Kelly Nessa was born in Calgary, Alberta Canada where she enjoyed many of the activities that the backyard Rocky Mountains allowed.  Hiking, biking and trail running in the summer and skiing and snowboarding in the winter time.  Kelly began running at an early age and continued on to complete several triathlons and marathons.

Kelly always had dreams of pursuing a career in medicine, however, the field of Western medicine did not seem to have all the answers to the root of diagnosis, prevention and treatment of disease. In 1995 the University of Calgary opened up a faculty of Mind Body Medicine in Kinesiology.  This was a perfect fit for Kelly, the combined degree of physical activity and psychology.  Kelly was in the first of the graduating classes of the new program, in 2000 she graduated on the Deans list with a Bachelor in Science in Kinesiology with a minor in Psychology.  During the completion of the degree it became increasingly clear to Kelly that the mind body connection would be the wave of the future and she began to explore all the fields of alternative medicine.  After much research and many trips across North America to various schools providing alternative medicine, Kelly found Acupuncture and Oriental medicine to be the best fit.

While finishing up with her degree, Kelly started taking classes at the Alberta College of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine in Calgary and graduated with an honors diploma in 2001.  Kelly then went on to pursue her Master's in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine at Southern California University of Sciences in Orange County California.  While adjusting to the fast pace of life in California and the all year round summer activities, Kelly went on to become the President of the Associate Student Body at Southern California University of Health Sciences.  Kelly Volunteered in many of the on and off school programs while finishing up her Master's. 

Kelly moved to Newport Beach CA during her last two years of school to work with some of the respected Chiropractors and other alternative health care professionals in the area.  While in Newport Beach she met her husband and was married soon after graduation.  Kelly currently is working at Back to Basics with both Dr. Thomas Hewitt and Dr. Ryan Samuelian and is committed to continue the tradition of excellent Wellness care that Back to Basics has provided for some 25 years.

Outside of work Kelly enjoys many of the activities that sunny southern california provides, including running, swimming, rollerblading, biking, golfing, and traveling.