Athena Newell, FNP-C, MSN

Nurse Practitioner

Atlanta & Roswell

Athena Newell is a Family Nurse Practitioner, wife, and mom of three living in Charleston, South Carolina. She holds bachelor’s degrees in both Nursing and Exercise Science, along with a Master of Science in Nursing Practice from The University of Texas at Austin. Having lived in seven states over the past 15 years, Athena values the diversity of experiences and perspectives that shape each person’s story—something she brings into her patient care through a welcoming and open-minded approach.
Athena has been practicing medicine since 2011, with experience spanning emergency medicine, family practice and functional medicine. She joined STAT Wellness shortly after it opened in 2019 and has been instrumental in expanding its mission of combining medicine and movement to support root-cause healing to patients in Georgia and now South Carolina. She also completed advanced training in Applying Functional Medicine in Clinical Practice through The Institute for Functional Medicine, integrating both traditional and functional medicine principles to help patients restore balance and thrive.
As a functional medicine provider, Athena works with patients of all ages—men, women, and children—with a special interest in hormone health. She focuses on helping patients optimize hormones, gut health, immune function, metabolism, and overall wellness. Athena takes a personalized, evidence-based approach by combining advanced diagnostic testing with lifestyle, nutrition, and movement strategies to create individualized care plans that help her patients feel and function their best.
When she’s not seeing patients at STAT Wellness, Athena practices what she preaches—spending time with her husband and kids, strength training, or experimenting with healthy recipes in the kitchen.
BOOK AN APPOINTMENT

INTERVIEW WITH ATHENA

You are a family nurse practitioner, can you explain to us what that means and why you wanted to become one?

A family nurse practitioner is generally trained to provide primary care for the family unit– individuals of all ages.

I always knew I wanted to be a medical professional of some type. I’m very relational and love serving people But specifically I felt I could have a meaningful impact in the medical field through family practice. We like to think that family practice is the gateway into medical care where lots of health decisions begin. Providing compassionate care to patients establishes trust in the medical community which is necessary if we want to see our communities thriving from a health perspective. After working in the conventional medicine space, I’ve come to find that functional medicine/individualized medicine is the place for me.

You are a mother of 2 young children, what are some tactics you use to keep yourself and your family healthy?

Everything we do, whether it’s how we move, what we eat or the products we allow into our home is either helping or hurting our health. I am a gatekeeper for my home, if you will. I want my family to thrive in their spaces which means growing their character, confidence and supporting their bodies!

Practically speaking, that means I plan ahead! I do meal planning and consider what is on our calendar for the week. I try and build our meals out of high quality foods that are template based: protein, carb, veggies and fats with each meal, even lunches sent to school. We try our best to be present when we’re together which means TVs off and phones away–working on this. We also like to spend lots of time outside using our bodies.

What made you want to join the STAT Wellness team?

STAT is a unicorn of a space. I think that’s evident. After moving to ATL and starting the job hunt, STAT came onto my radar and it was everything I’d been looking for and didn’t even know it! I’d dreamed of getting my foot in the door in a functional medicine setting but when adding in the movement components and the coaching resources, it’s on another level. There’s nothing else like it ANYWHERE! Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?!

Can you share some fun facts with us?

  • I don’t love pizza, but I’ll eat it.
  • I grew up a “military brat” but never moved ANYWHERE!
  • I’ve lived in 6 states in 9 years! Florida, Knoxville, TN. , Charlottesville, VA., Portland, OR., Austin, TX and now ATL!
  • I could eat a poke bowl everyday.

There's so much information out there when it comes to functional medicine. What are some of your favorite trusted resources?

WEBSITES: Green med info, Natural database, Pubmed, Google Scholar, Alzdiscovery.org for Brain health, Dr.Hyman.com

BLOGGERS: Many of these bloggers are autoimmune patients and are very informed. They’re posts will inspire me to dive deeper into topics I’m unfamiliar with.

Frolic and Flow, Empowering Autoimmune

BOOKS: The Autoimmune Solution by Amy Myers, The Hormone Cure by Sara Gottfried

We are a medicine + movement practice. Why do you think movement is such an important part of the wellness picture?

From a primal perspective, I believe we are creatures made to move and we thrive when we do! Aside from aesthetics, movement benefits our emotional, hormonal, cardiovascular, neurological, digestive health! And, depending on your choice of movement, it’s just FUN!

You've lived a lot of places. What's been your favorite city and what are you most excited about in Atlanta?

Portland and Austin are my favorites for different reasons. They both have amazing cultures, food and people. You can’t beat the weather in Portland, if you ask me. PNW summers are what dreams are made of. Austin has the best tacos, ANYWHERE.

STAT Wellness has a membership option. Why do you like this option for patients?

It’s the most economical investment in your health! I’ve spent my fair share of money on pricey fitness memberships…. having unlimited fitness classes, 5 functional medical visits, health coaching, dietitian assistance, and body scans all in one bundle is a game changer. It’s a great opportunity to allow us to partner with you and provide all the resources you need to be successful!