About us
Founding principles
By founding Dare to Fuel Performance, we’ve officially joined forces and our unique expertise on our quest to help as many sports professionals and performing artists as possible change the culture of high performance to ensure that it is a safe space for the body.
Having worked together as a complementary dietitian-psychologist team for over twelve years in the field of eating disorders, we’ve experienced first hand how educating, empowering and supporting each player involved in professional sports is key to providing a healthy environment for athletes and artists. And we aim to keep doing exactly that on an even bigger scale with Dare To Fuel Performance! Join us on our mission to champion a healthy body culture in high performance environments.
Vision
We believe in a new path in which athletes and artists are well in their bodies while performing at their best. We believe in federations and schools who put athlete well-being on par with performance. We believe in coaches and teachers who recognize the risks in high performance environments and are dedicated to minimising those risks through inspiring leadership. We believe in dietitians who teach athletes how to nourish and fuel their bodies to perform. We believe in strong, empowered athletes who feel confident in their bodies. We believe it is the time for change in sport and performing arts. Athletes are speaking up, coaches are listening, federations and schools are saying, “we want to be the first to change”. No more deprivation, no more burnout, no more eating disorders, no more body shame.
Founders
Jodie Richardson
Jodie Richardson is a clinical psychologist, member of the Order of Psychologists of Québec and co-founder of the psychotherapy clinic Connecte Montreal Psychology Group. She completed her PhD in clinical psychology at McGill University and her doctoral research at the Eating Disorders Program of the Douglas Mental Health University Institute in 2010. Over her years of clinical practice working with circus artists, ballet dancers and Olympic athletes among others, Jodie has developed a unique expertise in the treatment of eating disorders and body dissatisfaction among athletes and performers.
Alexia de Macar
Alexia is one of the few performance dietitians who combines a PhD in Sports Nutrition with extensive experience in the field. She has been working in several high-level sports and artistic environments for nearly 20 years. The experience she has acquired in these areas of excellence has contributed to her unparalleled understanding of the many different challenges associated with performance (Olympic athletes, Cirque du Soleil, dance schools). She is one of the rare dietitians who has developed an expertise in working with elite athletes/performers with eating disorders.
Don't take it from us
Jodie's specialty knowledge and clinical skills make supervision with her a very rich experience. I have worked and been supervised by her for many years, and have benefited greatly from her warm, attentive approach and her clinical expertise in the field of eating disorders. Her passion for her field and her care and drive to provide her clients the best care possible shine through.Dr. Maeve O’Leary-Barrett • Clinical Psychologist
Their trainings are extremely well designed. They allowed me to deepen my theoretical knowledge while offering me multiple practical tools to apply with this clientele. Their training surpassed my expectations and I now feel much more confident in my practice.Judith Perrault • Dietitian-Nutritionist, M.Sc.
Working with athletes with eating disorders is an art! Far beyond the knowledge, their training is really what has taken my practice to another level. Alexia and Jodie’s years of experience allow us to notice the subtleties that make all the difference. You gain a lot of confidence through validating your ways of working and through learning new strategies to try. A must-have!Marie-Hélène Bourbonnais • Dietitian-Nutritionist, M.Sc.
"Through their supervision sessions, I am learning about the intricacies of an athlete's world. Given the supportive and stimulating space that they create, I feel safe to be curious and reflective, increasing my confidence and strength in working with this population."Dr. Alissa Rubinfeld • Clinical Psychologist