Grace De La Rosa is a Holistic Wellness Consultant, a lifelong recovery advocate for quality healthcare, improved social services and justice for all. Along with over 35 years of experience and extensive self-studies in the health, wellness and fitness industry as a former AFAA-certified group fitness instructor, professional fitness and swimwear model, contributing fitness writer and NPC fitness and bikini competitor, she holds a Bachelor's degree in Communications and TV Broadcasting with a minor in Psychology from the University of North Florida (UNF).

View her demo reel as a commercial and corporate training spokesperson and listen to her voiceover demo. Some of her past clients include Homeland Security, Department of Labor and Energy, Walt Disney World, Comcast and the United Way of Northeast FL.

She is dedicated to civic service, having served as Founding Chairperson for the First Coast Recovery Advocates (FCRA), a Recovery Community Organization (RCO) that serves as a resource for people with mental health and substance use disorder (SUD).

She currently serves as an Advisory Council Member of The Salvation Army's Adult Rehabilitation Center (ARC) and is a member of the Northeast Florida Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NEFCADA); member of the State of Florida's Mobilize Recovery Action Plan (RAP) and the Inclusivity Caucus; member of Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice (CSSJ); member of the World Affairs Council of Jacksonville; member of the Jaguar Car Club of North Florida; Founder of Be a Blue Buddy, a colon cancer awareness campaign; and member of the Taoist Tai Chi Society. She also volunteers her time working at local mental health facilities, correctional institutions and treatment centers.

Grace was diagnosed at the age of 38 with Stage 3(c) colon cancer in 2005 and treated with a "chemo cocktail" called FOLFOX, a melange of several drugs including steroids. Looks can be deceiving: she's deemed permanently disabled due to the long-term side effects of chemo. This includes bone and joint degeneration as well as peripheral neuropathy, extensive nerve damage particularly to hands and feet that causes numbness which, to some degree, might help in a sense that it may lessen the pains that exist or may arise. Also, a rare procedure, her left sacroiliac (SI) joint was rebuilt and fused with titanium bolts and rods.

After years of chronic pain, complications, medical scares including liver cancer and Multiple Sclerosis (MS), numerous surgeries and what seemed like never-ending doctor appointments, she decided that enough was enough. By 2016, her daily pill box included up to 24 (twenty-four!) prescriptions and over-the-counter (OTC) medications to alleviate some of her long-term side effects. Half of the pills supposedly counteracted the side effects from the other pills. This is known as polypharmacy, taking 5 or more medications to alleviate symptoms of an ailment(s). With the help of her general physician, she titrated down and discontinued almost all of her medications.

A voracious researcher, prolific writer and a lover of life experiences, her interests include health and wellness on an individual, community and global scale to include Social Justice & Equanimity; Cultural Diversity; Global Cohesiveness; GeoPathoPsychology; Childhood & Domestic Abuse/Neglect; Adult Giftedness --extrasensory perception (ESP) or psychic abilities (we all have them); Homelessness; Mental Health; Addictions; Alcoholism; Colon Cancer; Education; Policy Reformations; Feminism, Women Empowerment; Communications/Media; Psychology, Spirituality; Alternative Health and Well Care Options; Neuroscience; Philosophy; Astrophysics; Quantum Physics; Cosmology, the Collective Consciousness, Biology, Science, Semiosis, Audiology; Multi-Dimensionality; Biodiversity; and the Ethical and Moral Implications of Super Artificial Intelligence.

Grace welcomes invitations to speak on the following topics:

* Mindfulness, Meditation
* Wellness
* Alternative Healthcare
* Recovery
* Healing
* Communications
* Cultural Diversity
* Leadership
* Americanism
* The Religion of Love
* Addictions | Substance Abuse | Mental/Behavioral Health
* Colorectal Cancer
* Domestic Abuse/Violence
* Women Empowerment

* Our Health, Our World & The Price of Convenience

* Beyond Policies & Procedures: The Need for Reformation

* Hidden Psychological Abuse: Exploitation, Manipulation and Corruption of Systems and its effects on Our Mental Health and Well-Being, Individually and Collectively

* Integrative Healthcare: Eastern Philosophy Meets Western Medicine and Technology

She strives for joyful learning and living by practicing open-mindedness and is willing to step outside of her comfort zone. She has experienced snow skiing, scuba diving, skydiving, paintball wars, and traveling. Grace likes to soak in the culture's history of traditions, arts, architecture and daily lifestyle--eating and sleeping as the locals do.

She enjoys the arts (e.g. music/theatre/live entertainment, museums, paintings, photos, architecture), literature, and botanical gardens. She is a beach girl at heart. Anything related to the sun, clouds, moon, stars, rainbow and other skyscapes capture her attention. Her favorite splash of color is bright citrus orange. A few of Grace's favorite scents are magnolia, rose, gardenia, peony, plumeria, honeysuckle, citrus, aromatic wafts of food cooking in the kitchen, the ionic shift just before rainfall, and the scent of a freshly mowed lawn.

Grace was born in Virginia and grew up in Atlantic Beach, FL--the eldest of four in a family where her parents are still happily married after 54+ years. Her ethnic background is diverse: Filipina, Spanish, Hawaiian, Chinese, Norwegian, English and Sub-Saharan African. She is a proud U.S. citizen and considers herself a "Born-Into" military veteran as her father retired from the Navy as a cook, and her former spouse served as an F/A-18 Hornet Strikefighter jet pilot (think Blue Angels) and P-3 pilot.

She traveled and lived around the world, including the Philippines, Japan, Spain, Guam, California, Australia and Greece--where she left her heart in Oia-Santorini. She has two adult children: daughter Armani and son Andrew, and after having moved from South Carolina, Hawaii and Maryland, Grace is happy to be back home in Jacksonville, FL.