Health meets Food Advisory Board
Committees
The Culinary Medicine Specialist Board 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: Leah Sarris, MBA, RD, LDN, 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 Falquier Montgrain, MD, CCMS
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: Jaclyn Albin, MD, CCMS & Timothy S. Harlan, MD, FACP, 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
Sabrina Falquier Montgrain, MD, CCMS
Board Chair
Sensations Salud, LLC: Founder and Owner
Dr. Falquier (Fall-Key-A) is a multilingual and multicultural internal medicine and culinary medicine board certified physician. She worked as a primary care doctor for a prestigious multi-specialty group in San Diego, California, for over 15 years until she launched fully into culinary medicine in 2021. In 2016 she began incorporating culinary medicine into her practice and the community and in 2020 founded Sensations Salud, LLC which focuses on empowering people through nutritional knowledge and culinary literacy. Dr. Falquier 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 consulting physician and has been on their board of directors since 2017. Her work there can now be seen through the powerful documentary: The Kitchenistas https://thekitchenistasmovie.org which released in March 2021.
Dr. Falquier promotes culinary medicine throughout San Diego and internationally in a variety of ways and to varied age groups and audiences including: lectures, expert panels, cooking demonstrations, recipe development, hands-on cooking events, live and virtual, and active social media presence. 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, TeleMundo and Sharp Health News. Additionally, she is a member of Les Dames d’Escoffier International, and has been recognized, for the last 12 years, as one of San Diego’s Top Doctors, as voted by physician peers. For more information, please visit her website, www.SensationsSalud.com or follow along @SensationsSalud on social media.
Lizabeth A. Boulware
Board Secretary
Liz Boulware is an accomplished law firm business professional. Over a twenty-five year career with leading global law firms, she had leadership responsibility for human resources, technology, finance, facilities, marketing, and practice support. She brings long experience leading strategic analyses to acheive substantial process improvement through identification and implementation of best practices.
She has had extensive board experience including Queen of the Valley Medical Center, Napa, CA, Napa Valley Community College, New Orleans East Hospital, Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine, New Orleans, NOCHI (New Orleans Culinary and Hospitality Institute), New Orleans and the New Orleans East Hospital Foundation.
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.
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.
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.
Basma Faris, MD
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 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
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.
Rosemarie Cannarella Lorenzetti, MD, MPH, CCMS
Associate Dean Student Services, Eastern Division, West Virginia University
Professor, Department of Family Medicine
Dr. Rosemarie (Rosie) Cannarella Lorenzetti is the Associate Dean of Student Services, West Virginia University and a Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the WVU-Eastern Campus. A physician with over 37 years experience, she has been involved in teaching Family Medicine residents and medical students for over 30 years. In June 1994, she started a Rural Family Residency Program with another physician at the location of her general practice. In May 2000, while practicing full time as a physician, she earned her MPH degree from WVU School of Public Health and served as Health officer of Jefferson County, WV from 2000-2008.
In 2013, she and several other faculty started a Culinary Medicine program for the third year medical students on Eastern Campus after receiving an educational grant from the Dean. Five faculty members developed a program called MedCHEFS (Medical student Curriculum in Heathy eating, Exercise and Food Science). They collaborated with a local chef and culinary program at a community college, and began monthly cooking and food prep classes to all the third year students on the regional campus. After 2 yrs, those cooking classes and nutrition education spread to the main campus and other state regional campus for 3rdyear medical students. She also helped the medical students to begin a Culinary Interest group for the health Science Students on the main campus.
In 2016 she created a new separate track at WVU Medical School. The Culinary and Lifestyle Medicine Track was approved by LCME in 2017. Currently, 27 students are enrolled in years 1, 2 and 3 that are getting enhanced education in Food as Nutrition, and other pillars of health – such as adequate physical activity, stress management and restorative sleep.
She is actively involved at the Community level in both research and service, teaching cooking classes at the local Food Pantry, and leading projects involving patient group visits, community cooking demos and work with the local food pantry. She has presented extensively at state and national education group conferences about Culinary Medicine and various medical conditions benefiting from a nutritious eating plan. Her special interests are obesity and the metabolic syndrome and sees patients at the WVU Center for Diabetes and Metabolic Health working specifically with patients to follow a lower carb Mediterranean Diet for weight loss and reversal of metabolic syndrome. She also has a primary care practice at Harpers Ferry Family Medicine.
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.
Cary Neff
Chief Culinary Officer
Conscious Food Solutions
Chef Cary Neff is devoted to cuisine that is both satisfying and healthful. Chef Neff helped revolutionized healthy cooking with the introduction of Conscious Cuisine,®. A quest to utilize food as medicine to demonstrate wellness through conscious efforts to select, prepare and enjoy nutrient dense foods that excite the senses with satisfying flavors and immune boosting goodness. Early pioneer and leading voices in of the plant-based food movement. Helping to inspire the re-invention of the American dinner plate within fast casual, fine dining, education, senior care and healthcare food service industries. His New York Times best-selling cookbook, Conscious Cuisine, reflects this “savoring the moment” philosophy with recipes that excite the senses with inviting flavors, textures, aroma and savory comfort. By consciously highlighting and celebrating fresh seasonal produce and nutritious whole grains with mindfully selected animal proteins as an adorning complement. Providing unparalleled flavor and balanced nutrition.
Chef Neff is the co-founder and chief culinary officer of Conscious Food Solutions, Inc. (CFS). CFS helps businesses develop new trend leading products and reputable food service concepts by creating crave-able culinary experiences, utilizing plant based food solutions. Utilizing a holistic and methodical approach to addressing the changing taste and wellness needs of today’s consumer.
Nimisha K. Parekh, FACG, AGAF
Clinical Professor, School of Medicine
University of California, Irvine
Dr. Nimisha Parekh intended to follow her grandfather’s footsteps and become an ophthalmologist. She liked the idea of having long-term relationships with patients. But after a few years in medical school at Tulane University in New Orleans, it was the digestive system that caught her eye.
“I was interested in all the new things happening in the diagnosis and treatment of digestive diseases, and I really liked doing procedures. Being a gastroenterologist would mean I could provide care for chronic diseases, allowing me to develop long-term relationships with patients, and I could also perform endoscopies and colonoscopies.”
After completing her residency in internal medicine at Tulane, Parekh went on to the University of Texas-Southwestern for a fellowship in gastroenterology and hepatology, and then to the University of Chicago for advanced training in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), making her a rare subspecialist in the condition. As director of UCI Health’s Inflammatory Bowel Disease Program in the H.H. Chao Comprehensive Digestive Disease Center, Parekh works with a multidisciplinary team to provide a seamless, humane approach to treating patients with IBD and related conditions that can result.
Leah Pryor
University of Vermont Medical Center
Executive Chef Manager
Chef Leah started her culinary career in 1994. She graduated the Culinary Institute of America with her AOS in culinary arts in 2000. She promptly took the Chef position at Fog Island Café where she ran the kitchen and externship program teaching young cooks the ways of from scratch, high volume breakfast and lunch cookery. She followed her passion for food to Vermont and took the chef position at Mary’s Restaurant Inn at Baldwin Creek. She worked closely with Chef/Owner Doug Mack who started the Vermont Fresh Network in 1996, way before farm to table was a movement.
In 2010 Chef Leah decided to make a change and went to work for the University of Vermont Medical Center. In 2017 she was awarded a UVMMC Foundation grant where she has been able to create the Chef Educator role and expand Culinary Medicine at UVMMC. There she continues to be an integral part of the Culinary Medicine team and program. In 2020 she was promoted to Executive Chef Manager in Nutrition Services where she oversees the culinary aspects of Patient Services and continues her work in leading the Culinary Medicine program.
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.
Leah Sarris, MBA, RD, LDN, CCMS
Director of Culinary Marketing & Education
Wild Hive
Leah Sarris is an educator, chef and dietitian with over 15 years experience in innovative industry training, strategic planning and program implementation. Her wide-ranging professional experience spans from foodservice to agriculture, education, administration, and community engagement.
In her current role as Director of Culinary Marketing & Education at Wild Hive (wildhive.com), Leah brings a unique combination of culinary education, culinary medicine, and business acumen to develop and implement innovative educational experiences that showcase clients’ products to a diverse range of stakeholders.
Leah is particularly excited to provide professionals and community members alike the opportunity to learn how to create and eat great food that just happens to be good for them.
Prior to Wild Hive, Leah helped pioneer the culinary medicine movement by developing and implementing the United States’ premier interdisciplinary culinary medicine program at Tulane University, which is now being utilized by over 50 medical schools across the country. She also served as the executive director for the nonprofit New Orleans Culinary & Hospitality Institute, navigating the business through its startup and the pandemic.
Leah has been an educator and innovator throughout most of her career, and other past roles included improving food within K-12 schools through training and advocacy, teaching Culinary Nutrition at Johnson & Wales University, farming, product development and foodservice consulting.
Leah has a Bachelor of Science in Culinary Nutrition from Johnson & Wales University and a Master of Business Administration from Tulane University. Leah was honored as a Top Female Achiever by New Orleans Magazine in 2018, awarded Gambit’s 40 Under 40 in 2014, and presented with a Best Chefs Louisiana designation from American Culinary Federation New Orleans in 2017. She currently serves on the Culinary Medicine Specialist Board and is a board member of SPROUT NOLA.
Emily Schlag, RD, CDN
Director at SBH Center for Culinary Medicine and Teaching Kitchen
New York, NY
Emily Schlag, general manager of the Teaching Kitchen and Center for Culinary Medicine, a part of the new SBH Health and Wellness Center which opens this fall. Emily is a chef and registered dietitian who was most recently assistant program director at the Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine at Tulane University in New Orleans. She holds a B.S. degree in Culinary Nutrition from Johnson & Wales University and is working towards a Master’s degree in in public health with a focus on nutrition. She is fulfilling her dream of combining her passion for food with her desire to inspire others to make positive changes in their health and well-being. This includes providing nutrition education in the form of hands-on cooking classes, which will be a key component of our culinary center.
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.
Anne VanBeber, PhD, RD, CCMS
Arlington, TX
Nutritional Science Faculty Member, Texas Christian University
Certified on August 1, 2016.
Dr. Anne VanBeber, CCMS, has been a Nutritional Sciences faculty member at Texas Christian University (TCU) since 1992 where she served as department chair for 22 years. 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 2009 and the College of Science and Engineering Award for Distinguished Achievement as a Creative Teacher and Scholar in 2018.
Dr. VanBeber was instrumental in bringing the Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine (Health Meets Food) program to Fort Worth in 2014. In a collaboration between TCU, UT Southwestern Moncrief Cancer Center, and the University of North Texas Health Science Center, she has worked to enhance the nutrition training of over 200 medical and allied health students. 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.
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.
Ex-Officio
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.
Kerri Dotson, MBA, RDN, LDN, CCMS
Washington, DC
Director of Operations & Executive Chef – George Washington University Culinary Medicine Program
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.
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.
