For a decade, Jodi Ettenberg traveled the world as a writer, photographer, and public speaker. Her website, Legal Nomads, told the stories of places she visited, often through food.
A celiac, Jodi’s guides and translation cards have helped many others with food restrictions eat safely around the world.
She spent a lot of time during that decade eating (gluten free) soup.
When a spinal CSF leak left her disabled in 2017, she continued to share with her community, tackling topics like chronic pain, grief, and loss. Her Patreon membership community, where she writes articles about how to find your way through big life changes, helps readers find realistic answers away from the social media shine. She also answers reader questions, and shares updates from living with a spinal CSF Leak.
Her newsletter, Curious About Everything, is a compendium of the best writing from around the web each month. It features interesting long form writing, as well as a ‘quick links’ section with fun pieces readers may have missed.
Jodi is the author of The Food Traveler’s Handbook, and a recipient of Lowell Thomas Awards and North American Travel Journalist Association awards for her writing and photography. In 2023, she was awarded a Verywell health impact award for her advocacy in raising awareness for her conditions.
Her work has been featured in the New York Times, National Geographic, CNN, BBC Travel, The Guardian and more. For more about her freelance writing work or interviews, please see the Press page.
She also sits on the Board of Directors of the Spinal CSF Leak Foundation.
Prior to founding Legal Nomads, Jodi worked as a corporate lawyer for 5 years. While she quit to travel before digital nomads were a thing, these days practising law can take many forms and even be done remotely. If you’re a lawyer or former lawyer, see her alternative careers for lawyers page.
You can find Jodi on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter / X, BlueSky, Threads, or Pinterest.