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After completing a fellowship in bariatric medicine, Dr. Hamilton went to work helping patients afflicted by struggles with obesity. She founded A Better Weigh Center—a place for her patients to receive treatments ranging from bariatric surgery and medical weight loss to hormone therapy without judgment. As her practice grew, she began seeing more and more patients, but many had the same recurring issue—weight regain with the return of their other medical conditions. To provide results with longevity, she developed the “4 Pillars of Transformation,” a weight loss and wellness system reaching communities. Dr. Hamilton was able to better provide a treatment plan for each patient that addresses not only their disease but also the root cause and methods to prevent it from recurring. She now also trains other providers on the 4 Pillars program. She is also the author of Transformation Is a Mindset: The Journey to Changing Your Input and Your World.

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Dr. Kanwal has been a practicing naturopathic doctor in Vancouver since 2006 and is the only Naturopathic doctor trained in Canada in the Apo E Gene diet.

She has extensive experience and passionate about working with individuals who have rare genetic diseases and suffer many stress related conditions as a result such as mental health issues, insomnia, and low energy.

She helps to guide people living with rare diseases to increased mental wellness, energy, vitality and an overall higher standard of life – they often didn’t know was possible to experience with their condition.

She has 10 years of experience in sport medicine and treating a wide range of conditions such as cancer, hormonal imbalances for women and men, stress related conditions, pre and post natal care, cardiovascular disease, chronic fatigue, autoimmune, thyroid imbalances, digestive issues (IBS, Chron’s, Candida), Alzheimer’s (through the APOE Gene), sports related injuries and many more.

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MaryAnne was a caregiver and healthcare advocate for her parents for 20+ years, when 3-out-of-4 parents and in-laws were diagnosed with dementia. She is a speaker, writer, and educator on the challenges of family caregiving and the promise of person-centered care and technology, with a special focus on Alzheimer’s disease. She works tirelessly to advocate for other families impacted by dementia, and you will often find her on Capitol Hill or speaking at healthcare conferences around the country.

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Dr. Nell Smircina, DAOM, L.Ac., Dipl. OM is an advocate, educator and practitioner with a focus on the integration of acupuncture into America’s standard of care. Dr. Nell is the President of CSOMA, California’s oldest state acupuncture association and serves on the Advocacy Committee for the American Society of Acupuncturists. As the Director of Development for the American Acupuncture Council, she actively works to support the profession through many strategic initiatives. 

Clinically, Dr. Nell specializes in acupuncture for optimal post-surgical recovery, an area she researched during her doctoral program. Dr. Nell has completed her DAOM, a doctoral designation only the top 1% of Acupuncturists hold. As the Founder of PIQUE Health, an integrative medical practice in Beverly Hills, she provides an elevated healthcare experience for patients.

She has been featured as an SME on Good Day LA and Good Morning Arizona; and her work has appeared in Thrive Global and Acupuncture Today. She is a passionate international speaker on the topics of the integration of medicine and the constantly evolving healthcare industry.

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Mia Maysack, RN ret.

Mia Maysack Holistic Health Practitioner / Wellness Professional lives in Wisconsin. She lives daily with cluster headaches, post-infection chronic mega-migraine disorder, and fibromyalgia. Mia is the founder of Keepin’ Our Heads Up, a Facebook advocacy and support group, and Peace & Love, a wellness and life coaching practice for the chronically ill and is a columnist for Pain News Network.

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My name is Danielle and I was diagnosed with lupus 21 years ago. For years, I tried every holistic treatment I could get my hands on.  I have never been on any medications and just did my best to get through my days for my family.  I suffered silently. In August of 2017 I had the mother of all flares.

I began to research, “Diet and Lupus.”  I found the keto diet. In October of 2017 I made the lifestyle change to a ketogenic diet.  I removed all inflammatory foods from my diet and in a few weeks, I felt amazing and my energy level was through the roof.  It is now over 3.5 years later and my lupus is in remission.

I have no symptoms and blood work shows no inflammatory markers.  My doctor cannot confirm or deny that this way of life has anything to do with my remission, but told me not to change a thing.  I feel absolutely fabulous and I am very healthy. My cholesterol and blood pressure are perfect! What is most important is that I now function like a normal person.

I am a Certified Health and Life Coach and also have my RYT 500 Yoga Certification.

I have a need, want, desire, whatever you want to call it to help people gain back control of their health and happiness.

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Dr. Cheek is a retired family practice and alternative medicine physician. Trained conventionally, she realized in her second year of practice that conventional medicine doesn’t heal anything, but simply treats symptoms, maintaining disease. So she took it on herself to learn alternative medicine. She found true healing lies in lifestyle change. Energy medicines such as acupuncture, auricular therapy, and terrain homeopathy help trigger the body’s own healing processes. Because she could justify pain through alternative knowledge and get to the cause, she took on pain management in an area of the country where there was also a high level of abuse and addiction. In the course of her practice she was able to get people off opioids as their pain resolved through proper treatment. Although physically dependent on the opioids because of years of use, patients were able to decrease and eventually eliminate their opioids without withdrawal symptoms. She was also able to help addicts be free of their addiction. These are two different categories of patients. Pain management does not equate to being an addict.

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Gayle M Taylor-Ford, LSCSW, LCAC

Owner and executive director, Therapy Services, LLC, iPain Board of Directors/Secretary, Member of the Government Relations Advisory Committee for the National MS Society – Gayle received her Masters degree in Social Work in 1999 from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. She is licensed as a Clinical Social Worker and a Clinical Addictions Counselor. At Therapy Services she performs the duties of the Executive Director and specializes in Traumatic Brain Injury.

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Melanie Lentz was one of the youngest female Secret Service special agents ever hired at age twenty-two. She spent nearly a decade as an agent before realizing she had been efficiently protecting others while failing to protect herself, inside and out. Amid a divorce and depression diagnosis, Melanie made the difficult decision to leave the Secret Service, start over in her thirties, and made self-protection a priority in her life. She is the author of Agent Innocent: How the Secret Service Changed My Life and Advance Work: A Personal Protection Assignment.

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Gerry is a military wife and stay-at-home mom by day, and a health and patient advocate by nap and bedtime. She was diagnosed with severe Idiopathic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (IPAH) and severe Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) in September 2018. After diagnosis, she began sharing her story on social media only to find that there was a huge community of chronic illness, invisible illness and PHighters out there looking for a story just like hers. Since then she has been featured on Pulmonary Hypertension News, Love What Matters, Intimately, the Pulmonary Hypertension Association and more. On her Instagram she has cultivated a community of over 10,000 strong and gives a vulnerable look at what a positive life with a chronic illness really can look like, both the peaks and the valleys. Her passion is helping patients find their voice, be confident in their journeys and advocating for them to share their stories.

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David Banda

is a dedicated diversity, equity, and inclusion advocate with over 7 years of providing clinical care to various populations including people living with HIV/AIDS, substance use disorders, and other mental health conditions. He has a Masters in Clinical Psychology and has worked at UCSF, San Francisco AIDS Foundation, and Catholic Charities. He is now a part of the Patient Advocacy Team at Clara Health. David is passionate about taking a holistic approach when promoting accessibility for clinical trials, especially for marginalized communities.

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Nina Sherpa-Pine, MSc, CHES

Health promotion specialist and educator with more than ten years of experience in person-centered care, stigma-reduction, and sexual health. Her work centers trauma-responsiveness and cultural humility, which inform her work as the Senior Manager, Patient Advocacy Partnerships at Clara Health.

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Jusus Guillien,

Jesus Guillen, is an immigrant, Latino, Gay, Single, 32 years HIV Long Term Survivor, who at the end, even if it sounds corny, is simply a human being who wants to help others, Jesus is one of the founders of one of the older GAY LATINO groups in SF: “AGUILAS”; he is also the founder and administrator of the incredibly diverse HIV LONG TERM SURVIVORS group in social media, with close to 5000 members. At the local level, he is the co-chair of the HIV and AGING workgroup in SF; member of the LTCCC- Long Term Care Coordinating Council- in SF as well.

Jesus Guillen is honored to be the “poster boy” for the Emmy awarded documentary “LAST MEN STANDING”, first and only documentary from the San Francisco Chronicle. Jesus is an independent HIV and Aging consultant who works with agencies, organizations, politicians, pharmaceuticals and anyone who wants to work in the common goal of helping our community, because he believes deeply in “WE’RE IN THIS TOGETHER”.

Please watch the documentary “LAST MEN STANDING” following this link for free streaming : AIDS survivors live out lives they never expected to have

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Racquel H. Dozier was diagnosed officially with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in 2004, but the onset of the disease started in 2002 when she was given a firm diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis. At the prime of her life, Racquel and her family had recently relocated to a new state with a young child, just enjoying life to the fullest. But something just wasn’t right

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Molly Schreiber

Raised in Fairfax, Virginia but I’ve been in Baltimore, Maryland since 1997. I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when I was 9 years old, in the summer of 1988. My father, grand-father, and cousin all have diabetes as well, so I grew up knowing what a challenging and frustrating disease diabetes can be. For years I managed my disease with test strips and multiple daily injections. In 2000 I got my first insulin pump and haven’t looked back since. I’m currently using a Tandem pump but have used Medtronic and Omnipod before. In case Type 1 Diabetes wasn’t a fun enough addition to my life, my immune system decided to throw in Rheumatoid Arthritis in the fall of 2011. This was a game changer for me and still is. I’m currently fighting my battle with an infused biologic. I’m married to my best friend, Sean, we have a son and a daughter and the most handsome cat, George. I love sports- the Baltimore Orioles, Baltimore Ravens, and Washington Wizards are my favs. I love to laugh and try to use humor and a positive attitude to deal with my crappy autoimmune system and anything bad the world throws my way.

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In January of 2016, Samantha Wendt and her oldest kid were involved in a motor vehicle accident. Thru the accident, Wendt found the lack in the Western Medicine world. She went eight months undiagnosed with a concussion and now lives with Chronic Post Concussion Syndrome. At the end of March/early April of 2017, Wendt was diagnosed with Celiac and Food Allergies. With her research, she got both of her kids tested and found out they had food allergies as well. In the Wendt household, they take out: gluten, dairy, corn, soy, peanuts, almonds and eggs. And if that wasn’t enough, Samantha found out 21 months after the accident that she had been living with a broken hand, which was fixed in an almost four-hour surgery.

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