Deepa Deshmukh (MPH, RDN, CDE, BD-ADM, Functional & Integrative Nutrition Specialist) is co-founder of DuPage Dietitians LLC and has been recognized as a “Top Ten Dietitians” in the country! For almost 20 years, Deepa has helped hundreds of people lose weight, reverse and manage their diabetes, and reduce their cholesterol and blood pressure levels. Deepa’s overarching goal is to help her patients be more productive at work and at home, have energy to enjoy life, eat foods without feeling guilty and sick, and no longer depend solely on medications to manage their health. She has been working with the underserved communities and minorities to help improve their nutrition literacy and self-care skills!

Dr. Fior has been practicing Family Medicine and Homeopathy in the Chicagoland area since 1988. He is the co-founder and current president of the Illinois Homeopathic Medical Association, a founding partner for the Center for Integral Health, and Adjunct Faculty at National University of the Health Sciences in Lombard, Illinois. Dr. Fior is a contributor to the book, Meditation as Medication for the Soul, and has been meditating and a lacto-vegetarian for over 35 years.

Dr. Gruft is one of the most forward-thinking pain management specialists. He is the author of From Pain to Wellness: Getting Help and Finding Freedom from Chronic Pain and founder-director of From Pain to Wellness, LLC based in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois. Dr. Gruft is board-certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (P.M.& R, F.A.A.P.M.R) and Pain Medicine (D.A.B.P.M.). Voted as Best Doctor by a nationwide survey of doctors, Dr. Gruft is respected by physicians throughout the country as one of the premier pain specialists practicing today. Dr. Gruft is a vegetarian, and his health center is vegetarian friendly. He is versed in functional medicine which uses nutrition to address medical issues. A gifted and highly sought-after guest lecturer and speaker, Dr. Gruft has presented to the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation on “Comparison of the MOMC (Modified Orientation Memory Concentration)” and as guest lecturer for the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Cincinnati on “Comprehensive Management of Chronic Pain,” (among other engagements). He is a fellow of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and a Diplomat of the American Board of Pain Medicine, and member of American Academy of Pain Medicine. As assistant professor at Rush Medical College, he received a Certificate of Excellence for Outstanding Teacher of the Year for exhibiting the highest quality of teaching to physical medicine and rehabilitation residents. He earned the Golden Apple Award in recognition for excellence in teaching and training at Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital. He lives in the Chicago area with his wife and their two children.

Linda Kordich (co-founder of the Juiceman Company with her husband Jay Kordich, Wellness Coach, and author) has been a vegetarian since 1966 and Vegan since 1990. She has been coaching and teaching juicing since 1974 and was the co-founder of the Juiceman Company which was responsible for inspiring millions of people on television for several decades.  She married Jay Kordich in 1981, known by millions as the Juiceman and Father of Juicing for 36 years until his death at 93 in 2017. She was also the co-author of Jay’s #1 New York Time’s best-selling book, the Juiceman’s Power of Juicing which sold several million copies as well as being responsible for selling millions of juicers throughout the USA. She’s been on many national tv talk shows and radio programs inspiring others to juice and live a plant-based diet.  Since then, she’s produced, designed and published their beautiful book, Live Foods / Live Bodies and their multimedia Living Health Program, as well as producing her Juicing Masterclass to help inspire others to become juice therapists.  She’s now 68 years old and the mother of two boys, 38 and 40, who are both committed vegans.

Steven Lome, DO, RVT, is a plant based, lifestyle medicine board certified cardiologist located in Monterey, CA. He graduated in 2004 from the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed his residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in cardiovascular disease at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, IL. He is board-certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, vascular medicine, lifestyle medicine, echocardiography, nuclear cardiology and cardiac CT. Dr. Lome is also a registered vascular technologist (RVT) and registered physician in vascular interpretation (RPVI). He is the sole author of LearnTheHeart.com now a part of Cardiology Today. Currently, he is the Chief of Cardiology at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula and the medical director of MMG Cardiology. He founded Plant Based Nutrition Movement (PBNM.org), a Chicagoland based nonprofit organization promoting plant based diets. He is the author of HeartStrong.com, a free online “do it yourself” lifestyle medicine program for heart disease prevention/reversal. He also has an active YouTube channel “Dr Steven Lome–Lifestyle Medicine.” Active with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Dr. Lome was a speaker at the International Conference on Nutrition in Medicine in Washington, DC in August 2023. He is also a member of the American College of Cardiology nutrition work group. He successfully resuscitated two runners during the Monterey Bay Half Marathon in November 2022 which captured worldwide media attention. The two runners, Greg and Michael, have been using that experience to further promote lifestyle medicine and heart disease prevention and For now follow a 100% plant-based diet. He is married to his wife Helen, a family medicine physician, and they have six 100% plant based children ranging from ages 6 through 17.

Carlos Lozano, a lawyer and former diplomat of Colombia, has held a variety of jobs that have helped him develop a wide range of skills. He spent 10 years serving as Consul General and Counsellor of Colombia in the Middle East –six in Egypt and four in India. Carlos moved to live and work in the United States in 1999 and retired pensioned in 2009. For more than 50 years he has been collaborating to spread the simple but powerful technique of SOS Meditation, under the direction of three Spiritual Masters in over 40 countries in North, Central and South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Carlos Lozano’s commitment is to balance worldly duties with spirituality and share with humanity the benefits of meditation to the body, mind, and soul.

David Martinez has a Master’s degree in Special Education and Educational Administration as well as clinical administration with an emphasis on visual impairments. He is currently employed as an Orientation & Mobility Instructor for the Los Angeles Unified School District, working with blind students. He has helped edit and contribute to professional publications for the American Foundation for the Blind. While working on his degree, David founded a meditation club and co-facilitated workshops on the benefits of meditation and the vegetarian diet.

Matthew Raider MD has been a practitioner and teacher of geriatric medicine for over 40 years.  Aside from the aging process and its modification, Dr. Raider’s special interests include endurance fitness training, vegetarian nutrition and the health effects of meditation.

Dr. Ritz is an emeritus faculty member of the Department of Neuroscience within the University of Florida College of Medicine and the McKnight Brain Institute. For many years, his focus was on medical and graduate education. He was course director for Clinical Neuroscience, taken by second year medical students, and is co-author of the textbook Medical Neuroscience. He is also director of the campus-wide Center for Spirituality and Health at the University of Florida, which offers workshops, academic programs, and interdisciplinary research ventures exploring the impact of spirituality on health. For the undergraduate Honors Program, Dr. Ritz directs two courses, “Spirituality and Health” and “Neurotheology.” The honors students named Dr. Ritz the “2018 Honors Professor of the Year.”

Dr. Santiago is a board-certified pediatrician with over 15 years of experience in community health. A vegetarian for 35 years and a vegan for over a decade, Dr. Natalie is dedicated to helping families transform their health and their lives with a nutritious, delicious, plant-based diet. In her talk, she will discuss the top ten reasons why you should consider a plant-based, vegan diet for you and your family. She will address questions about nutrition for children and expectant or lactating mothers, how to incorporate healthy meals into your family’s diet, and how to handle living with non-vegans / vegetarians.

Arjan Stephens (President of Nature’s Path Organic Foods, Artist and Conservationist) serves as the President of Nature’s Path Organic Foods, North America’s largest certified organic plant-based breakfast and snack food company. Arjan is dedicated to promoting conscious consumerism, particularly in the realm of food. He believes that our forks and wallets are powerful tools for positive change, with regenerative organic agriculture serving as the catalyst to transform the world for the better. Arjan has been instrumental in driving Nature’s Path mission including initiatives to reduce carbon emissions, protect biodiversity, and support organic farming communities. He loves gardening and volunteering at the Science of Spirituality Meditation & Ecology Center in British Columbia.

Dr. Duggal Stephens is a champion of health. As a Health and Nutrition Strategist, she keeps us on the cutting edge of nutritional advice and health initiatives. Trained in medicine at Manipal University and the University of the West Indies, Dr. Duggal Stephens has always been drawn to healing through food. She went on to study nutrition science after completing her medical degree, and since then, her extensive knowledge has allowed her to help many patients manage their illnesses for which food was often a common denominator. She acts as a wellness guide both within our community and in the wider world. Dr. Duggal Stephens and her husband, Arjan Stephens, co-created Love Crunch granola and spearheaded Nature’s Path’s “Bite4Bite” initiative, through which up to $1 million is annually donated to food banks in need. A skilled teacher and writer, Dr. Duggal Stephens is also a lifelong meditator and has contributed to Meditation as Medication for the Soul. In her spare time, she mentors a global young adult group that focuses on ethical leadership, service, and conscious living.

Dr. Guillermo A. Rodas Orellana and Dr. Jeanneth A. Rangles Iza are medical doctors graduated from the Central University of Ecuador. They currently serve as professors in the Master’s program in Acupuncture at the Andean University Simón Bolívar. Additionally, they teach Pharmacology and Research at the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador. Their mission is to support the community through education, fostering a holistic approach to health and disease, implementing integrative medicine, promoting good prescribing practices, and advocating for the rational use of medications.