Food as Medicine Summit

Will McIntee is the Senior Advisor for Public Engagement handling rural, agriculture, food, nutrition, and diaspora community engagement at The White House. He served as the National Rural Engagement Director on the Biden-Harris campaign. He previously served at the U.S. Department of the Interior during the Obama-Biden Administration, in the Office of Congressman Bruce Braley (IA-01) in Iowa, and as the Midwest Outreach Director for the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition. A native of Iowa, Will is a proud alum of Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa.

Merrill leads inclusive policy and advocacy for Elevance Health. She works collaboratively with consumers, advocates and stakeholders to ensure the interests and preferences of our diverse communities and membership inform Elevance’s health benefits approaches and healthcare programs. Ms. Friedman advances the integration of the independent living philosophy and the National Advisory Board (NAB) on Improving Healthcare Services for Older Adults and People with Disabilities six foundational principles throughout policy, programs, individual interactions, and business practices. In addition, she leads strategic partnerships with national and local organizations to advance access, health equity, and inclusive public policy.  

Previously, Ms. Friedman was interim director at a nonprofit foster care agency serving children and adolescents who experienced severe neglect and abuse. She also served as president and chief executive officer of a private organization that owned and operated residential treatment facilities, group homes and home and community-based services in several states for adolescents with mental health conditions, substance use disorders, and intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Ms. Friedman has served on numerous national boards and commissions.  She was appointed by President Barack Obama to the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities and by Governor Jennifer Granholm to the MI Statewide Independent Living Council where she served as Board Chair.  Currently, Ms. Friedman serves on the board of directors for the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI), the Institute for Exceptional Care (IEC), and the American Occupational Therapy Foundation (AOTF), and is an Advisory Board member for Uplift and ADvancing States’ MLTSS Institute.  

Taylor Newman, PhD, RDN, LD strives towards a world where everyone has access to adequate, nutritious foods. Taylor’s doctoral research at the University of Georgia focused on produce prescription programs across the U.S. She now helps people nationwide live healthier lives as a Nutrition Program Development Manager with the Kroger Co., where she serves as a subject matter expert for Kroger’s Food as Medicine strategy.

Lamiaa Bounahmidi is the Founder and CEO of WeTheTrillions, a technology-driven healthcare company that provides comprehensive remote care services to patients with chronic conditions focusing around Medically-Tailored Meals. These services include medical nutrition therapy, remote patient monitoring, remote evaluation and management, and delivery of medically tailored meals. Lamiaa is also a visiting researcher at Stanford Medicine Prevention Center and passionate about using technology to drive positive change in the healthcare industry.

Before founding WeTheTrillions, Lamiaa worked at Sanofi Headquarters in Paris, where she worked on launching the first Blood Glucose Monitor in partnership with Apple as well as research and development of insulin biosimilars. She also worked on financial inclusion with Nobel Prize winner Pr. Muhammad Yunus. Lamiaa’s dedication to improving healthcare outcomes led her to develop two major innovations focusing on the use of AI and machine learning in healthcare to make food as medicine a reliable intervention all stakeholders can get behind.

Amy Yaroch, Ph.D., is the Executive Director of the Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition (GSCN). She also holds a Special Dean’s appointment as Professor in the Department of Health Promotion, Social and Behavioral Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, as well as an appointment as Adjunct Professor in the Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Dr. Yaroch has over 20 years of experience in leading implementation of public health nutrition programs and evaluation efforts. Prior to joining GSCN, Dr. Yaroch was a Program Director and Behavioral Scientist at the National Cancer Institute where she worked across the areas of nutrition, dietary assessment, survey development, obesity prevention, and skin cancer prevention. Since joining GSCN in 2009, Dr. Yaroch has been leading efforts in childhood obesity prevention, food insecurity, food systems, and program and process evaluation. She is currently the Project Director on a 4-year cooperative agreement with USDA NIFA to lead the GusNIP National Training, Technical Assistance, Evaluation, and Information Center (NTAE). Dr. Yaroch has authored more than 170 papers, four book chapters, and has been awarded grants and contracts from federal and non-federal sources across a broad range of areas.

Dondeena Bradley leads the Wellbeing Center of Expertise for Mars Snacking based in Chicago, IL where she serves as the global lead for health & wellbeing portfolio strategic initiatives.  In 2019, Tiller/Simon & Schuster published her book Living Full Circle: Simple Ancient Rituals for Modern Life that identifies the benefits of wellbeing practices and translates them into practical ways that people can adopt into their daily lives.

She has spent thousands of hours challenging teams to deliver breakthroughs in areas focused upon human health and wellbeing with consistent success in diverse cultures at several companies including Campbell Soup, McNeil/Johnson & Johnson, PepsiCo, WW (formerly Weight Watchers) and Barilla.

Dondeena is at her best when bringing people together with diverse perspectives to identify common ground that creates traction toward a better outcome.  She is trained in developing new products, services, and processes designed for transformation and business growth.  She is passionate about human-centered leadership and building effective relationships with cross-functional leaders to achieve superior results. 

Her formal education includes a Doctor of Philosophy in Food Science from The Ohio State University and a Master of Science in Nutrition from Purdue University.  She believes in the broader view that our wellbeing fuels welldoing, is an avid reader, a big systems thinker, and as a former competitive athlete, she loves being a sport spectator while spending time with family and friends.

Robin McKinnon is a Senior Advisor for Nutrition Policy at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN). Dr. McKinnon works to advance FDA’s nutrition initiatives across CFSAN including FDA’s initiatives outlined in the White House National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition and Health. Prior to joining FDA, Dr. McKinnon was a Health Policy Specialist at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health and led policy-relevant research activities on diet, obesity and physical activity. Dr. McKinnon has a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration from the George Washington University and a Master in Public Administration from Harvard University.

In both her professional and personal life, she has a passion for finding positive ways to make a difference, which is at the heart of everything she does. Sarah graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and completed her dietetic internship at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.  She then built a strong foundation in nutrition and public health before moving to Del Monte Foods where she supported nutrition and regulatory for consumer and pet foods.  

In 2014, she joined Kellogg Company, supporting the Kashi and Morningstar Farms brands. Today, she serves as Senior Director, Wellbeing and Regulatory where she combines her passion for public health and love of consumers to unlock growth. In this capacity, she ensures strategic outcomes and helps brands positively impact both people and the planet while meeting the needs of their diverse range of consumers.  

She has been appointed to the future leadership team of North America Cereal Co. to serve as the Chief Wellbeing and ESG Officer when the company spins off in January 2024 and looks forward to furthering the impact the new company will have.  

Sarah also volunteers her time with Kellogg’s Business Employee Resource Groups focused on veterans.  She enjoys spending time with her family and enjoying the outdoors.  

Dr. Gillespie is Chief Health Officer at Umoja Supply Chain Solutions, where he co-leads the Umoja Food for Health division. He is also a Senior Advisor at the Stanford University School of Medicine’s Clinical Excellence Research Center and a Research Affiliate at the Yale University School of Medicine’s Center for Digital Health Innovation.

Dr. Gillespie is lead author of the book “Patient-Centric Analytics in Health Care: Driving Value in Clinical Settings and Psychological Practice”, and his research has appeared in numerous academic journals and industry periodicals, including Academy of Management Review, American Behavioral Scientist, European Journal of Social Psychology, Harvard Business Review, International Journal of Healthcare Management, and Strategic Management Journal. Dr. Gillespie’s education includes Northwestern University, MS, PhD; Harvard University, JD; Princeton University, MPA; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, BS; Carnegie Mellon University; and Rand Graduate School. He is fortunate and honored to have served his country in the United States Army Reserves.

Jackie Schulz is the Global Nutrition Director for Griffith Foods. Prior to her role at Griffith Foods, Jackie held roles in nutrition science, marketing, and regulatory affairs at Kraft Heinz, Nestlé, The Kellogg Company and Barilla. Jackie started her career as a clinical dietitian with a focus on pediatrics and received a Master of Science in Clinical Nutrition from Rush University in Chicago, Illinois and a Bachelor of Science in Dietetics from the University of California at Davis.

Claire is chief executive officer of Feeding America, a nationwide network of 200 food banks and 60,00 food pantries and meal programs. Prior, she was executive vice president and global treasurer at Walmart, partner-in-charge of the Baton Rouge office and tax practice leader for Adams and Reese LLP, dispute resolution practice leader for the southwest region at PwC, and assistant secretary for the Office of Legal Affairs for the State of Louisiana.   

Claire has served on boards such as Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children, Thurgood Marshall College Fund, National Urban League and National Association of Black Accountants. She currently serves on the board of New York Life and Abbott Laboratories.

Claire was named among TIME Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world in 2020. She holds a Master of Laws in Taxation from Southern Methodist University and a Juris Doctor from Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge.

Ms. Freishtat is the Senior Director of Feeding Change with the Milken Institute. She is an experienced director, transformative leader and strategist with a 20-year track record developing and implementing food system policies and programs. Holly served as Baltimore City’s first Food Policy Director and Chief of Food Policy & Planning where she founded and directed the Baltimore Food Policy Initiative. Holly spent over a decade building an equitable and resilient food environment by creating policies and programs that directly impact health & economic disparities. As a result, Baltimore City has become internationally renowned for innovative food governance and leadership. Holly has received national and international recognition for her public speaking skills and food systems expertise. She has presented at 125 international and national speaking engagements and has been interviewed by CNN, NBC, Huffington Post, Politico and the Associated Press. In addition, Holly has been awarded numerous accolades for her contributions to food systems, including the Mayors Medallion for Meritorious Service Award, Maryland Daily Record’s Top 100 women, and the 2016 Milan Urban Food Policy Pact Award. Freishtat has served as a food systems strategist, agricultural marketing director, nutrition educator, and grower. She holds an M.S. in Agriculture, Food, and Environment from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science & Policy at Tufts University, a B.S. in Nutrition from the University of Vermont, and an executive certificate from Carey Business School.

Dexter Shurney, MD, MBA, MPH, FACLM, is Chief Health Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Officer at Adventist Health. He is also President of the Blue Zones Well-Being Institute, a 501(c)3 research subsidiary of Adventist Health that focuses on applied population health research, including social determinants, payment reform, and lifestyle medicine. The institute also advises healthcare executives on value-based strategies and operations.

Previously, Dr. Shurney held the position of Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President, Clinical Affairs at Foodsmart by Zipongo, where he led a national food as medicine strategy employing tele-nutrition solutions to address poor nutrition and food insecurity. A licensed physician, Dr. Shurney is board-certified in both preventive medicine and lifestyle medicine, and is a highly regarded national authority on the healthcare industry with significant expertise in health insurance, employee health, and well-being.

His unique business expertise comes from various roles he has performed during his career as a senior healthcare executive. Former leadership positions have included Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan; Chief Medical Officer and Executive Director of Globlal Employee  Benefits at  Cummins, Inc.; Chief Medical Director of the Employee Health Plan at Vanderbilt University and Medical Center; Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Healthways; and Senior Advisor of Managed Care Strategy at Amgen.

He also previously held dual faculity appointments at Vanderbilt University’s Medical Center and Owens Graduate School of Business. Dr. Shurney shares some of his expertise and thought leadership in his book, Integrating Wellness into Your Disease Management Programs, which he coauthored with John Harris. The publication is a how-to strategic guide for employers that want to innovate their approaches to chronic condition management.

Dr. Shurney’s career achievements and interest in employer wellness programs, innovation in payment models, and disease management led to his involvement in the Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO), which represents 100-plus large-employer group members. In addition to serving as vice-chair of the HERO Board of Directors, Dr. Shurney is immediate past-president and a Fellow of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) and still serves as ACLM representative to the American Medical Association House of Delegates. He also serves as an independent director on several other boards: the National Association of Managed Care Physicians, Bon Secour Mercy Health Foundation, and Population Health Alliance. A well-regarded keynote speaker and facilitator at industry conferences and corporate meetings, he has appeared on NBC Today and in The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, and numerous trade, professional, and consumer publications.

Dr. Shurney received his B.S. from Loma Linda University and his M.D. from Howard University College of Medicine. He also earned an MBA and MPH from the University of Detroit/Mercy and the Medical College of Wisconsin, respectively.

G.B. Pratt has a passion for healthcare innovation and delivering services that exceed expectations.

With a history of GI issues and a desire to help patients take control of their health, he started ModifyHealth in 2018 to bring relief to those suffering from chronic conditions where dietary modification is a recommended treatment. ModifyHealth is on a mission to change lives by making food as medicine simple and sustainable.

Prior to ModifyHealth, G.B. helped launch EndoChoice, a developer of innovative healthcare products and services for the GI space. EndoChoice grew from a startup in 2008 to public offering in 2015 (NYSE: GI) and final sale to Boston Scientific in 2016 (NYSE: BSX).

G.B. has served in a variety of management positions for healthcare organizations.  He was the co-founder and CEO of VLink, an  integration platform that was ultimately sold to Portico Systems, a partner company of Safeguard Scientifics (NYSE: SFE).  From 2002 to 2006 he held several roles, including Vice President of Sales for Eko Systems, a provider of hospital-based EMR’s for the perioperative space.

When not in the office, G.B. enjoys spending time with family and friends, playing golf and rooting for Philly sports.

Jaime Dircksen serves as the Vice President, Community Health & Well-Being at Trinity Health leading initiatives to optimize health for people experiencing poverty and other vulnerabilities across the 25-state system. She oversees all CHWB operations, including: advancing policies and programs that promote health equity and dismantle racism; investing in our communities through community benefit compliance, grantmaking and community investing; and advancing social care through collaborating with care teams to expand access to healthcare and address patient social needs. Jaime joined Trinity Health in July 2016, with over 20 years of public health experience leading large-scale planning, program and policy design efforts through public and private partnerships. She earned her Master’s Degree from the University of Chicago at the School of Social Service Administration.

Tony Freytag
Executive Vice President and a founder of Crunch Pak Sliced Apples. Tony and the founders
figured out a way to increase consumption of apples by slicing them and keep them from
browning and today Crunch Pak in its own brand along with Disney, Nickelodeon and other
prominent licensors, supply over 65 million servings per year of healthy snacking.
Today Tony works tirelessly at all levels of government and the produce associations such as
International Fresh Produce Association to promote Food as Medicine. It works.

When asked for a future headline Freytag commented, “Good Eating puts big pharma out of
business”.

As one of Sifter’s founding leaders, Judy Seybold drives Sifter’s nutrition innovation, government affairs, and scientific disciplines delivering Nutrition as a Service® digital technology for health and retail organizations. Judy has an MS in Food Science from the University of IL and is a Licensed, Registered Dietitian and Certified Lifestyle Counselor. She brings regulatory rigor, clinical research expertise and nutrition applications experience that deliver scalable Food as Medicine solutions. Judy is a retail pioneer that has advanced a wide range of app tools, hundreds of retail-consumer shelf-edge programs across the US created from metadata-driven content. While in R&D research, Judy passionately drove nutrition business strategies that included approval of Vitamin D in cheese products, Oat health claims and AHA certifications. Judy brings decades of insight growing healthy brands in Fortune 100 companies Quaker Oats and Kraft Foods, working with health start-ups including SPINS, ItemMaster, InteliChoice, LabelInsight, healthyAisles and has managed several NIH-funded research studies while at Feinberg Northwestern Medical School. Judy represents Sifter on the Tufts’ FNII Food as Medicine and Nutrition Security working groups creating solutions to support the White House Initiative on Hunger, Nutrition and Health.

Emily Hochman is the CEO+ Co-Founder of Wellory, a virtual care company tackling chronic conditions by connecting individuals with in-network nutrition providers for little-to-no cost. Their mission is to support 100 million Americans with life-changing 1:1 nutrition counseling by 2030.

Emily is also an impact scout investor at Story Ventures,  Board Advisor at Wellfare, and early stage startup advisor for founders who hustle. She is an active member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, an advocate for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals supporting women and wellbeing, and a certified health coach.   

Emily has been named Forbes 30 Under 30, Most Inspirational Female Entrepreneur, featured in TechCrunch, Business Insider, Well+Good, and Thrive Global, and a recognized leader by the White House. 

Dr. Maycie Elchoufi is board-certified in Internal Medicine and is also a Diplomate of the American Board of Obesity Medicine.  She has an extensive and diverse background in clinical practice that ranges from outpatient to hospital settings. Dr. Elchoufi is a physician entrepreneur and founded a successful medical practice specializing in obesity treatment and rooted in lifestyle medicine principles. She is passionate about food and nutrition, and she has completed the Culinary Medicine Certification program at Tulane University. She is continuing her journey by earning additional certification through the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. 

Dr. Elchoufi currently works as a medical director at Humana, a managed healthcare organization, where she has served as a subject matter expert on obesity and nutrition. She is dedicated to leveraging lifestyle medicine principles as a foundational tool to support individuals in achieving their best health. 

Angie Kalousek Ebrahimi oversees the operations and growth of a suite of clinically proven lifestyle medicine programs for Blue Shield of California’s members.  Kalousek-Ebrahimi and her team work to drive seamless operations, as well as enrollment and engagement in the lifestyle medicine interventions under the Wellvolution brand.  She strongly believes that lifestyle medicine can transform the current health care model by introducing clinically effective, cost effective, and non-invasive lifestyle approaches into the care continuum. She, herself, has incorporated lifestyle medicine into her own life to prevent disease and live in optimal health.  Kalousek-Ebrahimi is strategically working to promote Blue Shield of California’s philosophy that lifestyle is medicine.

Prior to joining Blue Shield in 2010, Kalousek-Ebrahimi worked as the Wellness Program Manager at Visa, Inc. where she created and implemented a new suite of global wellness programs for Visa employees.  Part of her role at Visa was to incorporate Visa wellness programming with health plan offerings so that employees had a seamless experience.  Prior to her time at Visa, Kalousek-Ebrahimi served as the Fitness Director at the Sports Club LA in San Francisco where she oversaw a staff of 60 trainers, nutritionists, and sports coordinators.  In her role there, she also managed new-member fitness programs, trainer education, and direct private training sales.  She has also worked in marketing, business planning, and accounting.

Kalousek-Ebrahimi holds an M.B.A. degree from Golden Gate University, a B.S. degree in Business from the University of California, Haas School of Business, Berkeley, and is a Certified Holistic Lifestyle Coach.

Sarah Mastrorocco is Vice President and General Manager of Health for Instacart. A longtime Instacart veteran and leader, Sarah today oversees Instacart Health, designed to support businesses, nonprofits and consumers across three key areas: Nutrition Security, Making Healthier Choices Easier, and Food as Medicine. Sarah has played an integral role at Instacart since joining as the first member of the company’s business development team in 2014. During her tenure at Instacart, she’s taken on various leadership positions across Business Development, Account Management, and Catalog. Prior to this current role, Sarah oversaw and scaled Instacart’s Pickup business.

Leslie Jefferson is a Certified Nutrition Specialist with a master’s degree in Nutrition and Integrative Health and an MBA in Information Security.  As the Community Health Manager for Giant Food, she cultivates innovative food as medicine programing and coordinates solutions for community partner Nutrition Incentive Programs. She enjoys motivating others to find their way to optimum health using a holistic and personalized nutrition approach. As the Co-Chair Prince George’s County Healthy Eating, Active Living Food as Medicine Committee, she used her experience in project management and retail nutrition to create Prince George’s Fresh –  a county based food as medicine program. When it’s time to relax she hangs out with an audio book, works on making the perfect pizza dough, or works out with a good ‘HIIT’ video.

Allison Delaney is the Director of Health & Wellness at Stop & Shop. She is the founder and leader of the Stop & Shop Retail Dietitian Program, Nutrition Partners. In her role, she oversees the Nutrition Partners program and Stop & Shop’s team of registered dietitians. She also leads the development and execution of Stop & Shop’s health & wellness strategy. Prior to building the Nutrition Partners program, Allison held various roles within the Ahold Delhaize organization over the past 9 years, including time in regulatory, sustainability and most recently working as a Private Brands Category Manager. Allison has been a registered dietitian for over a decade and is passionate about making healthy food and nutrition education easily accessible to everyone. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her husband and 2 little boys!

Dr. Shideh Majidi is the Associate Director of the Childhood and Adolescent Diabetes Program at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC. Her primary clinical and research interests are in behavioral and psychosocial aspects of care in youth and young adults with diabetes. She also has a strong interest in building and improving diabetes clinical programs to ensure all diabetes patients receive complete and individualized diabetes care.

Emiliano joined Bunge in 2015. As Bunge’s VP of Corporate Development he co-led the acquisition of Loders Croklaan and the creation of Bunge’s Global B2B Oils segment, Bunge Loders Croklaan. He created the Nutrition business unit to serve customers in the infant, sports, and medical nutrition industries, and to develop nutritional ingredients with health outcomes in mind.

Prior to joining Bunge, he spent 7 years at McKinsey & Company serving clients in the food, agriculture, and healthcare industries.

Emiliano holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and a degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Buenos Aires. 

Susan Topping is the Sr. Director of Food, Policy & Impact at the Capital Area Food Bank. In her current role, Susan focuses on developing strategic partnerships with healthcare and workforce development institutions to help address food insecurity’s root causes. She also oversees the CAFB’s Nutrition Education team. In previous roles spanning 18 years, Susan has overseen sustainable food growing projects, nutrition and food systems education, and, most recently, the management of the CAFB’s relationships with its 450+ nonprofit partners, creating critical capacity building initiatives to enable targeted food distribution in areas of greatest need.

Dr. Geeta Maker-Clark is the Director of Integrative Nutrition and Advocacy at NorthShore University Health System and Clinical Assistant Professor and Co-Director of the Culinary Medicine program at the University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine. Geeta has spent two decades studying integrative medicine, nutritional science, botanical medicine, mind-body medicine, and natural childbirth in health clinics all over the world. She has lectured nationally and internationally on food as medicine and culinary medicine. Dr. Maker-Clark started the Food is Power program on the South Side of Chicago to empower youth to make healthier choices, with a curriculum that focuses on decolonized, holistic food education. Geeta was recognized as a national leader in food justice activism with a Castanea Fellowship from 2019-2022 and the Mesa Refuge Michael Pollan Fellowship in Food Journalism in 2021. Since 2016 she has founded and led the annual Food as Medicine CME Symposium at the Chicago Botanic Garden- bringing the leading voices in nutrition, cooking, and food justice to educate health care professionals and the public. 

Dr. Maker-Clark believes in transforming the way we think about medicine and looks to ancient wisdom and modern struggles as opportunities to heal with the medicines that are all around us.

Christina is the Director of Emerging Science, Nutrition and Regulatory Affairs, Ocean Spray Cranberries. She leads a team responsible for providing scientific substantiation for the development of functional health products and regulatory guidance for messaging and claims.

During her tenure, Christina successfully obtained the first FDA qualified health claim for a food (cranberry) to help reduce an acute urinary tract infection, as well as novel foods and GRAS approvals. Christina also leads the emerging science team, spearheading several projects with start-up companies, evaluating technologies from farm to fork to help accelerate innovation and sustainability initiatives.

As an influencer, she has taken on roles in cross sector initiatives. She is Chair of the IAFNS Bioactives committee and the Cognitive Health working group. She serves as Treasurer of the National Berry Crops Alliance board and Vice Chair of the Juice Products Assn Board. Christina participates actively in the National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine Food Forum as well as the Tufts Friedman School Food and Nutrition Innovation Institute as the co-chair of the Food is Medicine working group, where she collaborates with cross sector partners to work on  important food and nutrition issues.

Christina received her doctorate at the Food Science and Human Nutrition Department, University of Florida and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard School of Public Health.

Nadja has an undergraduate degree in chemistry from King’s College, London, and a Ph.D. in quantum chemistry from St. Catharine’s College, Cambridge. With yet another diagnosis of cancer in the family, Nadja founded Plantable as a turnkey solution to effectively change dietary habits to reverse diet-related chronic disease. Prior to founding Plantable, Nadja was a managing director at Goldman Sachs in London. She holds the Certificate in Culinary Nutrition from the Natural Gourmet Institute. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children.

Since 2007, Lance Chrisman has served as executive director of the Elevance Health Foundation, overseeing the company’s social responsibility strategy.

With more than 30 years of experience in the food and wellness, Jonathan has a track record for building businesses that make a difference. These include the first course in culinary nutrition and a nutritional restaurant at The Culinary Institute of America, development work on nutritionally-focused Seasons 52 at Darden Restaurants, numerous farm-to-table food ventures, and most recently co-founding Keen Growth Capital, an Impact Fund investing in Food as Medicine, Functional Foods and related technologies.

As co-founder and CEO at Advanced Micronutrition, he and the team provide evidence-based chronic disease solutions affecting over 100 million Americans – Obesity, Diabetes and Heart Health.  Keen’s commitment to Full Circle Impact™, furthers the fund’s mission by providing support for emerging food entrepreneurs, food technologies and the food insecure by donating 5% of fund profits to related not-for-profit entitiies.

Jonathan graduated from New College of Florida and has earned Masters’ degrees from Cornell University and the New York University Stern School of Business. 

Since 2019, Nathan Bernstein has served as senior vice president of business development and partnerships at Tangelo, overseeing the company’s strategic partnerships and managed care strategy. In this role, Nathan leads Tangelo’s mission to democratize access to affordable healthy food and improve the health of the socially vulnerable through the administration of food benefit and food as medicine  programs that address SDoH, maternal health, diet related chronic conditions, post discharge recovery and as a supplemental benefit.  In addition, he oversees investor relations and Tangelo’s capital markets strategy.

Nathan is passionate about removing barriers and promoting equitable access to nutrition and healthcare particularly among minority groups, seniors, rural residents, those with disabilities and low-income individuals. Nathan has more than 20 years of experience analyzing, investing in and scaling healthcare and technology companies. Prior to joining the founding team at Tangelo, he served as senior managing director at First New York LLC, a global proprietary trading firm headquartered in Manhattan as a portfolio manager focused on domestic and international SaaS, healthtech, banking, biotech and pharmaceuticals. He managed risk across complex trading pairs including share class arbitrage, dislocated ETF, corporate actions, derivative/options spreads and Forex.

Nathan is also a private investor and former multi-unit restaurant owner which fueled his passion for food as medicine. Prior to asset management, Bernstein was an investment banking analyst at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette performing financial modeling and financial statement analysis in the healthcare division.

Nathan received his bachelor’s in Business Administration from The University of Michigan’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business with high honors concentrating in corporate finance, macroeconomics and corporate strategy.

Leanne enters health transformation and innovation with the unique combination of deep knowledge of behavior change science, the creativity of a program designer, and the experience of a lifestyle medicine pioneer. A behavioral scientist by training, Leanne leverages her trade to design irresistibly engaging and scientifically sound consumer programs, products, and experiences to facilitate meaningful and lasting health behavior change and health optimization.
One of her greatest and most rewarding career challenges was developing a pioneering digital and virtual forward lifestyle and culinary medicine program to transform an integrated healthcare system to bring lifestyle to the forefront of care delivery. Leanne is a national thought leader on facilitating meaningful and lasting health behavior change. She has secured and led multi-million NIH-funded innovation research and has authored numerous scientific articles, book chapters, and white papers, and presented hundreds of presentations, trainings, lectures, and interviews.
Currently Leanne serves as Head of Partnerships for Diet ID, a digital health company delivering a frictionless yet scientifically valid approach to measure and optimize diet quality at scale. Leanne also serves as Founder & CEO of Evolve Health Advisors, a company that advises organizations on the design and implementation of health transformation products and initiatives.

Scott is Co-Founder and Co-Chair of The NOURISH Movement, a consortium focused on bringing together the
food, health and tech ecosystems around a powerful shared purpose: connecting innovators and their
innovations to empower human health through food—sustainably. NOURISH is a do tank, not a think tank, and
is working to help foster and driver private sector, market-oriented innovation in the emerging food as medicine
space, and was founded by visionary leaders at Griffith Foods, Mars, Mayo Clinic, Geisinger, Roots Food Group,
Compass Group, Novo Nordisk and Devenish, and supported by a global ecosystem of contributors.

Scott also leads the FoodNEXT practice at Clareo – a leading strategy, innovation, design, and new venturing
partner helping food companies design and accelerate their next horizon to enable a healthier and more
sustainable food system.  FoodNEXT by Clareo works up and down the value chain, helping bold leaders
transform themselves drive new growth in two fundamental themes: human health (food is medicine) and a
planetary health (regenerative future). Scott brings nearly 30 years consulting and operational leadership
experience and has a track record of delivering outcomes, working with senior leader spanning global
organizations in the public and private sector and high growth emerging firms. He also co-leads its Corporate
Venturing practice area, focusing on accelerating outside-in innovation through partnering and investing.

He is a regular contributor to The World Innovation Network (TWIN), which was founded and incubated at the
Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He has been also a guest lecturer in the Executive
Education Program at the Mendoza School of Management (Notre Dame) and has been a featured speaker on
innovation for leading organizations such as Kraft, Coca Cola, Whirlpool, The National Critical Issues Forum for
Healthcare, The National Security Agency, and others.

Scott also applies his professional background to serve others.  He serves as an Advisor for Partners in
Compassionate Care (PCC), an emerging NGO that has built a hospital and network of clinics in South Sudan that
have treated over 120,000 people the past 10 years and has been active in mentoring and training
entrepreneurs in developing countries.

Scott holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management.  He operates out of Clareo’s headquarters in
Chicago, IL, but he and his wife, Dianne, enjoy a full life together with their three lovely girls in Michigan.

Devon Klatell joined The Rockefeller Foundation in 2013. As Vice President, Food Initiative, she leads the Foundation’s work to advance a more nourishing and sustainable food system in the United States. Currently, Ms. Klatell is collaborating with schools, healthcare insurers, hospitals, food service businesses and policy advocates to increase consumption of healthy, protective foods by vulnerable communities. In addition, Ms. Klatell oversees our work to prevent wasted food in the U.S., which seeks to eliminate the enormous environmental, social, and economic costs caused by food waste.

Prior to taking on her current role, Ms. Klatell led the process to refresh the Foundation’s global point of view on food and agriculture. She also led the Foundation’s Strategic Planning team, which designed implementation models, resource plans, risk assessments and impact targets for the Foundation’s global initiatives. In that role, Devon worked on the Foundation’s initiatives to address energy poverty, connect unemployed African youth with the digital economy, and reduce postharvest losses. Before joining the Foundation, Devon was a management consultant at Katzenbach Partners and at Booz & Company. In these roles, she advised clients from a range of sectors on strategic, organizational, and employee engagement issues.

Ms. Klatell holds a B.A. from Harvard University in cognitive psychology and an M.A. in food systems from New York University, where she researched behavioral economics in addition to a broad array of cultural, historic, economic, and regulatory food issues.

Chef Robert E. Graham, MD, MPH is a Harvard-trained researcher and physician. Dr. Graham is board
certified in both Internal and Integrative Medicine, trained in Holistic and Functional Medicine. Dr.
Graham received a Master of Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health while completing
three additional fellowships in General Internal Medicine and Complementary and Integrative Medical
Therapies at Harvard Medical School as well as Medical Education at Mount Auburn Hospital in
Cambridge, Massachusetts. His clinical research focused on health disparities, integrative therapies
including dietary supplements amongst racial and ethnic minorities. He also completed course-work in
Mind/Body Medicine, Positive Psychology, Lifestyle Medicine, Culinary Medicine, Botanical and
Traditional Chinese Medicine. In 2018, Dr. Graham became one of less than fifty doctor/chef’s
worldwide, as he obtained his culinary degree from the Natural Gourmet Institute.

Dr. Graham is a public health scientist, health service researcher, TED speaker, food activist and Chef. Dr.
Graham believes medicine needs a FRESH start, together with his wife, they founded FRESH Medicine
and FRESH Med U. FRESH Medicine is an integrative health and wellness center located in NYC. FRESH is
an acronym for the five ingredients in their recipe to health: Food, Relaxation, Exercise, Sleep and
Happiness. Dr. Graham prescribes the "FRESH 5" for health and healing and has witnessed many
patients get off their medications and live happier, more fulfilling lives.

Dr. Graham is the proud son of a farmer and an El Salvadorian immigrant born and raised in Jackson
Heights in Queens, NYC. A lifelong "food fighter" and a leader in the field of Integrative/Functional and
Holistic Medicine has prescribed “food as medicine” for nearly 20 years, has taught over 1000
healthcare workers, mostly doctors, how to cook whole food, plant-based meals, and created the first
edible rooftop garden on a hospital in NYC. When not seeing patients, Dr. Graham trades his white lab
coat for chef’s whites with the goal of expanding his toolkit both for use as a healthcare provider and as
an advocate for a new model of integrative, “food-first” lifestyle-focused healthcare called Culinary
Medicine. Dr. Graham serves as the first Chief Health Officer of a food company called Performance
Kitchen where he not only advises but also designs and prescribes medically tailored meals for patients
with chronic diseases.

In 2019, he and Julie launched an online self-care "university," called FRESH MED U. FRESH MED U
allows people and companies to learn remotely, on their own time, using their intrinsic motivation to
achieve their FRESH goals and live healthier and happier lives. They currently consult with multiple
Fortune 2000 companies as corporate employee wellness vendors. In the fall of 2021, Dr. Graham was
asked to be part of NYC Mayor Eric Adams Food Transition team, focusing on institutional foods, a true
honor for a native New Yorker. On September 28, 2022, Dr. Graham, was asked to participate in person
in Washington, D.C. at the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. He continues to
be humbled by the opportunity to serve. He believes we are all here to serve others—our neighbors, our
communities, and even complete strangers. @freshmednyc

Georgina Dukes-Harris is a social justice advocate leading in a career that inspires social innovation through healthcare and technology. Georgina began her career in healthcare administration as a student at Clemson University where she managed student clinics and emergency department patient access in low-income, rural areas. She has a master’s degree in health administration from the Medical University of South Carolina, where she continued to build her experience in healthcare through academic medical center operations.

After graduation, she continued her work at Duke Health where she executed strategies bridging the gap between hospitals and community health initiatives. With over 13 years of experience in health equity, technology, population health, and strategic operations across the health industry, Georgina has the proven ability to use innovation design, implementation, and communication tactics to support organizations’ impact on the  communities they serve, patient outcomes, and social determinants of health. Georgina Dukes is now the Senior Director of Social Care Advocacy for Unite Us – a tech company created to address Social Determinants of Health by connecting social and health care. In this role, she is leading a national effort to increase awareness of social care, challenge systemic causes of poverty and health inequities, and strengthen community voices and experiences in partnership with Unite Us.

In recent years, Georgina has been a White House Administration PREVENTS speaker, received the Leaders in Diversity award, helped to launch the first statewide coordinated care network (NCCARE360), won the 2020 Women in Business, Community Outreach award, and was nominated for Forbes 30 under 30 in healthcare. Georgina also spoke on an expert panel for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation on Population Specific Data Gaps in 2021.

When Georgina is not advocating for health equity, innovation, and justice, you can find her with her husband and son, watching a Marvel superhero movie, blogging about a life experience, or on Instagram!

Alberto Gonzalez currently serves as Senior Advisor for External Engagement at the
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS).
Alberto’s role at FNS involves engaging healthcare, food, nutrition, and anti-hunger
partners on FNS’s more than 15 federal nutrition assistance programs and the
USDA’s nutrition security initiative to advance health equity.

Prior to his role at the USDA, Alberto was Senior Project Manager for Health Policy
at UnidosUS, where he worked on health and nutrition policy related to federal
government programs and led a federal legislative campaign to pass the Health
Equity and Accountability Act (HEAA) of 2020.

Before joining UnidosUS in 2018, he worked as a Senior State Advocacy Manager at
Community Catalyst in Boston, MA and served on the steering committee for the
Protecting Immigrant Families (PIF) Campaign. Alberto also held roles at the
California Immigrant Policy Center (CIPC) and the California State Assembly.
Gonzalez has a master’s degree in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of
Government and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and American Studies
from the University of California, Berkeley.

Pooja is a seasoned professional in the digital technology space with a focus on health and wellness. She currently holds a leadership role as a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) in charge of clinical partnerships, where she provides strategic guidance and direction in the development and implementation of health and wellness initiatives.
Pooja is a passionate advocate for Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) and has demonstrated her commitment to public policy by lobbying at the White House in DC. Representing Kern County for Kevin McCarthy’s office, Pooja participated in a public policy workshop with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, where she advocated for MNT and lobbied for public policy changes.

Pooja has a proven track record of success in the healthcare industry. She has displayed her RD competency and passed surveys and audits by CMS, CDPH, and the Joint Commission at hospital and skilled nursing settings. With her strong business acumen and grit, she has risen through the ranks in healthcare settings, from Clinical and Patient Services Manager to Director of Food and Nutrition Services.

Pooja’s efforts to promote food and nutrition education at the local level have been recognized with “proclamation letters” for two consecutive years. She currently serves as the California State Affiliate Representative for DBC – Dietitians in Business and Communications, a dietetic practice group with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Ken Erickson is the founder and CEO of IQPay (www.iqpay.com), the revolutionary SaaS
platform used by over 4,000 companies for issuing Smart Digital Purchases at 36,000 retail
locations nationwide. With a 30-year leadership record in driving consumer and healthcare
engagement, Ken is now leveraging the IQPay platform to solving the last mile in Food as
Medicine engagement and behaviors.

Prior to IQPay, Ken founded Employer Direct Healthcare, a bundled care solution for healthcare
providers and employers, Global Choice Healthcare, the first international medical travel
network, and its domestic counterpart, Healthplace America, and Value America. Ken has been
sought out as a strategic adviser and partner for numerous ventures focused on healthcare
behaviors and outcomes, including St. Jude Medical, Health Lumen, and Audax, which became
Rally Health.

Emily Hoffman leads work in the Personalized Nutrition space for Nestle USA, pursuing new business model opportunities and partnerships as a member of the New Business Ventures team. An experienced marketer and innovator, Emily has worked on various brands and initiatives over the past 14 years at Nestle. Prior to business school, Emily worked at the American Diabetes Association and the Advisory Board Company. Emily has a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in Communication and Psychology and an M.B.A. from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

Eric Watts currently serves as the Assistant Director of Civilian Employment as the head of  the STEP program for Veterans Services of the Carolinas. He previously served several  years as an HVRP Case Manager assisting residents of ABCCM’s Veterans Restoration  Quarters in Asheville, NC and other Veterans in Western North Carolina. Eric is a graduate  of Gateway Technical College with an Associate degree of Applied Sciences in Information  Technology, with a focus in Software and Hardware Support. Eric is a member of the  Mountain Area Workforce Development Board and is also a Nationally Certified Mental  Health First Aid Instructor. 

Eric is an Army Veteran and worked as a civilian employee for more than 16 years as the  Data Analyst and Safety Officer for the United States Navy Exchange Service Command in Great Lakes, IL. Eric’s military background, along with his many years of service in the  civilian sector of the military, drives his passion to assist and give back to our Veteran  community and their families who have sacrificed so much for their country.