Advisory Board
Committees
The American College of Culinary Medicine Advisory Board is comprised of members across a wide variety of disciplines including community members, physicians, dietitians, nurses and foodservice professionals. The work of the Board is undertaken by four committees:
Standards Committee
Chair: Beth Dollinger, MD, CCMS
The Standards Committee sets guidelines for training and implementation of the Health meets Food courseware at partner-sites and interacts with the Certification Commitee on issues related to the Certified Culinary Medicine Specialist program.
Certification Committee
Chair: Andrew Vaughan, MD, MBA
The Certification Committee sets guidelines for the certification exam as well as guiding the Health meets Food curriculum. The Curriculum Subcommittee reports to the Certification Commitee for validation of new courseware as well as continuous quality improvement.
Communications Committee
Chair: Sabrina A. Falquier, MD, CCMS, DipABLM
The Communications Committee guides policy and process around efforts to spread the work about the Health meets Food curriculum, the Culinary Medicine Conference and the Certified Culinary Medicine Specialist Program.
Clinical Practice Committee
Chair: David D Dungan MD, FACP, FAAP, CCMS
The Clinical Support Committee seeks to guide the process of implementation of Culinary Medicine programming around efforts to spread the work about the Health meets Food curriculum, the Culinary Medicine Conference and the Certified Culinary Medicine Specialist Program.
Leadership
Basma Faris, MD, CCMS
Board Chair
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.
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
Sabrina A. Falquier, MD, CCMS, DipABLM
Immediate Past Chair
Sensations Salud, LLC: Founder and Owner
Dr. Falquier (Fall-Key-Ay) loves delicious food! She is a board certified Internal Medicine, Culinary Medicine and Lifestyle Medicine physician. She is bilingual (Spanish and English) and multicultural, born and raised in Mexico City to Swiss and American parents. This unique multilingual and multicultural perspective has shaped her work tremendously, as she has seen and experienced that our unique backgrounds, culture, taste, cultural experiences and historic expectations shape our health tremendously. Dr. Falquier worked as a primary care doctor for a prestigious multi-specialty group in San Diego, California, for over 15 years.
In 2016 she began incorporating culinary medicine into her practice and the community and in 2020 founded Sensations Salud, which focuses on awakening the senses around ingredient acquisition and food preparation while empowering people to better health through nutritional knowledge and culinary literacy through culinary medicine education and consulting. Dr. Falquier is the host of Culinary Medicine Recipe podcast. She is highly involved with Olivewood Gardens and Learning Center in National City, California, a non-profit organization that empowers all age groups through gardening, nutrition, and culinary literacy. She acts as their Culinary Medicine physician consulting physician and has been on their board of directors since 2017, currently acting as the chair. Her work there can be seen through the powerful documentary: The Kitchenistas, which released in March 2021 and selected for 10 film festivals and multiple awards.
She is also on the advisory board of the Culinary Medicine Specialist Board, focusing on permeating culinary medicine into medical schools, health systems, foodservice industry and the community. She is also clinical professor at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, UC San Diego Health Sciences and adjunct professor at Bastyr University. Dr. Falquier promotes culinary medicine throughout San Diego and internationally in a variety of ways and to varied age groups and audiences, including: Hands-on cooking events; cooking demonstrations, both live and virtual; animated speaking engagements; expert panels; and educational events and courses for medical students, graduate students, medical residents, chefs, athletes, and community members. She does extensive recipe development, recipe modifications for optimization of health, and is active social media. She has been interviewed regarding food and health by media outlets including the Washington Post, The Union Tribune, Edible San Diego, San Diego Magazine, CBS news, and TeleMundo. Additionally, she was recognized yearly, from 2009-2020, as one of San Diego’s Top Doctors. For more information, please visit her website at SensationsSalud.com, or follow @SensationsSalud on social media.
Advisory Board
Jaclyn Albin, MD, CCMS
Director UT Southwestern Culinary Medicine Program
Dr. Jaclyn Lewis Albin launched UT Southwestern’s Culinary Medicine Program and serves as its Director, working to teach nutrition through hands-on cooking classes to students, health care professionals, and the community. She is an Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics and practices primary care across the lifespan. She also serves as the founding Associate Program Director for the combined Internal Medicine/Pediatrics Residency Program.
Dr. Albin is a certified culinary medicine specialist (CCMS) and is also board certified in lifestyle medicine (DipABLM). She serves on the national advisory board for the CCMS program and studies the impact of culinary medicine classes in medical education and patient care. She is passionate about nutrition, lifestyle, and environmental influences on health, and she seeks to drive positive change at a population health level. Dr. Albin believes food as medicine delivers a unique opportunity to integrate the clinical, educational, and research aspects of this work through the training of future health care professionals, delivery of innovative patient support in lifestyle behavior change, and high-quality research that uplifts the health of communities.
Paula Butler, MAg, RDN, LD, CCMS
Regional Program Leader
Family & Community Health, 4-H Youth Development
East Region I Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
Paula is the Regional Program Leader for Texas A&M AgriLife Extension serving an area encompassing 44 northeast Texas counties including the Dallas Ft. Worth metroplex. Providing leadership for identification of overarching program priorities, program development, and new partnerships, Paula works with Extension Agents to foster health and wellness through community educational program delivery. This includes implementation of Extension signature programs such as Dinner Tonight Healthy Cooking Schools, Cooking Well with Diabetes, Cooking Well for Healthy Blood Pressure, Better Living for Texans SNAP Education and the Texas 4-H Youth Food and Nutrition project.
Paula received her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of North Texas and her Master of Agriculture degree from Texas A&M University. Paula is a Registered and Licensed Dietitian and worked in various healthcare settings prior to becoming a County Extension Agent in 2004 and Regional Program Leader in 2014.
Interests: cooking, gardening, family, and a variety of critters including dogs and goats.
Beth Dollinger, MD, CCMS
Dr. Dollinger is one of pioneers in the Culinary Medicine field and will join the Culinary Medicine Specialist Board Advisory Board in January. She is a board certified orthopedic surgeon with a strong interest in nutrition as well as teaching. She graduated from the University of Vermont College of Medicine and did a residency in orthopedic surgery at University Hospitals of Cleveland Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and then did a fellowship in Foot and Ankle surgery.
She recently retired from her role as an instructor for The Lake Erie College of Medicine, teaching both medical students and residents. She led the Culinary Medicine programming at the Arnot Ogden Medical Center, a community hospital in rural upstate New York. Since the inception of the program she taught hundreds of medical students, family practice residents, and ran many community modules.
She now is an instructor at Albany Medical College where she helps lead the Culinary Medicine programming.
David D. Dungan, MD, FACP, FAAP, CCMS
Secretary, Clinical Board of Directors
Duly Health and Care
Dr. David Dungan, board-certified in internal medicine, pediatrics, and culinary medicine, serves as Secretary of the Clinical Board of the Duly Health and Care physician organization. Dr. Dungan is an experienced internist and pediatrician who specializes in high quality personalized healthcare for all ages. For the past decade he has been passionate about food as medicine for his patients and advocates for both healthy food and food security to benefit the patients and communities that Duly Health and Care serves.
Dr. Dungan was one of 110 founding physicians of DuPage Medical Group (now Duly Health and Care) in 2000; outside of his medical practice, he chairs the Quality Assurance and Utilization Management Committee of Duly Health and Care. In addition, he serves on the board of the DuPage Health Coalition representing Duly Health and Care, is newly assigned to the Clinical Practice Committee for the Culinary Medicine Specialist Board, and is a former board chair for FORWARD (Finding Opportunities that Result in Wellness for All Residents of DuPage), a charitable organization which was dedicated to building community-based systems to counter the growing problem of chronic disease and health disparities. Dr. Dungan is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians.
He received his medical degree from Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine in Maywood, IL. Dr. Dungan completed his combined residency in internal medicine and pediatrics at Loyola University Medical Center/Foster McGaw Hospital and is affiliated with Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, IL.
Nurgül Fitzgerald, PhD, MS, RD
Associate Professor of Nutritional Sciences / Extension Specialist, Rutgers
More than a third of the adult population in the United States has type 2 diabetes or prediabetes, and some minorities and individuals with limited socioeconomic resources suffer from this disease and its consequences even more. Because most of type 2 cases can be prevented by lifestyle changes and controlling weight, my work is focused on preventing the risk factors (e.g., obesity, physical inactivity, and certain food intake patterns), and addressing the underlying cultural, socioeconomic, and environmental factors such as food insecurity, acculturation, and food environment.
My research group uses a socioecological framework to address individual, family/peer, organizational, community, and policy level determinants of food intake and physical activity. We also use a food and nutrition system approach for a comprehensive look into the elements of the food system that are likely to affect food intake patterns such as distribution and marketing practices, healthy food availability, and access issues.
Gregory Adam Harlan, MD
Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics and Medical Education
Co-Director, Introduction to Clinical Medicine
Director of Well-being, Medical Education
University of Southern California
Dr. Harlan graduated from Princeton University and Keck School of Medicine. He completed Pediatrics residency at UCSF, and a Master in Public Health from the University of Utah. Greg was Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and a pediatric hospitalist in Utah for 7 years, then spent 5 years at IPC The Hospitalist Company as the Director of Medical Affairs.
Greg joined Keck in 2014 as Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics and Medical Education. He Co-directs Keck’s foundational course: the Introduction to Clinical Medicine (ICM). He is also assistant director of the Keck Coaching Program. Greg works clinically in outpatient pediatrics at LAC+USC Medical Center. Greg’s professional interests center on professional identify formation, faculty development, the business of medicine, lifestyle medicine, and culinary medicine.
He created the Culinary Medicine selective for Year II students, teaching them hands-on culinary skills and nutrition education in partnership with LA Kitchen and the Wellness Center at LAC+USC. More recently his team offered a 4-week Culinary Medicine elective for 4thyear medical students, held remotely during the COVID pandemic, based on the ACLM open-access Culinary Medicine curriculum. He is passionate about nutrition and promoting healthy lifestyle choices for families and students. He is currently working with pediatric residents on a Quality Improvement project centered on promoting healthy habits and reducing childhood obesity in their clinic.
Karen Joseph-Cherfils
A proud Bronx, New York native with deep Caribbean roots, I’m a dynamic entrepreneur and dedicated public health professional committed to eliminating health disparities, with a focus on women’s wellness. I meet clients where they are, and employ a transformative knowledge-sharing approach to inspire women to embrace a healthful lifestyle and to leave an enduring impact on the well-being of their families and entire communities.
She is a Certified Lifestyle Coach for the National Diabetes Prevention Program, a Community Chef trained with Just Food in Brooklyn, and a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, I conduct health coaching sessions and culinary workshops, online and in person. I’m most proud of creating culinary curricula and publishing, The Dish: Brownsville Edition- a diabetes-prevention education newsletter for the Brownsville Community Culinary Center’s Diabetes Wellness Program, which resulted in significant reductions in participants’ A1C levels and decreased reliance on insulin medication, showcasing the transformative power of dietary interventions in managing diabetes.
Dr. Marc Kahn
Dean of the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine
Vice President for Health Affairs
University of Nevada Las Vegas
Dean Kahn has served in leadership roles with the Association of American Medical Colleges, American College of Physicians, American Society of Hematology, National Board of Medical Examiners, and the National Residency Matching Program.
A hematologist and medical oncologist by training, Dr. Kahn was a senior associate dean at Tulane University School of Medicine before assuming his new position at UNLV in April 2020. Prior to joining Tulane in 1994, Dr. Kahn completed his undergraduate degree, medical school, residency, chief medical residency, and hematology/medical oncology fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated summa cum laude and was elected into Alpha Omega Alpha. He obtained his master’s in business administration with honors from the AB Freeman School of Business at Tulane in 2010. He believes medical students need some basic business skills to be successful.
A prolific researcher in benign hematology, medical education, and healthcare finance, Dr. Kahn has authored over 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts in addition to 110 book chapters and five textbooks. His most recent textbook, Business Basics of Building and Managing A Healthcare Practice, was published by Springer Nature in early 2020 and is currently being updated for a second edition. To view some of Dr. Kahn’s publications, visit PubMed.
At Tulane, Dr. Kahn was a professor of medicine and the school’s Peterman-Prosser professor, a position established to introduce students of science-oriented disciplines to the humanities. He also held adjunct appointments in the department of pharmacology and the AB Freeman School of Business. The winner of multiple teaching awards, he was responsible for all matters pertaining to medical students, including counseling, career planning, academic issues, and student promotion.
Dr. Kahn is passionate about caring for the Las Vegas community through education, research, clinical care, and community engagement. He believes the creation of an academic health center in Southern Nevada will provide accessible and compassionate medical care while creating jobs and growing the Las Vegas economy.
Karen Lindsay, PhD, RD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Affiliated, Population Health & Disease Prevention
University of California Irvine
My expertise is maternal nutrition in pregnancy and broadly, I conduct research in the area of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD). I investigate the contribution of maternal diet and nutritional status in the peri-conceptional and prenatal periods towards pregnancy outcomes and offspring susceptibility to long-term disease risk. My current research focuses on the effects of the interplay between maternal dietary intake and psychosocial stress in pregnancy on gestational biology, and the implications of this diet-stress interplay for fetal programming of offspring obesity and cardiometabolic disease risk. I have received a K99/R00 award from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) to study this topic.
Blake Metcalf DCN, RD, LD, FAND, CCMS
Assistant Professor | Director of Community and Clinical Nutrition
Arkansas Colleges of Health Education
Dr. Metcalf is an Assistant Professor and Director of Community and Clinical Nutrition at Arkansas Colleges of Health Education. He is currently researching the impact of aeroponic tower gardens being used in the curriculum of elementary schools. This research gives an opportunity to begin nutrition and agricultural education as early as possible to ensure that future generations are healthier and more informed consumers. Additionally, his research will soon extend to include culinary medicine interventions for a range of disease processes as well as the potential to reduce hospital readmissions and other possible avenues.
Dr. Metcalf is a Fellow of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and serves on the Board of Directors for the Arkansas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. His work with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has supported efforts to protect the public from misinformation and to show that the Registered Dietitian is a critical, underutilized professional in the prevention of chronic disease in the United States.
Richard McCarthy
Captain, Think Like Pirates
ThinkLikePirates.com
Richard McCarthy is a writer, speaker and community development specialist who sees food as a pivotal organizing tool. Devoted to the theory that behavior change comes first, he serves the Slow Food International Executive Committee and as its Meatless Monday Ambassador, leading strategies to reduce the consumption of industrial meat, whilst promoting biodiversity and traditional foods.
He lives in Brooklyn, NY, and currently also serves as a consultant to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s Dhaka Food Project in Bangladesh to reposition the role of public markets as instruments to animate public space, deliver healthy foods for the many, and reposition rural farmers as part of the urban imagination; and to the New Orleans French Market to redesign its food and flea sheds. He is also writing a book about how isolated rural Japanese communities are forging lasting relations with urban dwellers who crave community and nourishment with visionary rural leader, Tsuyoshi Sekihara.
Founder of practitioner think tank, Market Umbrella, and its flagship Crescent City Farmers Market (in New Orleans), as an incubator for urban-rural social cohesion, nutrition incentive programs, and emerging entrepreneurs in public housing (most notably, Riverside Pasta). He served as Executive Director for Slow Food USA, President of the Farmers Market Coalition, and played a pivotal role in elevating nutrition incentive pilots to federal priorities (via the 2013 and 2018 Farm Bills – GusNIP).
Born in Germany, he grew up in New Orleans, received his B.A. From Richmond University in London, and his M.Sc. From the London School of Economics.
Amy Moyer, M.Ed., RDN, LDN
PT Assistant Professor, Accredited Programs Coordinator
Department of Nutrition
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Amy has worked in the field of nutrition for over 30 years, primarily consulting with long term care facilities to provide clinical nutrition management for all residents/patients as well as food service oversight including menus, food safety and sanitation, and procurement processes.
In addition, she has returned to her alma mater, UNC Greensboro, where she is an Assistant Professor and Accredited Programs Coordinator in the Department of Nutrition. Along with teaching Quantity Production and Food Science courses, Amy has focused her passion for Culinary Medicine on creating and directing the program for UNCG’s ACEND accredited dietetic internship, utilizing the Health Meets Food curriculum. The goal is to train future RDN’s to become empowered to work in conjunction with physicians and other health care professionals in providing well rounded nutrition education enhancing medical nutrition therapy knowledge with culinary skills and emphasis on cultural and socioeconomic aspects of food and the food choices that our clients make. Amy has uniquely combined the HMF curriculum with institutional experience in campus dining to meet the ACEND required competencies for the food service rotation of the dietetic internship. She also works closely with the interns to provide campus and community based Culinary Medicine programming and plans to integrate Culinary Medicine courses into the undergraduate nutrition curriculum.
Heather Nace. RD, LDN
Director of Operations & Executive Chef
Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine at Tulane University School of Medicine
Heather Nace is originally from Baltimore, MD and holds a B.S. in Culinary Nutrition from Johnson & Wales University. As the Director of Operations of the Goldring Center, she is able to combine her experience of running a small business for twelve years with her culinary and nutrition knowledge. She provides leadership and coordination of medical student and community programming, kitchen operations, training of students, and coordination of special events.
She is the Membership Chair for the New Orleans Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and is currently pursuing a graduate degree at Tulane University. As a registered dietitian with a culinary background, Heather hopes to inspire others to achieve good health by sharing her knowledge and passions for delicious food, practical nutrition, and home cooking.
Vibha Patel, DO, CCMS
During my years as a medical student I was drawn to many different specialties for future residency training. I chose family medicine because of the impact of implementing preventative health interventions across all age ranges to affect beneficial health outcomes. After 21 years of practice in a variety of fields of family medicine, I stumbled across this exciting field of culinary medicine. I have always enjoyed cooking but now I am enthusiastic to have a new platform to present well researched evidence-based information on health outcomes with dietary intervention and food preparation to patients, fellow colleagues, friends and family members.
For the past 4 years I have been working for Optum/MedExpress as an onsite physician for the Employee Health and Wellness Center at JP Morgan Chase corporate centers in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. Our team here at the Health and Wellness Center serve over 10,000 employees in the metroplex area. We also participate in corporate local, regional and national events to promote health education and healthcare initiatives. Health care in the corporate sector is a growing field and a great opportunity to provide health care & information for employees in the workplace.
Additional interests of mine are traveling, photography, scuba diving, environment, and wildlife conservation.
Gloria Richard-Davis, MD, MBA, NCMP, FACOG
Professor
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Gloria Richard-Davis, MD, FACOG serves as the program director for UAMS Culinary Medicine Program. (https://culinarymedicine.uams.edu/)
Dr. Richard-Davis is Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Executive Director for UAMS Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, as well as Medical Director for the Physician Assistants program. She joined the UAMS faculty in January 2013. She is board certified in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and Obstetrics and Gynecology. She previously served as Professor and Chair of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at Meharry Medical College from January 2007 – 2012. Prior to her appointment, Dr. Richard-Davis served as the Section Head of Reproductive Health Services for Ochsner Clinic Foundation and the Medical Director of the Fertility Center at Ochsner from 2000-2007 in New Orleans. She was Assistant Dean in Student Affairs and Assistant Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Tulane University School of Medicine from 1994 – 1998.
Dr. Richard-Davis received her medical degree from Louisiana State University School of Medicine in 1982. She completed her residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington from 1982 – 1986 and received her fellowship training in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Wayne State University/ Hutzel Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. Dr. Richard-Davis has more than 25 years of experience in women’s health and reproductive endocrinology and in general obstetrics and gynecology.
Her passion for culinary medicine grew out of her concern and focus on optimizing women’s health prior to conception for better pregnancy outcomes and to improve pregnancy rates in women experiencing infertility. Her polycystic ovarian patients that struggle with obesity and glucose abnormalities was the catalyst that started her focus on culinary medicine. As an undergraduate student she studied nutrition at Harvard University and it was there she gained her understanding of the importance of nutrition’s impact on health. Her areas of research and active interest include health disparities, menopausal health, polycystic ovarian syndrome, female sexual dysfunction, uterine fibroids, ovulation induction, reproductive disruptors, and assisted reproductive technologies. She has authored over 50 peer-reviewed publications and a book on infertility entitled “Planning Parenthood: Strategies for Success in Fertility Assistance, Adoption, and Surrogacy.”
She has served in leadership positions in medical professional societies, including the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, the North American Menopause Society, and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. She is an oral board examiner for ABOG. She is also the recipient of many awards and grants for her research and scholarly activities.
Jeffrey Quasha
Chef Quasha’s constant drive to learn, teach, develop and educate the community is deep rooted in the foundation of his career path. From Five star dining at the Breakers to training under two master French chefs at the South’s Grand Hotel, to Franchise Corporate chains, casual and fast dining, culinary school instructor, contract services and specialty events his career has spanned the industry.
Chef Quasha has also been an active member of the ACF from states spanning the Deep South to South Florida. It was during this time that Jeffrey became a member of the Chefs Move to School Program, Chef and Child Chairs, member of the Chaines and an adjunct culinary arts professor at the University of South Carolina. Chef Quasha is also the President of the Chefs of the Low Country and Culinary Board Member of Savannah Technical College.
Currently Chef Quasha is the Director of Culinary Retail Innovation for Morrison Healthcare in charge of developing key retail programs, food and beverage concepts and product development for over 950 hospitals across the United States.
Jeffrey Quasha is a Certified Executive Chef (CEC), Certified Culinary Administrator (CCA) and Approved Culinary Evaluator (ACE). Jeffrey has also been featured on several Food Network programs, Guys Groceries Games, Best Young Chefs in America, PBS, and travel channel cooking shows. He currently lives in Savannah Georgia with his wife Laura and sons Joshua and Austin.
Jessica D. Todd
Clinical Assistant Professor, Coordinated Program Director
Georgia State University
Perfectly Portioned Nutrition is a meal-prep and nutrition company owned and operated by Jessica Todd, registered dietitian nutritionist, and entrepreneur of Sandy Springs, GA. Jessica has been a registered and licensed dietitian for over 10 years and is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor and the Coordinated Program Director at Georgia State University, in the Department of Nutrition. Education, nutrition counseling and culinary nutrition has been and remains the focus of Jessica’s career path. Meal-prepping for clients started organically in 2017 when Jessica realized the missing piece for many of her clients was FOOD! Clients wanted to eat healthy but didn’t have the time or desire to cook. Having grown up in a restaurant, Jessica loved to cook and meal prepped for her family weekly so it was only natural to start offering this service to her clients. What started small, quickly grew and Jessica decided to turn her hobby into a business. In December of 2018, Perfectly Portioned Nutrition was born and has been producing from a commercial shared kitchen, PREP Atlanta, since February where she creates her healthy, flavorful, and perfectly portioned meals. Each week, her menu consists of 6 calorie-controlled, nutrient dense meals. Clients are wowed by the bold flavors and variety; they can attest that this isn’t your average weekly meal prep! Six delicious and nutritious meals are offered weekly and are delivered right to your door. No long trips to the grocery store, no post-prepping cleanup, no food waste.
Michelle Troup
Medical Student
University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville
As FoodShare’s Director of Culinary Medicine, Michelle led a blend of academic research, clinical medicine, culinary arts and community empowerment all around a kitchen table full of delicious food. She works to create a space for community members, health providers, and academics to collaboratively experience the tangibility of the Hippocrates quote: “Let food be thy medicine”.
Since launching the curriculum in 2018, Michelle has taught over 3,000 hours of cooking classes and facilitated over 350 hours of patient engagement for medical learners. In addition to leading Culinary Medicine courses for medical learners and community members alike, Michelle has served as a food access advocate on the Columbia Food Policy Equity Subcommittee and oversees all evaluation efforts for FoodShare South Carolina. She matriculated at University of South Carolina School of Medicine in July 2021.
N. Andrew Vaughan, MD, MBA, CCMS
Assistant Professor
Dr. Vaughan has more than 35 years of experience in cardiology care, specializing in non-invasive, preventive and general cardiology. Vaughan’s practice also places a special emphasis on nutrition as it relates to heart disease and heart health, and he is a Certified Culinary Medicine Specialist. For over 20 years he practiced in Charleston, West Virginia as an interventional cardiologist. In 2008 he left the private practice of cardiology to join the Huntington Veterans Affairs Medical Center where he served as Chief of Cardiology and was the site director for the Marshall University Cardiology Fellowship program. Recognizing the opportunities afforded by Huntington’s Kitchen and following his move to full time faculty, he has been actively involved in the Dining with a Doc program and seminars for medical students and residents on Mediterranean diet and resident wellness. He has brought his expertise in preventive cardiology to the teaching of cardiology fellows and has organized the lipid management clinic at the Marshall Health Teays Valley Clinic. He is a member of numerous cardiology societies and has board certifications in Echocardiography and Cardiac CT as well as Cardiology and Internal Medicine.
Ileana Vargas, MD
Pediatric Oncologist, Columbia University
Dr. Ileana Vargas, Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, specializes in the treatment of children with diabetes and children with obesity. Dr. Vargas’ research interests are in the cause, treatment and prevention of childhood obesity. Dr. Vargas is a graduate of Fordham University and Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
Pediatric endocrinologist Ileana Vargas-Rodriguez, M.D., specializes in the prevention of type 2 diabetes and obesity. Childhood obesity predisposes people to type 2 diabetes later in life, which usually develops in adults age 40 and older. About eighty percent of adults with type 2 diabetes are overweight. Dr. Vargas-Rodriguez worries because she sees an epidemic of obesity among children and teens, particularly Latino youth, in the New York community of Washington Heights, in upper Manhattan.
Ileana Vargas was an only child whose parents migrated to New York from Puerto Rico. She grew up on Manhattan’s upper west side, visiting relatives in Washington Heights. After obtaining her medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1986, she did her internship and residency at Babies Hospital, Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. She completed a fellowship in pediatric endocrinology at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine from 1989 to 1992, after which she joined the staff at New York Presbyterian Hospital at Cornell Campus, where she directed the Diabetes Education Program.
Seeing a need to address the growing problem of obesity and type 2 diabetes in children, Dr. Vargas-Rodriguez helped establish the pediatric component of the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center at Columbia University Medical Center in 1998. In addition to treating children, Dr. Vargas-Rodriguez works with their parents, explaining the health benefits of exercise and nutrition, and promotes changes in the laws to bring healthier foods, exercise classes, and affordable parks to children’s schools, communities, and homes. Dr. Vargas-Rodriguez says “you can’t make a change without changing the laws and I would like to be a driving force that brings healthier foods to our schools, gym classes…and safe, affordable parks for our children.”
Interests: Cooking, gardening, traveling, nature, reading, family, expanding my comfort zone.
Jessica VanRoo
Chef Jessica VanRoo, aka “Chef Jess,” transforms food into a healing art that tantalizes the taste buds. Chef Jess elevates food into a therapeutic masterpiece that captivates the palate. With nearly 20 years of culinary expertise and a culinary management degree from the Art Institute of Orange County, she assumes the role of executive chef at the UCI Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute’s Mussallem Nutritional Education Center. In this capacity, Chef Jess passionately designs programs that harmonize exquisite flavors with the principles of culinary medicine.
Leading a team including chefs, dietitians, and physicians, she seamlessly intertwines food and health in innovative initiatives. With a diverse culinary background and a flair for creativity, Chef Jess crafts unforgettable culinary experiences. Her commitment to using fresh, locally sourced ingredients shines through in every dish, creating a symphony of captivating taste. Guided by the wisdom of Hippocrates, she passionately advocates for the transformative influence of food, epitomizing the philosophy, “Let food be thy medicine, and let medicine be thy food.”
Ex-Officio
Kerri Dotson, RDN, LDN
Washington, DC
Director of Operations
Culinary Medicine Specialist Board
Chef/RD Kerri Dotson has worked in diverse areas of nutrition and foodservice industries including restaurants, critical care, public health, maternal health, outpatient counseling, and community nutrition since receiving her B.S. in Culinary Nutrition from Johnson & Wales University and completing her Dietetic Internship at Tulane University. As Executive Chef and Director of Operations for the George Washington University Culinary Medicine Program – the premier interdisciplinary program bridging culinary arts, science, nutrition, and medicine – Kerri is fulfilling her dream by combining individualized counseling and nutrition education with hands-on cooking classes. Through this revolutionary program Kerri teaches medical students, healthcare and foodservice professionals, and the community at large, how to cook food that is affordable, healthful, easy to prepare, and most of all, delicious.
Timothy S. Harlan, MD, FACP, CCMS
Washington, DC
Executive Editor, Health meets Food
Timothy S. Harlan practices internal medicine at George Washington University.
In medical school, Dr. Harlan wrote It’s Heartly Fare, a food manual for patients with cardiovascular disease. Since then he has published numerous books focusing on translating evidence based diet and nutrition information for the lay public. He is publisher of the popular website DrGourmet.com, where information from the Mediterranean diet literature is translated in a practical way for the American kitchen.
He is the Executive Director of the Culinary Medicine Program at George Washington University. He is editor in chief of the Health meets Food Culinary Medicine curriculum, an innovative program teaching healthcare professionals about diet and lifestyle that bridges the gap between the basic sciences, clinical medicine, the community and culinary education.
Barbara Kamp, RD, CCMS
Director of Foodservice Professional Programming – CMSB
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.
Karl Guggenmos, MBA, AAC
Karl J. Guggenmos is the owner of Culinary Solutions International, a consulting company based in Cranston, RI. He is a World Association of Chefs Societies Global Master Chef and dean emeritus of Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI. He is alsoon the Advisory Board to the Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine Tulane University Medical School andsenior consultant to Healthy Meals Supreme in Princeton, NJ, which provides medically tailored meals for patients with chronic diseases.
Mr. Guggenmos earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Food Service Management from Johnson & Wales in Charleston, SC, and a Master’s in Business Administration in Organizational Leadership from Johnson & Wales in Providence. Between 1988 and 2015, he held several positions at Johnson & Wales University, including university dean of culinary education overseeing the culinary programs at all JWU campuses, dean of the College of Culinary Arts at the Providence campus, and director of culinary education at the Charleston campus. Earlier in his career, he served as chef, executive chef, manager, and owner of various restaurants and other culinary concerns in various locations in the United States and West Germany.
Mr. Guggenmos is a recipient of the Chaine des Rotisseurs Silver Star Medal, the Presidential Medallion of the American Culinary Federation, and the Diplome of Honor of the Academie Culinaire de France. In 2015, he was named an Education Ambassador of Rhode Island.
He was also a torch bearer of the 2002 Olympic Games.
