Wellness Forum Institute for Health Studies

Neal Barnard, M.D., is a clinical researcher, author, and health advocate. He has been the principal investigator or coinvestigator on several clinical trials investigating the effects of diet on health. He was a coinvestigator on a study, conducted in conjunction with Georgetown University, of the effect of dietary interventions in type 2 diabetes, and was the principal investigator of a study on dietary interventions in diabetes, funded by the National Institutes of Health and conducted under the auspices of the George Washington University School of Medicine, in association with the University of Toronto. Dr. Barnard was also the principal investigator of a study assessing the effects of dietary interventions on premenstrual and menstrual symptoms and of a study on weight loss in postmenopausal women. Read more...

He is the author of dozens of publications in scientific and medical journals as well as numerous nutrition books for lay readers and is frequently called on by news programs to discuss issues related to nutrition, research issues, and other controversial areas in modern medicine.

He is a frequent lecturer at scientific and lay conferences and has made presentations for the American Public Health Association, the World Bank, the National Library of Medicine, the Franklin Institute, the American Medical Writers Association, the Association of Health Care Journalists, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, and many state dietetic associations.

Dr. Barnard grew up in Fargo, N.D. He received his M.D. degree at the George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C., and completed his residency at the same institution. He practiced at St. Vincent's Hospital in New York before returning to Washington to found the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) in 1985. PCRM has since grown into a nationwide group of physicians and lay supporters that promotes preventive medicine and addresses controversies in modern medicine. As president of PCRM, Dr. Barnard has been instrumental in efforts to reform federal dietary guidelines.

Dr. Barnard is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, a Life Member of the American Medical Association, and a member of the American Diabetes Association.

Becky Black's experience includes teaching as a professor of nutrition, working as a hospital-based dietitian, and in private practice as a Marriage and Family Therapist and specialist in wellness and wholistic nutrition. She has a degree in dietetics and also in marriage and family therapy, and has completed a 500-hour course for massage therapy. Additionally, Becky was a member of the U.S. National Water Polo Team for seven years and was an All-American in swimming and water polo.

CLASSES:
Dietary Supplements, Nutrition and Cariovascular Health, Nutrition and Cancer

Ron Boisvert is the manager of RGB Medical Imagery, Inc., where he is responsible for the creation of illustration and design for medical publications, patient education materials, courtroom presentations, video and projection media, web graphics and animation. He serves as an adjunct instructor at Columbus State Community College, an Instructor at The Ohio State University and was a teaching assistant at the Medical College of Georgia.

For more than 40 years, T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D. has been at the forefront of nutrition research. His legacy, the China Study, is the most comprehensive study of health and nutrition ever conducted. Dr. Campbell is the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University and Project Director of the China-Oxford-Cornell Diet and Health Project. The study was the culmination of a 20-year partnership of Cornell University, Oxford University and the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine. Read more...

Dr. Campbell received his master's degree and Ph.D. from Cornell, and served as a Research Associate at MIT. He spent 10 years on the faculty of Virginia Tech's Department of Biochemistry and Nutrition before returning to the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell in 1975 where he presently holds his Endowed Chair (now Emeritus).

His principal scientific interests, which began with his graduate training in the late 1950s, has been on the effects of nutritional status on long term health, particularly on the cause of cancer. He has conducted original research both in laboratory experiments and in large-scale human studies; has received more than 70 grant-years of peer-reviewed research funding, mostly from the National Institute of Health, and has served on several grant review panels of multiple funding agencies, lectured extensively, and has authored more than 300 research papers.

He is the recipient of several awards, both in research and citizenship, and has conducted original research investigation both in experimental animal and human studies, and has actively participated in the development of national and international nutrition policy.

Dr. Campbell is one of the world's most well-respected nutrition authorities and is the author of the best-selling book The China Study, perhaps the most important book on diet and health ever written. The clear and convincing evidence in The China Study has helped motivate millions of people worldwide to adopt a more healthful plant-based diet. It has been translated into Chinese.

CLASSES:
Diet and Lifestyle Intervention Course - The Science Behind the Plant-Based Diet I and II Module

Diane Dodge is a licensed social worker with a B.A. in Psychology and M.A. in Counselor Education from The Ohio State University. She is currently an adjunct faculty member at Columbus State Community College and Central Ohio Technical College. She contracts with agencies to facilitate education and therapy groups for male sex offenders and male domestic violence offenders. Diane is an experienced child and family, couples, and group therapist and former clinical researcher who has made presentations to numerous professional organizations and conferences.

CLASSES:
Psychology I: Introduction to Psychology, Psychology II, Eating Disorders in Abnormal Psychology

Sara Donlon began her career as an aide to Ohio State representative Linda Reidelbach, where her responsibilities included moving her legislation through the legislative process, and researching and advising her on carious legislative issues. One of Rep. Reidelbach's areas of interest included state licensure laws concerning health care professionals. Ms. Donlon served as director of state licensure issues for the American Association of Health Freedom, where she was in charge of research, writing legislation and advocacy for state licensure laws governing health care practices in almost all 50 states. She served as legislative director for the Wellness Forum Institute for Public Policy, where she also directed legislative efforts at the state and federal level.

Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., received his B.A. from Yale University and his M.D. from Western Reserve University. In 1956, pulling the No. 6 oar as a member of the victorious United States rowing team, he was awarded a gold medal at the Olympic Games. He was trained as a surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic and at St. George's Hospital in London. In 1968, as an Army surgeon in Vietnam, he was awarded the Bronze Star. Read more...

Dr. Esselstyn has been associated with the Cleveland Clinic since 1968. During that time, he has served as President of the Staff and as a member of the Board of Governors. He chaired the Clinic's Breast Cancer Task Force and headed its Section of Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery.

In 1991, Dr. Esselstyn served as President of the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons, That same year he organized the first National Conference on the Elimination of Coronary Artery Disease, which was held in Tucson, Arizona. In 1997, he chaired a follow-up conference, the Summit on Cholesterol and Coronary Disease, which brought together more than 500 physicians and health-care workers in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. In April, 2005, Dr. Esselstyn became the first recipient of the Benjamin Spock Award for Compassion in Medicine.

His scientific publications number over 150, "The Best Doctors in America" 1994-1995 published by Woodward and White cites Dr. Esselstyn's surgical expertise in the categories of endocrine and breast disease. In 1995 he published his bench mark long-term nutritional research arresting and reversing coronary artery disease in severely ill patients. That same study was updated at 12 years making it one of the longest longitudinal studies of its type. It is most compelling, as no compliant patients have sustained disease progression. Today, 20 years later compliant patients continue to thrive.

Dr. Esselstyn and his wife, Ann Crile Esselstyn, have followed a plant-based diet for more than 20 years. They work together to counsel patients both in Cleveland, where they live, and in summer at the farm in upstate New York where Dr. Esselstyn grew up. Dr. Esselstyn concentrates on the medical details, and Ann focuses on healthy foods and how to prepare them.

Dr. Goldhamer is a graduate of Western States Chiropractic College in Portland, Oregon. After completing his chiropractic education, Dr. Goldhamer traveled to Australia where he became licensed as an osteopathic physician. He completed a residency program at the Arcadia Health Center, an in-patient facility specializing in the therapeutic use of water fasting. Read more...

Dr. Goldhamer founded the TrueNorth Health Education Center in 1984 and is the Director of the Center's residential health education program. Dr. Goldhamer has supervised the fasts of thousands of participants. Under his direction, the Center has become recognized as a training facility for doctors wishing to gain certification in the supervision of the therapeutic use of fasting. He is on the faculty of Bastyr University where he teaches the course on clinical fasting and was the principal investigator in two studies. The first, Medical Supervised Water-Only Fasting in the Treatment of Hypertension, appeared in the June, 2001 issue of Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. The second study, Medical Supervised Water-only Fasting in the Treatment of Borderline Hypertension, appeared in the October 2002 issue of the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. He is currently directing a prospective study with long-term follow-up evaluating the clinical and cost of medical care outcomes in the treatment of diabetes and high blood pressure with fasting and a health promoting diet.

Dr. Goldhamer is the author of The Health Promoting Cookbook which provides detailed nutritional information on how and why to adopt a health promoting diet; he is co-author of The Pleasure Trap.

CLASSES:
Diet and Lifestyle Intervention Course - Therapeutic Fasting and The Pleasure Trap Module

Dr. Michael Huff is a medical doctor in family practice in Oxnard, California. He is a past president of the Ventura County Medical Association, and has served as both Director of the Education Department and Chairman of the Department of Family Practice at the St. Johns regional Medical Center. Dr. Huff has also served as a consultant for the development of Primary Care Knowledge Base Kurzweil Applied Intelligence Voice Recognition System.

William Lessler is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor and Adjunct Professor of Psychology who has been in private practice for over 10 years. He is a trained and experienced Cognitive Behavioral Therapist. Dr. Lessler has performed extensive research on the use of anti-depressant, anti-anxiety, anti-psychotic and neuroleptic drugs and has developed a model for treatment of depression, anxiety, relationship issues, bereavement, anger and other issues that does not require their use. He is one of the most effective therapists in Columbus, and one of the best teachers on the subject of the deficiencies of the psychiatric model.

CLASSES:
Diet and Lifestyle Intervention Course - Emotional and Mental Disorders Module

Ron Lewis is a Senior Management Engineer at The Ohio State University. He also teaches mathematics, statistics, and mechanical and manufacturing engineering at Columbus State Community College. Dr. Lewis has authored several papers published in scientific journals, and is experienced in teaching math and technical subjects through distance learning.

Physician and nutrition expert who teaches better health through vegetarian cuisine. John A. McDougall, MD. has been studying, writing and "speaking out" about the effects of nutrition on disease for over 30 years. Read more...

Dr. McDougall believes that people should look, feel great and enjoy optimal health for a lifetime. Unfortunately, many people compromise their health unknowingly through poor dietary habits.

Dr. McDougall is the founder and medical director of the nationally renowned McDougall Program, a ten-day, residential program located at a luxury resort in Santa Rosa, CA -- a place where medical miracles occur through proper diet and lifestyle changes. Dr. McDougall has cared for thousands of patients over almost 3 decades of medical practice and has run a highly successful live-in program for more than 17 years. Dr. McDougall has developed a nourishing , low-fat, starch-based diet that not only promotes a broad range of dramatic and lasting health benefits such as weight (fat) loss, but most importantly can also reverse serious illness, such as heart disease, without drugs.

As with many leaders of public opinion, he often finds it necessary to challenge the accepted wisdom of the time, and was one of the first traditional physicians of the medical "establishment" to assert that adoption of a vegetarian diet can reverse unfavorable medical conditions such as heart disease. Medical research is now confirming this assertion. And slowly but surely, medical practitioners are accepting it.

Dr. McDougall is the author of several national bestsellers including: The McDougall Plan: 12 Days to Dynamic Health, McDougall's Medicine: A Challenging Second Opinion, The McDougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss, The New McDougall Cookbook, The McDougall Program for Women, and his latest ground breaking book, The McDougall Program for a Healthy Heart.

A graduate of Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine, he performed his internship at Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, and his medical residency at the University of Hawaii. He is certified as an internist by the Board of Internal Medicine and the National Board of Medical Examiners.

To make it easier for people to eat well on the go, Dr. McDougall co-founded Dr. McDougall's Right Food's Inc., a producer of high quality vegetarian cuisine. The convenience meals are consistent with his health-supporting guidelines of 10% or less calories from fat, strictly vegetarian so there's no cholesterol, and no added oils. Dr. McDougall is the Chairman of the Company.

The medical writer Ralph W. Moss, PhD, has written or edited twelve books and three film documentaries, mostly on the question of cancer research and treatment. He is a graduate of New York City public schools, New York University (BA, cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, 1965) and Stanford University (MA, 1973, PhD, 1974, Classics). The former science writer and assistant director of public affairs at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York (1974-1977), for over 30 years Moss has independently evaluated the claims of various cancer treatments, conventional and nonconventional. He currently directs The Moss Reports, a periodically updated library of detailed reports on 200+ varieties of cancer diagnoses. Although not a medical doctor, he is noted for his critical acumen and is listed in Marquis Who's Who in America, Who's Who in the World, Who's Who in HealthCare, etc. Read more...

Moss is the author of such books as Antioxidants Against Cancer, Cancer Therapy, Questioning Chemotherapy, and The Cancer Industry, as well as the award-winning PBS documentary The Cancer War. He also wrote the first article on alternative medicine for The Encyclopedia Britannica Yearbook and the first article on complementary cancer treatments for a medico-legal textbook, Courtroom Medicine: Cancer (Matthew Bender). He is co-editor of the first medical textbook in English on non-conventional treatments for cancer, Complementary Oncology (Thieme, 2005).

His articles and scientific communications have appeared in such journals as The Lancet, the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the Journal of the American Medical Association, New Scientist, Anticancer Research, Genetic Engineering News, the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, and Integrative Cancer Therapies, of which he is Corresponding Editor. For years he has written the monthly "War on Cancer" column for the Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients. His op-ed "Patents Over Patients" appeared in the New York Times (4/07).

Moss was a founding advisor to the National Institutes of Health's Office of Alternative Medicine (now the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine or NCCAM) and to the NIH Cancer Advisory Panel on Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAP-CAM). He has been a member of the Advisory Editorial Board of the PDQ System of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). He is a member of the board of directors of the Cancer Prevention Coaltion and is an advisor to Breast Cancer Action, the National Brain Tumor Foundation, the Susan J. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, the Life Extension Foundation, the RAND Corporation and the Medline-listed journal, Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. He has been an ad hoc reviewer for many scientific organizations, including the Czech Academy of Sciences and the International Journal of Cancer.

A dynamic public speaker, Moss has been an invited lecturer at many institutions, including Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (Grand Rounds, Surgery, 1999), Howard University Medical School (Grand Rounds, Family Practice, 2003), the University of Arizona Medical Center (Grand Rounds, CAM, 2007), the Department of Energy, American Cancer Society, and many other universities, medical schools, and medical society meetings in the US and abroad.

Moss has a particular interest in new European developments in integrative oncology. On October 31, 1998, he was made an honorary member and scientific advisor of the German Oncology Society ("DGO"), the first American to be so honored. Since 1997 he has spoken at "Medicine Week" in Baden-Baden six times. In October, 2004 he spoke at the Seventh Pfältzer Conference on Integrative Cancer Care in Bad Bergzabern, Germany. The previous year he spoke on the chemoprevention of cancer at Santa Famiglia Hospital in Rome, Italy, and wrote a journal article on his findings from that trip.

He also speaks frequently in North America. In June, 2004 he gave the Coombs Lecture at Foothills Hospital, Calgary, Canada, and at the CAMera conference of the University of Calgary. In 2005, he gave the Todd Cancer Institute Grand Rounds Lecture at Long Beach (Calif.) Memorial Medical Center and led the History of Science Seminar at the National Library of Medicine of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD.

In addition to helping hundreds of central Ohioans to get in optimal shape, Doug Owens has been training some of the top athletes in the country for over two decades. His clients have included Brady Quinn, Jody Shelley, James "Buster" Douglas and Alexander Zolkin. Read more...

Doug also has considerable experience in helping people who have sustained injuries to recover through fitness training. He has helped many people to recover who were given grim diagnoses by medical professionals.

Doug's interest in athletics started in high school - he was a member of the wrestling team, and played football and baseball. He was recruited to play football at Ohio State under Earle Bruce while he earned a degree in health and physical education.

After running health clubs and training facilities for several years, he opened Doug Owens Personal Fitness and Boxing in 1996, which is now part of The Wellness Forum family of companies.

Doug has developed a unique approach to fitness, which is effective both for individuals who want to achieve optimal health and athletes who are looking for a career. His program is a combination of proper weight training, aggressive conditioning, and flexibility, with a focus on dietary excellence as a means for optimizing performance.

CLASSES:
Diet and Lifestyle Intervention Course - Joint, Back and Muscle Injury Module

Dr. Palevsky is a renowned board certified pediatrician, sought-after lecturer, and published author, who believes in utilizing a holistic approach to children's wellness and illness. Read more...

Dr. Palevsky offers educational programs to groups of families and practitioners in the areas of preventive and holistic health; childhood development; lifestyle changes; nutrition for adults, infants and children; safe, alternative treatments for common and difficult to treat acute and chronic pediatric and adult conditions; vaccination controversies; mindful parenting; and rethinking the medical paradigm.

In using his "whole child" wellness philosophy, Dr. Palevsky recommends and incorporates the teachings and therapies of nutritional science, acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, chiropractic, osteopathy, cranial-sacral therapy, environmental medicine, homeopathy, and essential oils, along with natural healing modalities such as aromatherapy, yoga, Reiki, meditation, reflexology, and mindfulness.

Dr. Palevsky received his medical degree from the NYU School of Medicine in 1987. He completed a pediatric residency at the Mount Sinai Hospital in NYC, and a fellowship at Bellevue Hospital-NYU School of Medicine in the pediatric outpatient department and emergency room by 1991.

Dr. Palevsky began his career working as a pediatrician in the emergency room of Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center in the Bronx, NY from 1991-1995. He served as the Chief of the Pediatric Acute Care Unit at NYC's Lenox Hill Hospital from 1995-1998, and continued on in the Department of Pediatrics at Lenox Hill until March 2000. In April 2000, Dr. Palevsky began his practice as the holistic integrative pediatrician for the Center for Health & Healing, an integrative and complementary care medical facility affiliated with the Beth Israel Medical Center in NYC.

Since 1991, Dr. Palevsky's clinical practice experience includes pediatric emergency and intensive care medicine, in-patient and out-patient pediatric medicine, neonatal intensive care medicine, newborn and delivery room medicine, and conventional, holistic and integrative pediatric private practice in NYC and Long Island. Dr Palevsky is currently on an indefinite leave of absence from his private practice.

Dr. Palevsky is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Past - President of the American Holistic Medical Association, co-founder and President of the Holistic Pediatric Association, a Diplomate of the American Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine, and a medical advisory board member to the Natural Gourmet Institute for Food & Health in New York City, Developmental Delay Resources and the National Vaccine Information Center.

Dr. Palevsky teaches holistic integrative pediatric & adolescent medicine to parents and medical and allied health professionals both nationally & internationally. He has been quoted in many national and local publications, and has been featured in many news programs, documentaries and radio shows.

To read more about Dr. Palevsky, go to www.drpalevsky.com

Dr. Pam Popper is a naturopath, nutritionist and the Executive Director of The Wellness Forum, a chain of licensed health and wellness centers located throughout the U.S. The Wellness Forum teaches individuals how to change their health outcomes by assisting them in changing their diet and lifestyle habits. In addition to working with individuals, the company offers programs designed to lower the costs of medical care and insurance premiums for employers. Read more...

Dr. Popper is the author of several books and cookbooks, as well as several programs offered for continuing education credits for medical professionals. She is the Founder of The Wellness Forum Foundation, which offers programming in schools designed to improve children's health and well-being through better nutrition.

Dr. Popper serves on the Physician's Steering Committee for the Physicians' Committee for Responsible Medicine in Washington D.C.. Dr. Popper works for Whole Foods, one of the largest natural foods grocers in the world, as part of Rip Esslestyn's team, charged with helping employees improve their health with plant-based nutrition and better lifestyle choices. Additionally, she is part of Dr. T. Colin Campbell's teaching team at eCornell, teaching part of a certification course on plant-based nutrition. She is currently featured in two widely distributed documentaries, Processed People and Making a Killing and will be appearing in a full-length feature film called Forks Over Knives about diet and health, which will be in theaters later this year.

Dr. Popper is also a lobbyist, and continually works toward changing laws that interfere with an individual's right to choose their health provider and method of care. She has testified in front of legislative committees on numerous occasions.

Dr. Pam Popper is a straight-talking professional who is not afraid to criticize national health organizations, government agencies, medical professionals, pharmaceutical companies, agricultural organizations and manufacturing companies, many of whom have agendas and priorities that interfere with distributing truthful information and promoting public health.

Everyone who is interested in health should hear her speak. For some, their lives may depend on what she has to say!

CLASSES:
Diet and Lifestyle Intervention Course - Introduction to Diet and Lifestyle Intervention Practice, Autoimmune Diseases and Gastrointestinal Disorders

Health-Related Occupations - Plant-Based Nutrition, Nutritional Issues and Controversies, Nutrition and Autoimmune Diseases, Nutrition, Bone Health and Women's Health, Nutrition and Gastrointestinal Disorders, Business Training

Chuck Powley, Ph.D., is a research chemist with Dupont Corporation in Wilmington, Delaware. He has received several awards for his work, including the European Sustainable Growth Award, the Dupont Agricultural Products Marketing Award, and the American Chemical society's Analytical Division Fellowship. Dr. Powley has published several articles in leading scientific journals and delivered any presentations at scientific conferences in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.

Adrienne Raimo is a registered dietitian, and is the fonder and director of Eden's Rain, a nutrition and wellness consulting business located in Columbus, Ohio. She has provided nutrition consulting services for non-profits like the Cincinnati Zoo, and corporations like Diamond Innovations. Ms. Raimo has offered classes at Whole Foods, The Ohio Herb Education Center, Harmony Center for Women and many other local companies and organizations. In addition to her degree in dietetics from The Ohio State University, Adrienne earned a Certificate in Health Counseling through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York. She serves as a director for the Wellness Forum Foundation, through which she offers classes for teachers and provides advice for those interested in improving children's health and school food.

CLASSES:
Nutrition and Obesity, Developing Meal Plans, School and Institutional Food

A board-certified internist and oncologist, Mark C. Scholz, M.D., serves as medical director of Prostate Oncology Specialists Inc. in Marina del Rey, CA. Read more...

After receiving his medical degree from Creighton University in Omaha, NE, Dr. Scholz completed his Internal Medicine internship and Medical Oncology residency at University of Southern California (USC) Medical Center. He was awarded a medical oncology fellowship at Los Angeles County/USC Medical Center.

Dr. Scholz served as oncology director at the Memorial Campus of the Centinela Freeman Regional Medical Center from 1996-2001. He is past president, co-founder and executive director of the Prostate Cancer Research Institute, a non-profit educational and research institute that focuses on disseminating state-of-the art information about the diagnosis, staging and treatment of prostate cancer. He is an acknowledged expert on management and treatment for prostate cancer using hormone intervention, immunotherapy, chemotherapy and angiogenesis as well as vitamin, herbal and other forms of lifestyle counseling. His affiliations include St. John's Health Center, Marine Campus of the Centinela Freeman Regional Medical Center and others.

Currently, Dr. Scholz is an associate clinical professor in the department of Oncology at USC School of Medicine. Dr. Scholz continues his research projects in the area of prostate cancer and has authored numerous scholarly articles in his area of expertise. He is a consultant for Journal of Urology and volunteers for an Internet list called "Patient to Physician" which can be found on www.pcri.org. This website offers free advice to patients and doctors about the management of prostate cancer.

Sabrina Seitz is a Certified Facilitator with the Wellness Forum and owns The Wellness Forum of Spokane Washington, where she conducts classes and provides one-on-one counseling to help individuals to improve their health. She is also a registered nurse in the cardiovascular catheterization lab at Sacred Heart Medical Center. Ms. Seitz is a Master Herbalist and earned her certificate through the School of Natural Healing in 2008. She offers classes and consults in the areas of herbal nutrition and herbal medicine.

Del Sroufe is the Executive Chef and co-owner of Wellness Forum Foods, where he is responsible for menu development, marketing strategies, developing and teaching cooking classes, employee hiring, training and management, kitchen management, compliance, purchasing, customized menus for people with health issues, development of internship programs, public speaking, media interviews, account development and general business management. He has been involved in the food business for over 20 years, with experience ranging from restaurant management to owning and operating a retail bakery. Read more...

Anya Todd, R.D. is a nutritional therapist in private practice in Mansfield, Ohio, where she also works as a renal dietitian at the Fresenius Medical Center. She completed a certificate in plant-based nutrition through eCornell in 2009, and earned a Certificate in Adult Weight Management Training through the American Dietetic Association in 2004. She completed a Vegetarian Chef Certification program in Boulder, Colorado in 2001.

Anya graduated cum laude with a B.S. in nutrition from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio and completed her dietetic internship program at the Cleveland Clinic in 2003.

She is a strong advocate for the use of diet as a means for preventing and reversing common diseases in children.

Caroline Trapp is the Director of Diabetes Education and Care for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in Washington, D.C. She is also a Guest Lecturer at Wayne State University and an Adjunct Faculty member at the University of Michigan. Ms. Trapp has been a researcher in several studies demonstrating the positive effects of a plant-based diet on diabetes, the result of many of which have been published in leading journals. She is also the author of several articles published in medical journals and has made many presentations at major conferences. Her awards include Diabetes Educator of the Year Award by the American Diabetes Association and an unrestricted grant to develop an ADA-Recognized Program in a Primary Care Practice.

Ms. Trapp is a member of many organizations including the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, the American Association of Diabetes Educators, The Michigan Council of Nurse Practitioners, and the Michigan Organization of Diabetes Educators.