Certified November 10, 2020.
Community Engagement Strategist + Culinary Nutrition Specialist
Lexi is a Registered and Licensed Dietitian and Certified Culinary Medicine Specialist. She received her Bachelor of Science in Coordinated Dietetics from Texas Christian University (’19). She interned with To Taste during her senior year at TCU and has enjoyed the first year of her dietetics career working with To Taste!
Personal Nutrition Philosophy
Lexi believes that eating healthfully should be enjoyable, sustainable, and fulfilling. Choosing plant-forward and minimally-processed foods is the best way that we can ensure that the foods we put in our body maintain our health. Learning basic culinary skills can help us along the path to health and is a fantastic tool to take with us throughout our entire lives!
Passions
Outside of cooking and teaching, Lexi’s passions include cycling, running, reading, listening to podcasts, and playing the cello.
Lexi and her husband, Tallon, live in Boise, Idaho. Both Idaho natives, they are happy to be back in the mountains of the Northwest!
Certified November 2017.
Allison is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist with over two decades of experience. She has advanced training as a Certified Culinary Medicine Specialist and as a plant based chef.
Cumulatively, she has helped people lose hundreds of pounds and empowered them to commit to their health. This not only impacts her clients but also their families as well. She truly believes that every time we put something in our mouth, we have the opportunity to promote our health. She provides cooking demonstrations to her community to share how powerful it is to change your fate based on what is on your plate.
Allison provides you with the tools and resources so that you are learning what it takes day to day to create a fit lifestyle that creates the habits as opposed to just putting a band-aid on your problem.
Certified on November 17, 2017.
34761
Certified on November 15, 2017.
I am the dietitian for Cahaba Medical Care's four rural primary care clinics in Central Alabama. I have experience working in medical nutrition therapy in acute care, nutrition research, and nutrition education for weight loss & chronic disease prevention and management in both adult and pediatric populations. Competence in culinary medicine has increased my confidence in giving cooking demonstrations regarding therapeutic uses of functional foods.
Centreville, AL
35042
Anita T. Shaffer is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist with over 35 years of experience as a clinical dietitian, food service and clinical nutrition manager, nutrition educator, and corporate nutritionist.
In 2021, Anita founded ATS Nutrition Services, LLC, where she offers nutrition consulting services, leveraging her experience in developing nutrition strategy and communications, advising food product development, creating recipes and menus, and providing food service operational support. Through creativity and passion for customer service, Anita works with businesses and organizations in the food and nutrition industry to translate nutrition science into practical solutions that are scientifically credible and meet the unique needs of her clients and their customers.
In 2024, Anita joined the Rowan-Virtua Regional Integrated Special Needs (RISN) Center, South Jersey’s first primary care practice dedicated to serving the needs of individuals with complex special needs. As the group’s Registered Dietitian, she is responsible for direct outpatient nutrition education including 1:1 assessments, group education and community based nutrition programs incorporating researched-based nutrition interventions, healthy eating habits and nutrition monitoring to improve quality of life.
During her free time, Anita enjoys gardening, cooking, and taking long walks in the woods and on the beach, photographing the natural beauty she finds along the way.
90 Pine Street
Sewell, NJ 08080
Certified on August 1, 2016.
Dr. Anne VanBeber, a Nutritional Sciences faculty member at Texas Christian University (TCU) since 1992, has served as department chair since 1998. She received a BS from Texas Tech University and earned the MS and PhD from Texas Woman’s University. A Registered and Licensed Dietitian, Dr. VanBeber was named a Fellow of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in 2015. Current TCU teaching responsibilities include Food Preparation, Meal Management, Gourmet Foods, Food and Culture, and Veganism and Sustainability. Dr. VanBeber was named an Outstanding Dietetics Educator by the Texas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in 2001 and was honored by TCU with the Dean's Teaching Award for significant and meritorious achievement in teaching in 2009.
Dr. VanBeber was instrumental in bringing the Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine program to Fort Worth in 2014 where she has subsequently enhanced the nutrition training of medical and allied health students from the University of North Texas Health Science Center for the past five years. An accomplished author, Dr. VanBeber has published over 30 refereed articles in professional journals, 13 articles in professional newsletters/magazines, and five chapters in reference books. She has conducted numerous presentations at state and national professional meetings and enjoys presenting food and nutrition-related programs to community and public organizations. Dr. VanBeber is a sought-after nutrition expert who has been quoted in Today’s Dietitian, Better Homes and Gardens, Cooking Light, Yoga Journal, Arthritis Today, Family Circle, Woman’s Health, Fitness, Oxygen, Looking Good Now, She Knows Low Carb, and Fort Worth Texas magazines as well as in other electronic and print media.
Interests: Cooking, gardening, traveling, nature, reading, family, expanding my comfort zone.
Certified December 12, 2020
Education:
B.S., Animal Science - Auburn, 2007
M.S., Nutrition and Food Science - Auburn, 2010
Ph.D., Nutrition Sciences - Alabama-Birmingham, 2015
Annie Newton Kirby, Ph.D., R.D. is the Dietitian in the Auburn University Pharmaceutical Care Center. She is also an Assistant Professor at the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine and a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist.
Originally from Birmingham, Alabama, and she graduated with her Bachelor of Science in Animal Science in 2007 and a Master of Science in Nutrition and Food Science in 2010 from Auburn University. She went on to the University of Alabama at Birmingham to complete her Dietetic Internship in 2011 and Ph.D. in Nutrition Sciences in 2015. She is a Registered Dietitian.
Auburn University
Harrison School of Pharmacy
2155 Walker Building
Auburn, AL
36849
Certified June 1, 2018. As a Registered Dietitian (RD), nutritionist and chef, Barbara Kamp approaches culinary education with the desire to demonstrate that combining the art of food preparation with the science of nutrition results in food that is at once healthy, beautiful and delicious.
With an undergraduate degree from New York University, where she specialized in sculpture and silversmithing, an associate degree in Culinary Arts, and a master’s degree in Dietetics and Nutrition, Kamp joined the faculty of JWU’s North Miami Campus uniquely qualified to teach students how healthy can still be appealing.
As a Certified Culinary Medicine Specialist, Kamp encourages students to reimagine the role of food in their everyday and professional lives
1701 NE 127th St
North Miami, FL
33181
Dr. Basma Faris is a Board Certified Obstetrician and Gynecologist and Certified Culinary Medicine Specialist. Dr. Faris attended the University of California at Berkeley where she received a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition Sciences. She went on to complete a Master’s of Science in Nutrition at Brooklyn College and completed the Registered Dietetics Internship at the same. She received her medical degree from the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences of the University at Buffalo in 2009. She completed her Obstetrics and Gynecology residency at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Dr. Faris began her career in healthcare as a Registered Dietitian. She worked with adults and children to manage chronic health conditions and obesity. She developed curricula for group nutrition interventions for children, pregnant women and adults. As a resident she published a study on the impact of lifestyle intervention on pregnancy outcomes in obese pregnant women. She enjoys educating her peers on how to incorporate nutrition into everyday practice and helping patients make healthier choices. She has created an online course for physicians titled Culinary Medicine Basics: Nutrition for Busy Physicians. She recently conducted a 7 day online patient course: Adopt a Mediterranean Diet for PCOS with Dr. Faris. She is the founder of PollyPrep and PollyPrep MD, both aimed at educating and treating people with PCOS using an evidence-based mix of Culinary Medicine and Gynecology.
She recently joined The Mount Sinai Health System in New York where she holds the position of Assistant Professor in Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science. Previously she practiced at Weill Cornell Medicine, and NYU Langone Brooklyn where she served as the medical student Clerkship Director, as well as Associate Residency Program Director and she led the peer review committee for the department.
Dr. Faris practices General Obstetrics and Gynecology and is a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. She became a Certified Culinary Medicine Specialist in 2020. She was named a New York Superdoctor Rising Star in 2022 and 2023. Follow her on IG at https://www.instagram.com/drbasmafaris/ or at basmafaris.com
Certified in November 2021.
Bonnie Johnson is a registered dietitian with more than 20 years of experience in the food industry. She calls herself a “Nutrition Translator” working to translate and deliver credible, science-based information to healthcare professionals and consumers to build trust, respect and reliability. At Potatoes USA, Bonnie leads the nutrition strategy that underpins other programs, and ensures that the potato industry has the resources they need to market their businesses and products. Bonnie is a Colorado native and lives in Morrison, CO with her husband, 5 kids and one spoiled dog. When she’s not working, you can find her in the kitchen with her kids or on the golf course with her husband.
Certified November 7, 2018.
Dr. Dunn is a William Neal Reynolds Distinguished professor in the Department Agricultural and Human Sciences, NC State University. She provides program expertise and state-wide leadership for nutrition and wellness for families and communities. She has 30+ years of experience in nutrition education and develops nutrition education materials that are used across the country to help people eat smart and move more. Carolyn is the author/developer for numerous programs and tools that address healthy eating and physical activity. She is the lead author of the award-winning Color Me Healthy, a curriculum that helps young children eat smart and move more. She and colleagues created Eat Smart, Move More, Weigh Less, a 15-week evidence-based weight management program that is being used across the country in both in-person and online formats. She is also the lead author for the CDC recognized diabetes prevention program Eat Smart, Move More, Prevent Diabetes.
Dr. Dunn and colleagues have published their work in Obesity, American Journal of Health Promotion, Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior and others. She is the past chair of Eat Smart, Move More North Carolina, a 90-agency coalition that promotes increased opportunities for healthy eating and physical activity wherever people live, learn, earn, play and pray. She is a member of Sigma Xi the scientific research society and the Academy for Outstanding Faculty Engaged in Extension. She served under three governors as the gubernatorial appointee to the Justus-Warren Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Task Force.
Dr. Dunn earned her BS in nutrition from Meredith College and her MS and PhD in nutrition from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She is a lifelong fitness advocate and enjoys walking, weight training, and yoga. She has a passion for cooking, food, travel, art, and design.
Box 7606
Raleigh, NC
27695
Certified on April 17, 2017.
Emily is a Registered Dietitian and a graduate of both Davidson College, with a degree in Anthropology, and most recently The Ohio State University with a degree in Medical Dietetics. Emily has been employed as a Registered Dietitian for 5 years with Ohio Health McConnell Heart Health Center working as an outpatient dietitian. With experience working in long term care before coming to the McConnell Heart Health Center, Emily works within multiple disciplines throughout the facility including Diabetes Education, Weight Management, Corporate Wellness and Cardiac Rehab. With interest in more experiential nutrition education, Emily and fellow colleagues have created a “Healthy Bites” program promoting more hands on recipe tasting and cooking demos in the Cardiac Rehab setting, with goals to expose patients to new ingredients and to encourage making more meals at home. Emily, with a recent certification in Culinary Medicine, hopes to combine her interests and expertise to better help the patient population that she is working with.
Interests: Nutrition, athletics, travel, and cooking.
Certified September 14, 2020.
Hema Alur-Kundargi is a native of Pune, India. She came to the United States in 1986.
Hema loves to cook. She developed a passion for cooking under the firm guidance of her talented mother. In her cooking shows, news & magazine articles and classes, she simplifies Indian cuisine and aims to remove the myths and mysteries associated with it.
Ms. Kundargi currently produces, edits and hosts an award-winning cooking show called "Indian Vegetarian Gourmet," that simplifies and demystifies Indian cooking. It is aired on the Cupertino Public Access channel.
Hema writes a food column for Cupertino's citywide newsletter, Cupertino Scene, and West coast Indian magazine India Currents. She has also written for the San Jose Mercury News, Los Angeles Times, Sunset Magazine, India West, and the national Indian magazine Veerashaiva. She volunteers her time to create heart healthy recipes for the South Asian Heart Center at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View.
Hema is also dedicated to building cultural awareness about Indian customs and traditions. She has constantly pursued to enrich her community through the arts, food, dance, music and fashion shows. As a Fine Arts Commissioner of the City of Cupertino for eight years, Ms. Kundargi has promoted children's art and art in public places. She was also instrumental in launching Cupertino's annual Indian holiday celebration, "Diwali - Festival of Lights."
Hema Kundargi has conducted several Sari shows, "Oh what a Wrap", at the Cupertino Library to educate the public about the history and draping styles of Indian costumes. She has hosted "Dances of India" programs for the Cupertino Senior Center.
Ms. Alur-Kundargi also serves on the Board of Directors for the Cupertino Library Foundation.
Awards
Ms. Kundargi's public access cooking show has been recognized with numerous awards, including the 2001 and 2004 national Hometown Video Festival Award--presented to creative programs that address community needs and develop diverse community involvement. Her cooking show has also won the 1998 and 1999 Western Access Video Excellence (WAVE) awards.
Hema received the 2004 CREST - Cupertino Recognizes Extra Steps Taken, an award given to volunteers who have made outstanding contributions to the city of Cupertino. In 2006, she was awarded the coveted KQED Bay Area Local Hero Award for her leadership and commitment to community service as a 17-year resident of Cupertino. In 2007, Santa Clara County supervisor Liz Kniss selected Hema as one of the the 2007 Asian American Hero Star awards for "her role in educating the public about Indian culture and bridging the cultural differences in the community".
