Knives were 90% men. I look forward to seeing more female leadership in the plant-based world.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ordinaryvegan.net
• Email: questions@ordinaryvegan.net
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ordinaryvegan/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ordinaryvegan/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ordinaryvegan
• Other: https://ordinaryvegan.net/product/cbd-oil-capsules-from-hemp/
  ORDINARY VEGAN SHOP: https://ordinaryvegan.net/shop/

  ORDINARY VEGAN PODCAST: https://ordinaryvegan.net/the-podcast/

  ORDINARY VEGAN PODCAST ON ITUNES: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ordinary-vegan-podcast/id1061855908

  ORDINARY VEGAN PODCAST ON SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/6JoqoOloUSqfgFgT4RbFgl

Image Credit:
Ordinary vegan, LLC

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