Marsha-Gail Davis

Dr.  Davis is a primary care internist and preventionist with an interest in working at the intersection of primary care, lifestyle medicine, public health and health equity.  She completed her medical training at Yale and UCSD in internal medicine and preventive medicine. She is board certified in Internal Medicine and has a Masters in Public Health with a concentration in epidemiology.  She currently serves as the Young Director on the Board of Directors of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM), ACLM’s Health Systems Council Advisory Board and is Co-chair of ACLM’s HEAL (Health Equity Achieved Through Lifestyle Medicine) Initiative.  She is committed to helping her patients and her community live healthy and dignified lives through prevention and effective treatment of preventable chronic diseases using the full spectrum of clinical medicine (where lifestyle medicine is foundational) and reducing morbidity and mortality caused by preventable disease especially in communities of color and low-income communities.  

Kofi Essel

Kofi D. Essel, MD, MPH, FAAP, is a community pediatrician at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, and the Director of the George Washington University School of Medicine’s Culinary Medicine Program, the Community/Urban Health Scholarly Concentration, and the Clinical Public Health Summit on Obesity. Dr. Essel has dedicated his career to advocacy and research around healthcare training, health disparities, and community engagement, with expertise and national recognition in addressing obesity and food insecurity in families. He was nationally recognized by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation for helping to create an innovative curriculum to enhance pediatric resident trainee skills in obesity management. He also co-authored a national toolkit for pediatric providers to screen and intervene for food insecurity with the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Food Research & Action Center. He is the Principal Investigator of a large multidisciplinary population health initiative that aims to strengthen community-clinical ties to address diet related chronic diseases in marginalized settings in Washington, D.C. Dr. Essel earned a BS from Emory University, Medical Degree and Masters of Public Health in Epidemiology from GWU. He completed pediatric residency and General Academic Pediatric fellowship training at Children’s National Hospital.

Renee Fleming

Renée Fleming is one of the most acclaimed singers of our time, performing on the stages of the world’s greatest opera houses and concert halls. Honored with four Grammy® awards and the US National Medal of Arts, Renée has sung for momentous occasions from the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony to the Diamond Jubilee for Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. In 2014, Renée became the first classical artist ever to sing The Star-Spangled Banner at the Super Bowl. Renée has given presentations with scientists and practitioners around the world on the connection of arts and health, earning Research!America’s Rosenfeld Award for Impact on Public Opinion. In 2020, she launched Music and Mind LIVE, a weekly web series exploring the intersection of music and arts with human health and the brain, amassing nearly 700,000 views from 70 countries. The series was inspired by the Sound Health initiative she leads as Artistic Advisor to the Kennedy Center, in partnership with the NIH and the NEA. She is a Founding Advisor for the Sound Health Network at UCSF and Co-Chair of the Johns Hopkins/Aspen Institute NeuroArts Blueprint. In August 2021, she launched Healing Breath, a collaboration with Google Arts and Culture and the Kennedy Center, in which world-renowned vocalists share their breathing exercises to help people in recovery from COVID-19. Renée’s other awards include the Fulbright Lifetime Achievement Medal, Germany’s Cross of the Order of Merit, and France’s Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur. www.reneefleming.com

Paula Gardiner

Dr. Paula Gardiner is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine. Her passion is studying and teaching clinicians how to facilitate and implement medical group visits or shared medical appointments She completed a three year Clinical Research Fellowship in Complementary and Alternative Medicine Research and Faculty Development at Harvard Medical School. She received her MPH from Harvard School of Public Health. Additionally, she has been awarded a five year NIH K award grant focusing on CAM use, stress, and dietary supplement in the inner city under served medical patients. Her research concentration is patient-oriented research regarding chronic pain and evidenced based integrative medicine access in low income patients. Current research is focused on the adaptive role of an Integrative Medicine Group Visit (IMGV) which combines Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and a Medical Group Visit to support health behavior change and reducing pain and stress. With funding by Patient Centered Outcome Research Institute (PCORI), she is the primary investigator on a comparative effectiveness randomized controlled trial of IMGV compared to a primary care visit in Boston for participants with chronic pain (N=124). Her research focuses on innovative technologies such as Embodied Conversational Agents and Our Whole Lives; a Holistic online toolkit that teaches mind body techniques. Dr. Gardiner lectures nationally and internationally. She has published over 90 review and original papers on technology (embodied conversational agents, virtual worlds, apps), chronic pain, technology, dietary supplements, stress, and integrative medicine in under served patients. She is a certified meditation and mindful self compassion teacher.

Aviad 'Adi' Haramati

Dr. Haramati is an award-winning physiologist and medical educator. He is Professor of Integrative Physiology and Medicine, Director of the Center for Innovation and Leadership in Education (CENTILE), and co-director of the graduate program in Integrative Medicine & Health Sciences at Georgetown University Medical Center. He received a PhD in Physiology from the University of Cincinnati and came to Georgetown after 5 years at Mayo Clinic. In addition to co-directing the Renal Module for first year medical students, Dr. Haramati also teaches mindful practices to medical students, residents and faculty to foster professional identity formation and well-being. He served as the founding Vice-Chair of the Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine and Health, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Association of American Medical Colleges. He has been a visiting professor at over 100 medical schools worldwide.

Christine Kaiser

Christine Kaiser, DACM, LAc, FABORM, Dipl. OM (NCCAOM) serves as the Clinical Manager of Acupuncture and Quality at University Hospitals Connor Whole Health. She leads a team of six acupuncturists who provide care across the hospital system from outpatient facilities to inpatient care, as well as supporting acupuncture research. She is a Licensed Acupuncturist, Chinese Herbalist, and Fellow of the American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine (FABORM). She specializes in women's health and brings Integrative Medicine to the University Hospitals Fertility Center. Christine also serves as President of the Ohio Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine and is the Ohio state representative for the American Society of Acupuncturists, and she enjoys advocating for policy changes on the state and national level. She played a key role in Ohio Medicaid adding and expanding coverage for acupuncture services.

Gunver Kienle

Dr Gunver Sophia Kienle studied medicine in Witten-Herdecke and Göttingen, Germany and received methodological training at Harvard, USA. She is co-founder of and senior research scientist at the Institute for Applied Epistemology and Medical Methodology at the University of Witten-Herdecke, Freiburg, Germany. She is also senior scientist at the University Centre for Complementary Medicine, University of Freiburg. Her research interests and activities include clinical trials in integrative medicine and cancer care, mistletoe therapy, eurythmy therapy and Tai Chi, therapeutic nursing applications, telemedicine, placebo effects, in single-case study designs, case reporting, cognition-based medicine, clinical research methodology, guideline development, clinical judgement, in systematic reviews on pre-clinical and clinical studies on mistletoe therapy, and reviews on tumor biology, tumor immunology, bacterial vaccine therapy, and system approaches in medicine. Dr Kienle has conducted a health technology assessment report on Anthroposophic Medicine. She is vice chair of the Commission C for Anthroposophic Medicinal Products at the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices, in Bonn, Germany, a member of the German Network Evidence-based Medicine and the Society for Integrative Oncology. Dr Kienle has published five books and ca 180 papers, articles, book chapters and monographs.

Mary Jo Kreitzer

Mary Jo Kreitzer PhD, RN, FAAN is the founder and director of the Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing at the University of Minnesota where she also serves as a tenured professor in the School of Nursing. Within the School of Nursing, Dr. Kreitzer is the coordinator of the doctorate of nursing practice (DNP) specialty in integrative health and healing. She has served as the principal investigator or co-principal investigator of numerous clinical trials focusing on mindfulness meditation with persons with chronic disease including studies focusing on solid organ transplant, cardiovascular disease, chronic insomnia, diabetes, and caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s disease. Recent studies include the use of social technology to enhance healing and wellbeing and the impact of mindfulness on brain-computer interface performance. Dr. Kreitzer has authored over 150 publications and is the co-editor of the text Integrative Nursing 2nd Edition published in 2018 by Oxford University Press. She earned her doctoral degree in public health focused on health services research, policy and administration, and her master’s and bachelor’s degrees in nursing. In 2020, Dr. Kreitzer was named as one of the 100 most influential health care leaders in Minnesota by MN Physician, became a distinguished policy fellow in the National Academies of Practice and was inducted as a Fellow Ad Eundem of the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery in the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

Christina Luberto

Dr. Luberto is a licensed clinical psychologist and Assistant Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School. She works in the Health Promotion and Resiliency Intervention Research Program and Benson-Henry Institute for Mind-Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), as well as the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion at Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA). She is an Associate Editor for Global Advances in Health and Medicine. Dr. Luberto’s research projects, funded by an NCCIH K23 award and NIA P30 award, focus on the efficacy and physiological mechanisms of remote-delivered Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for improving emotional and behavioral health in people with heart disease. In her clinical practice, she provides evidence-based individual and group mindfulness interventions to hospital patients. Dr. Luberto also enjoys teaching and mentoring trainees in her roles at MGH and CHA, and is the Associate Director of the Advanced Clinical Mindfulness Fellowship at CHA.

Rue Mapp

Rue Mapp is the Founder and CEO of Outdoor Afro, a national not-for-profit organization with offices in Oakland, CA, and Washington, D.C. Rue oversees a carefully selected and trained national volunteer leadership team of more than 100 people who represent 56 cities around the US, and shares opportunities to build a broader community and leadership in nature. Her important work has generated widespread national recognition and support. Since Outdoor Afrofs inception in 2009 as a blog, Rue has captured the attention and support of millions through a multimedia approach that is grounded in personal connections and community organizing. From its grassroots beginning, Outdoor Afro now enjoys national sponsorship and is recognized by major organizations. Mapp remains in high demand to speak around the country about her innovative approach that has successfully connected thousands of Black Americans to nature. In 2020, Outdoor Afro was chosen to be highlighted and visited by Oprah on her 2020 Vision Tour. A graduate of UC Berkeley (with a Degree in Art History), Ruefs skills and background make her a unique voice via the leadership and programs she has instituted through her career, enlightening a diverse community to the wonders and benefits of the outdoors. Visit www.ruemapp.com.

Michelle Morse

Dr. Michelle Morse serves as the Deputy Commissioner for the Center for Health Equity and Community Wellness (CHECW) and inaugural Chief Medical Officer at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYCDOHMH). Dr. Morse is responsible for leading the agencyfs work in bridging public health and health care to reduce health inequities, guiding CHECWfs place-based and cross-cutting health equity programs, and serving as a key liaison to clinicians and clinical leaders across New York City. Dr. Morse is an internal medicine and public health doctor who works to achieve health equity through global solidarity, social medicine and anti-racism education, and activism. She is a general internal medicine physician, part-time hospitalist at Kings County Hospital, Co-Founder of EqualHealth, and Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School. EqualHealth builds critical consciousness and collective action globally, in the pursuit of health equity for all. In 2015 Dr. Morse worked with several EqualHealth partners to found the Social Medicine Consortium (SMC), a global coalition which uses activism and disruptive pedagogy rooted in social medicine to advance health justice. She served as Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Partners In Health (PIH) from 2013 to 2016 and now serves on the Board of Directors of PIH. In 2018, Dr. Morse was awarded a Soros Equality Fellowship to launch EqualHealth and the SMCfs global Campaign Against Racism. From September 2019 to January 2021, she served as a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy fellow in Washington, DC and worked with the Ways and Means Committee, Majority Staff, in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Sabrina N'Diaye

Therapist ~ Storyteller ~ Peacebuilder Dr. Sabrina N’Diaye began her career as a Social Worker in the New York City foster care system, where she served as a therapist in a residential treatment/educational facility. Over the years, she has served underserved populations in public schools, community mental health, and addictions programs. She is currently an integrative psychotherapist and founder of the Heart Nest Center for Peace and Healing in Baltimore, Maryland. There, she lovingly serves women, couples, other healers, and small groups. Her approach to healing is a blend of wisdom, science, and ancient spiritual practices. Sabrina received her PhD in Mind-Body Medicine from Saybrook University, where she studied the use of complementary and alternative interventions for physical, emotional, and spiritual growth. Her dissertation study focused on the use of guided imagery as a healing tool for African-American women with chronic STIs. Since completing her doctorate, she has developed curriculum and served as adjunct faculty for the Maryland University of Integrative Health and Saybrook University. She is a proud senior faculty member of the Center for Mind-Body Medicine, where she teaches the art of self-care to healthcare professionals around the globe. As Center faculty, she has responded to community trauma in Las Vegas, Houston, the Pine Ridge Reservation, New York City, and Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. She is currently serving the Center as a teacher and guide for healthcare professionals in Jordan, East Africa, and Central Asia. Seven years ago, she became a student of Sidi Muhammad al-Jamal, a healer and peacebuilder in Jerusalem. Sabrina has committed her live to continuing the sacred Sufi teachings of peace, love, justice, mercy, and freedom. Dr. Sabrina is a highly-respected member of the treatment community, and frequently lectures on cultural diversity, spirituality, stress management, self-care for healers, addictions, and the “magic” of connection. Her many audiences include police departments (including Baltimore City, MPD, and NYPD), flight attendants, healing artists, peacebuilders, and aspiring writers. She is passionate about her work as a mentor for mental health professionals across the country, serving them in their desire to make a living while serving humanity. She is currently completing her first book, The Laugh of Love, based on her maternal grandmother’s ability to transcend multiple traumas and chronic illness. Dr. Sabrina is a devoted wife, mother, daughter, and life-long learner, who remains humbled by the healing power of compassion, love and forgiveness.

Sheri Robb

Sheri L. Robb, PhD, MT-BC is an Indiana University School of Nursing professor with international recognition for her expertise in pediatric music therapy and behavioral intervention research. She is a member of the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center, and serves as Director for the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (I-CTSI) Early Career Investigator Program. Dr. Robb is a board-certified music therapist with degrees in music therapy and early childhood special education. She also completed a post-doctoral fellowship in behavioral oncology and cancer control at Indiana University, followed by a training award in clinical and translational research from the I-CTSI. Dr. Robb’s program of research focuses on development and testing of music interventions to manage distress and improve positive health outcomes in children and adolescents with cancer and their caregivers. Most recently, her team has begun incorporation of biomarkers to understand more fully how active music interventions work to mitigate cancer-related stress and its potential to improve immune function. Dr. Robb is an established investigator with fifteen years of continuous funding from the National Institutes of Health. She also led publication of Reporting Guidelines for Music-based Interventions to address calls for more transparent and accurate reporting in music intervention research.

Zindel Segal

Zindel Segal, PhD, is Distinguished Professor of Psychology in Mood Disorders at the University of Toronto Scarborough. An award winning clinical psychologist and continuously funded by the National Institutes of Mental Health, his program of research characterized psychological markers of relapse vulnerability in affective disorder which, in turn, provided an empirical rationale for offering training in mindfulness meditation to recurrently depressed patients in recovery. An author of over 10 books and 180 scientific publications, including The Mindful Way Through Depression – a patient guide for achieving mood balance in everyday life – Dr. Segal continues to advocate for the relevance of mindfulness-based clinical care in psychiatry and mental health.

Jonathan Wardle

Jon Wardle is Professor of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Foundation Director of the National Centre for Naturopathic Medicine at Southern Cross University. In addition to clinical qualifications in nursing and naturopathic medicine, Jon has postgraduate qualifications in public health, law and health economics and holds visiting positions at University of Technology Sydney, University of Washington and University of Oxford. Jon has more than 200 academic publications and works on the editorial board of eight international academic journals. Jon is part of the Public Health Association of Australia’s Research Advisory Committee and is convenor of its Complementary Medicine Special Interest Group, as well as a member of the American Public Health Association Integrative Health Section Policy Committee. Jon is Deputy Chair of the National Health and Medical Research Council’s Natural Therapies Working Group, and leads several World Federation of Public Health Association initiatives on integrative medicine. Jon has worked on integrative medicine, public health and primary health care policy and regulatory initiatives with governments, non-government organisations and international bodies. Jon is passionate about protecting and embracing tradition knowledge and fostering innovative research, and believes that by combining both optimal public health outcomes can be achieved.

Shannon Zenk

Shannon N. Zenk, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN is Director of the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR). She joined NINR in September 2020, following a 14-year career as a faculty member at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) College of Nursing and Institute for Health Research and Policy. Her background is in nursing and public health. Dr. Zenk’s own research focuses on community environments as a social determinant of health and health inequities. She and her team conducted pioneering research on food deserts in the United States. Dr. Zenk was inducted into the International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame in 2019.