Aaron Alford, D.C.
Aaron Alford is a chiropractor in private practice in Columbus, Ohio. He earned a B.S. in human biology and his chiropractic degree at Texas Chiropractic College. He has also completed a fellowship at the International Academy of Medical Acupuncture; is a Certified Chiropractic Sports Medicine Specialist; and a Certified Chiropractic Insurance Consultant. Dr. Alford has considerable teaching experience and is currently am adjunct faculty member at Columbus State Community College.
Peter Breggin, M.D.
Peter R. Breggin, MD is known as “The Conscience of Psychiatry” for his many decades of successful efforts to reform the mental health field. His scientific and educational work provides the foundation for modern criticism of psychiatric drugs and electroshock (ECT) and he promotes more caring and effective therapies.
He has been a consultant to the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) on the effects of psychiatric drugs on pilots, and recently was the key expert witness in hearings before the U. S. Congress on psychiatric drug-induced violence and suicide in the military.
He has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed scientific articles and more than 20 books including the bestseller Talking Back to Prozac (1994, with Ginger Breggin). Based on his clinical and forensic experience, he presented numerous examples of tragic adverse drug reactions in his book, Medication Madness: The Role of Psychiatric Drugs in Cases of Violence, Suicide and Crime (2008). He summarized the dangers of psychiatric drugs and described how to withdraw from them in Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal: A Guide for Prescribers, Therapists, Patients and Their Families (2013). Dr. Breggin’s newest book is Guilt, Shame and Anxiety: Understanding and Overcoming Negative Emotions.
Dr. Breggin is a graduate of Harvard (with Honors) and Case Western Reserve Medical School. His psychiatric training included a Teaching Fellowship at Harvard Medical School. After finishing his psychiatric training, he became a full-time consultant at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) for two years. He has taught at many universities.
Dr. Breggin’s private practice is in Ithaca, New York where he treats adults, couples, and families with children.
Michael Huff, M.D.
Dr. Michael Huff is a medical doctor in family practice in Oxnard, California.
He is a past president of the Ventura County Medical Association, and has served as both Director of the Education Department and Chairman of the Department of Family Practice at the St. Johns regional Medical Center. Dr. Huff has also served as a consultant for the development of Primary Care Knowledge Base Kurzweil Applied Intelligence Voice Recognition System.
Eileen Kopsaftis
Teaches unit on join, musculoskeletal and back injuries and therapy
Eileen Kopsaftis, MS PT received her physical therapy degree from Russell Sage College. She has practiced for eighteen years and specializes in manual techniques. Her approach is eclectic with a priority on restoring pain free biomechanics and postural symmetry. The techniques she is trained to perform are Muscle Energy, Myofascial Release, Mulligan’s Mobilization with Movement, Neurofascial Release, Strain/Counterstrain, Advanced Strain/Counterstrain, Feldenkrais somatic movement, and more. Eileen is a Certified MELT instructor which is a self-treatment technique that addresses the connective tissue; improving balance, postural alignment, and pain.
William Lessler, LPCC
Teaches mental health unit
William Lessler is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor and Adjunct Professor of Psychology who has been in private practice for over 10 years. He earned a degree in psychology from Otterbein College and has a masters degree in counseling and education from the University of Dayton. He is a trained and experienced Cognitive Behavioral Therapist. Dr. Lessler has performed extensive research on the use of anti-depressant, anti-anxiety, anti-psychotic and neuroleptic drugs and has developed a model for treatment of depression, anxiety, relationship issues, bereavement, anger and other issues that does not require their use. He is one of the most effective therapists in Columbus, and one of the best teachers on the subject of the deficiencies of the psychiatric model.
Ron Lewis, Ph.D.
Ron Lewis is a Senior Management Engineer at Ohio State University . He also teaches mathematics, statistics, and mechanical and manufacturing engineering at Columbus State Community College. Dr. Lewis has authored several papers published in scientific journals, and is experienced in teaching math and technical subjects through distance learning.
Mary Marshall
Mary Marshall, BSN, RN, has over 30 years of experience in nursing, fitness, and health coaching, and has accumulated hundreds of hours of advanced health and wellness training. She currently facilitates Wellness Forum Health’s weight loss program, and teaches for The Wellness Forum Institute. Mary works in the workplace wellness department at Union Hospital in northeastern Ohio, and is President of Eat, Learn, Live, Ltd. She is certified as a WellCoach, and has extensive experience working with people on behavioral change.
Pinar Miski, M.D.
Dr. Pinar Miski is the Chief of Psychiatry at St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, responsible for clinical and administrative duties for psychiatric consultation services in an acute care setting. She earned a B.S. in psychology from Penn State University, and a medical degree from Temple University School of Medicine.
Dr. Miski has received awards including the Don Ross Award for resident psychotherapy paper, and was appointed Chief Resident for psychiatry services at The University of Maryland. She has been involved in several research projects, authored papers, and made presentations at professional conferences.
Pam Popper
Pam Popper is Executive Director of Wellness Forum Health. The company offers educational programs for consumer and healthcare providers that facilitate evidence-base, collaborative and informed decision making for health-related matters.
Pam serves on the Physician’s Steering Committee and the President’s Board for the Physicians’ Committee for Responsible Medicine in Washington D.C.
She served as part of Dr. T. Colin Campbell’s teaching team at eCornell, teaching part of a certification course on plant-based nutrition. She has been featured in many widely distributed documentaries, including Processed People and Making a Killing and appeared in the acclaimed documentary Forks Over Knives, which played in major theaters throughout North America in 2011. She is one of the co-authors of the companion book which was on the New York Times bestseller list for 66 weeks. Her most recent films are Food Choices and The Yoyo Effect. Her most recent books are Food Over Medicine: The Conversation That Can Save Your Life, and Food Choices: The Book.
Pam is also a public policy expert, and continually works toward changing laws that interfere with patients’ right to choose their health provider and method of care. She has testified in front of legislative committees on numerous occasions, and has testified twice in front of the USDA’s Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee.
Teaches Plant-Based Nutrition and Health, Nutritional Issues and Controversies, Autoimmune Diseases, Obesity, GI Disorders, Women’s Health, Children’s Health, Sports Nutrition, Meal Planning, Business Training, Scope of Practice, Employer Health/Institutional Food, Clinical Skills, oversees Practical Experience
Chuck Powley, Ph.D.
Chuck Powley, Ph.D., is a research chemist with Dupont Corporation in Wilmington, Delaware. He has received several awards for his work, including the European Sustainable Growth Award, the Dupont Agricultural Products Marketing Award, and the American Chemical society’s Analytical Division Fellowship. Dr. Powley has published several articles in leading scientific journals and delivered any presentations at scientific conferences in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.
Julie Rengert, Ph.D.
Julie Rengert has a B.S. in biology and a M.S. in biology from the University of Texas and a Ph.D. in educational psychology from Ohio State University. Her teaching experience includes Columbus State Community College, Ohio State University and the University of Phoenix. Dr. Rengert has also worked in administrative and consulting positions at Livin’ Up 2 Wellness Center and the Turner Institute of Healthy Living. Her research experience includes OSU Veterinary Hospital and the University of Texas.
Kylea Rorabaugh
Kylea is the owner of Healthy on Purpose in Kansas City, Missouri. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor in private practice, and also a Certified Health Educator. She earned her BA in psychology from Point Loma Nazarene University in 2001 and a MA in counseling from the University of Missouri in 2005. Kylea specializes in a whole-person approach to health, addressing both psychological and physical health. She has taken courses through the Wellness Forum Institute and Wellness Forum Health for many years, and was appointed as a faculty member of the Institute and a Provider Affiliate of Wellness Forum Health in 2018.
Don Rothenstein, B.S., M.B.A., Nutrition Educator
Don Rothenstein has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and a masters degree in Business Administration from Cornell University. He is a graduate of the Nutrition Educator Program from the Wellness Forum Institute for Health Studies. Prior to developing an interest in nutrition, Don had a long and impressive career in retail merchandising, managing hundreds of millions of dollars of inventory, and responsible for profitability, product mix, vendor relations, advertising and marketing, and pricing.
After considerable research on his own he decided to pursue formal education in nutrition in 2017, and completed an internship at Wellness Forum Health in 2020. Don writes the popular weekly “Your Nutritional Moment of Zen,” available by subscription.
Sabrina Seitz
Sabrina Seitz is a registered nurse in the cardiovascular catheterization lab at Sacred Heart Medical Center. Ms. Seitz is a Master Herbalist and earned her certificate through the School of Natural Healing in 2008. She offers classes and consults in the areas of herbal nutrition and herbal medicine.