Personalized Integrative Nutritionists

While we are known for our work with athletes, many of our clients are busy parents, active retirees, and non-athletes with goals to optimize their performance and overall health. We leverage our highly personalized nutrition approach to help you do just that.

Meet the Team

Julie Burns is the Founder of SportFuel, Inc., an integrative sports nutrition and wellness consulting firm. She has provided team nutrition services to the Chicago Blackhawks for 35 years, and works individually with athletes who compete in the NFL, MLB, NBA, Olympics, and other elite sports teams.

After seeing firsthand that a one-size-fits-all approach is ineffective, Julie developed a highly personalized program that blends integrative nutrition with lifestyle medicine to help clients discover their maximum potential.

Julie is a member of the American Nutrition Association (ANA); the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND); the AND practice groups, Dietitians in Functional Medicine (DIFM) and Sports Cardiovascular and Wellness Nutrition (SCAN); and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). She served three terms on SCAN’s Executive Board, was the Cardiovascular Editor for SCAN’s Pulse quarterly publication for 5 years, and served on the Gatorade Sport Science Institute’s Sports Nutrition Advisory Board from 1995-2003. Julie was in the first graduating class of the Kresser Institute’s ADAPT program in December of 2016. Additionally, Julie is the Managing Member of Eat Like the Pros®, which acts as a highly effective resource hub designed to help you integrate the SportFuel, Inc. philosophy into your life.

To balance her passion for continued learning, Julie enjoys golfing, gardening, cooking, yoga, meditating, volunteering for charities and causes close to her heart, walking her sweet dog, and watching and attending all sporting events with her husband and adult triplets! Julie is an active member of the Misericordia Heart of Mercy Women’s League, a group that works to support the mission of the important work of the Misericordia community, and volunteers at Beds Plus, an organization determined to help vulnerable individuals stabilize their lives through housing and supportive services. Most recently, Julie was inducted into the Mother McAuley Hall of Honor.

Margaret Nicholson is an Integrative Health Coach and registered nurse, and nutrigenomics consultant. Margaret plays an active role in supporting SportFuel’s VIP clients and private clients.

At SportFuel, she focuses on setting her clients up for success through simple, manageable lifestyle changes, including food and supplements. Additionally, Margaret develops programs to encourage athletes’ nutrition and supports them with specialized meal plans.

Margaret arrived in the nutrition field out of interest and necessity. When health issues also began to appear for Margaret and her family, she decided to dive deeper into understanding how nutritional changes can majorly influence one’s ability to achieve optimal health and wellness. Her science background and natural intuition for cooking real food has become of vital importance as she works to help clients discover what works best for them.

Alicia Kalinich has been a licensed and registered dietitian nutritionist for 25 years. With a Masters in Exercise Physiology, Alicia is an integrative fitness nutrition specialist, supporting clients with aging optimization.

As a SportFuel Integrative Nutritionist, Alicia believes in the power of food as an important piece in managing health conditions such as weight struggles, digestive disorders, and inflammatory conditions, including joint pain and autoimmunity.

Healthy living from both a nutritional and functional perspective is her primary focus in helping clients achieve success. Alicia is an active member of the Academy of Dietetics, along with the Practitioner Speciality Group-Dietitians in Integrative and Functional Medicine.

To balance her work life, Alicia loves nature and any activity that allows her to indulge, including biking, kayaking, hiking, and skiing.

Daniel Dittmer is a registered dietitian with a Master’s in Nutrition from the University of Illinois Chicago. He believes in an individualized approach to nutrition to address the needs and goals of his clients.

He received his Bachelor’s in Exercise Science from the University of Iowa. Daniel is a member of the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics (AND) and the practice group, Dietitians in Functional Medicine (DIFM).

In order to best serve the client, he utilizes information such as a client’s health & food intake history, metabolic requirements of their sport/activity, and biochemical data. A nutrition strategy that is client specific can help support digestion, immunity, recovery, performance, sleep, and injury prevention.

In his free time, Daniel enjoys playing soccer, spending time with his dog Onyx, and cooking because he believes food should taste as good as it makes you feel!

Kathleen has worked as SportFuel’s bookkeeper, editor, and primary customer service representative for the last 7 years. She also illustrates graphics for SportFuel’s website and marketing.

She studied anthropology, writing, and design and loves seeing how these interests are interconnected in the nutrition world and the world at large. Having dealt with her own set of chronic health issues, she knows how important SportFuel’s integrative approach to health and wellness can be.

In her free time, Kathleen likes painting, sewing (fashion design), and watching TV and movies, preferably by candlelight.

Dr. Vogt is a Board Certified Family Physician with fellowship training in Sports Medicine. He practices out of the SMaRT Institute in Hinsdale, IL. His passion is helping his patients avoid surgery through means of cellular orthopaedic interventions.

Dr. Vogt is trained in musculoskeletal ultrasound guided injections. He treats all joints of the upper and lower extremities, hip and pelvis. Dr. Vogt incorporates biologic cellular therapies into his interventional orthopaedic practice for degenerative joint conditions as well as for tendon and ligament tears.

Dr. Vogt is a Diplomate of the American Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine. He promotes proper nutrition and exercise and makes recommendations on nutritional supplementation.

Dr. Vogt also has great interest and experience in the management of sports-related concussion.

Learn More

Lisa is a Registered Dietitian and Licensed Nutritionist with a master’s degree in clinical nutrition specializing in diabetes and cardiovascular disease. She was recently recognized as a Fellow of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Lisa received a Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition and Dietetics from Benedictine University and completed a Dietetic Internship at Stroger Hospital in Chicago. She pursued a Master of Science degree in Clinical Nutrition at Chicago Medical School/Rosalind University of Health Sciences.

Lisa has worked in a variety of settings including pharmaceutical research, hospital, private practice and academics. She has taught nutrition courses to medical students, physician assistants and nursing students.

Lisa’s approach to her nutrition sessions includes developing a positive relationship with her clients using compassion through motivational interviewing. She utilizes a variety of counseling techniques with the goal of providing meaningful nutrition counseling to improve her client’s
quality of life.

Lisa enjoys doing yoga, Pilates and playing pickleball in her spare time. She likes to read, cook and spend time in nature with her dog, Jonas.

Sandy Glab is a highly experienced Registered and Licensed Clinical Dietitian with over three decades of dedicated service in clinical nutrition, functional health, and wellness education. Her career spans hospitals, consulting, and private practice, where she consistently delivers personalized, evidence-based nutritional care.

Sandy integrates advanced diagnostic tools and functional testing into her work to uncover underlying imbalances and create highly individualized, results-oriented nutrition and supplement plans. She also works with individuals seeking to optimize their health and wellness, providing guidance for those who want to fine-tune their nutrition and lifestyle even without major health concerns.

At the core of Sandy’s approach is a deep commitment to identifying and addressing the root causes of health issues rather than simply managing symptoms. She supports clients dealing with a wide spectrum of chronic and complex conditions, including digestive disorders (IBS, SIBO, leaky gut), hormonal imbalances (PCOS, adrenal dysfunction), autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular conditions, metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, food sensitivities, CIRS/mold illness, and challenging weight management cases. Her expertise in functional testing and targeted nutritional therapy allows her to guide clients toward sustainable improvements in energy, digestion, hormonal balance, and overall wellness.

Throughout her career, Sandy has worked with diverse populations in both clinical and community settings. In addition to her professional practice, she has led multiple international service trips with Kids Alive International, contributing to community development and health initiatives abroad. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Dietetics from Purdue University, a Master’s degree in Fitness Management from Benedictine University, and completed her dietetic internship at Loyola University Medical Center. Her compassionate, root-cause-focused care model empowers clients with the knowledge and tools they need to take control of their health and thrive long term.

Leave a message to get in touch.

By submitting this contact form you consent to receive emails from SportFuel. If you wish to opt-out, you may do so at any time. Privacy Policy - Terms of Service