Speakers
Our nationally renown speakers at the 2007 Expo! (We had American Sign Language interpreters for the hearing impaired available throughout the day!)
This Year's Presenters
We are pleased to have the following terrific presenters at the 2008 Expo. Please, check back closer to the Expo for the final speaker schedule.
 | George Eisman, RD (NY) |
10:30am - 11:30am {Room B)
Dairy Products and Their Correlation to Cancer10:30am George Eisman has been a Registered Dietition since 1978. He is the founder of the Association of Vegetarian Dietitians and Nutrition Educators, and co-founder and first Chairman-Elect of the Vegetarian Nutrition Practice Group of the American Dietetic Association. He has worked as a dietitian at Miami Children’s Hospital and Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, and at Wesley Woods Nursing Home in Atlanta, before serving as a Public Health Nutritionist for the State Health Departments of Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina. He has taught nutrition at the college and university level for over 20 years, having served as a faculty member at Florida State University, Broward Community College and Miami-Dade Community College. He is the author of The Most Noble Diet; Don’t Let Your Diet Add to Your Cancer Risk, and A Basic Course in Vegetarian and Vegan Nutrition. In 1993 he was inducted into the Vegetarian Hall of Fame by the North American Vegetarian Society. |
 | Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr. (OH) |
11:30am - 12:30pm {Room B)
Ending Heart DiseaseA retired Cleveland clinical surgeon, Dr. Esselstyn conducted a 20 year study of coronary artery disease using diet and lifestyle modification. In 1991 he organized the first national Conference on the Elimination of Coronary Artery Disease. Dr. Esselstyn also chaired a follow-up conference, the Summit on Cholesterol and Coronary Disease. In April 2005 he became the first recipient of the Benjamin Spock Award for Compassion in Medicine. His newly released book Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease relates to results of his 20 year study on curing heart disease with diet. |
 | Ann Crile Esselstyn, MSEd (OH) |
12:30 - 1:00pm {Room B)
Heart Healthy RecipesAnn Crile Esselstyn graduated from Smith College and received a Masters in Education from Wheelock College. She taught English and some history for 27 years. Through the years she juggled 4 chlldren, teaching, and figuring out plant-based, oil free ways to cook. She stopped teaching in 2000 and focused on creating the recipes to prevent and reverse heart disease |
 | Brenda Davis, RD (Canada) |
1:00pm - 2:30pm {Room B}
Defeating Diabets...Lessons from the Marshall IslandsBrenda Davis, registered dietitian and nutritionist, is a leader in her field and an internationally acclaimed speaker. She has worked as a public health nutritionist, clinical nutrition specialist, nutrition consultant, academic nutrition instructor and a research dietitian. She is a past chair of the Vegetarian Nutrition Diabetic Practice Group of the American Diabetic Association. Brenda was the 2007 inductee into the Vegetarian Hall of Fame. Brenda has co-authored six books - the best-sellers, Becoming Vegetarian, The New Becoming Vegetarian, Becoming Vegan and Defeating Diabetes, Dairy-free and Delicious, and the newly released, Raw Revolution Diet. Brenda has been a featured speaker nutrition, diabetic, medical and health conferences throughout the world. She is currently working on two book projects, and on a diabetes intervention research project in Majuro, Marshall Islands. Brenda spent 8 months in Majuro in 2006 and returns for 4-6 week periods 2 or 3 times a year. Brenda lives in Kelowna, British Columbia with her husband Paul. She has two grown children, Leena and Cory. |
 | Jeff Novick, MS, RD, L/N (CA) (FL) |
2:30pm - 3:45pm {Room B)
Health Food vs Healthy Food: How can You Really Tell the Difference?Jeff Novick is truly a unique dietitian and nutritionist. With over 24 years of experience in nutrition, health, fitness and natural living, he offers expert health advice distilled into powerful, easy-to-understand language on a variety of current topics. He holds both undergraduate and graduate degrees from Indiana State University in nutrition with minors in Exercise Science. Jeff serves as the Director of Health Education for the National Health Association and as the nutritionist/dietitian for the prestigious McDougall Program in Santa Rosa, California. For almost a decade, Jeff served as the Director of Nutrition at the world-renowned Pritikin Center in Aventura, Florida. Jeff has also taught nutrition classes at Indiana State University, Indiana University Medical School and the University of Miami Medical School. While in Indiana, he created and taught the Nutrition Education Initiative, a preventive medicine curriculum for medical doctors, residents, and medical students. |
 | T. Colin Campbell, PhD (NY) (NY) |
| 3:45pm - 4:45pm {Room B}
T. Colin Campbell, who was trained at Cornell (M.S., Ph.D.) and MIT (Research Associate) in nutrition, biochemistry and toxicology, spent 10 years on the faculty of Virginia Tech's Department of Biochemistry and Nutrition before returning to the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell in 1975 where he presently is Jacob Gould Schurman Professor Emeritus. His principal scientific interests, which began with his graduate training in the late 1950's, has been on the effects of nutritional status on long term health, particularly on the causation of cancer. He has conducted original research both in laboratory experiments and in large-scale human studies; has received over 70 grant-years of peer-reviewed research funding, has served on several grant review panels of multiple funding agencies, has lectured extensively, and has authored over 300 research papers. His recent book: The China Study; Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-Term Health (2005)* has been translated into 10 languages. It is the most comprehensive study of nutrition ever conducted. |
 | Chef Phil Smith (VT) |
11:00am - 12:30pm {Wedge Room)
Raw FundamentalsPhil has over a decade of culinary experience as a professional chef in both VT and upstate NY, holding positions of Executive Chef, Executive Pastry Chef, and Culinary Educator. As an American Culinary Federation apprentice, he began his career under the tutelage of master chef and National Restaurant Association director, Ernie Royal. Phil graduated from culinary school at the top of his class, focusing on ice carving, classical pastry, chocolate, and sugar artistry. In 1992 was awarded the distinction of “Certified Pastry Chef” by the American Culinary Federation. Previously chef/owner of a pastry shop and deli in VT and certified Wilton cake decorating instructor. Phil attributes the professional chef’s lifestyle and the Standard American Diet (SAD) as contributing factors to his development of obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and eventually type II diabetes. Today, Chef Smith is a certified “Living on Live Food Teacher”. He will share with you how he lost nearly 50 pounds, reversed his diabetes, and is medication free. All this by following a raw vegan, and living food diet. Phil will take you on a raw and living food tour via lecture and food tasting. |
Mark J. Nelson, MD | |
1:00pm - 2:00pm {Wedge Room)
Winning the War Against Obesity: Habits of Health that reverse disease and create optimal health1:00pm - 2:00pm Mark J. Nelson, MD (NY) |
 | Chef Kelly Serbonich (NY) |
2:30pm - 4:00pm {Wedge Room}
Rawesomely Simple: Raw Vegan Wraps, Nut Pate’, Crackers and More!Join Raw & Living Foods Chef, Kelly Serbonich, as she demonstrates one of the basic procedures used in living foods preparation: making a nut pate. See how you can turn this basic knowledge into a wrap, crackers, crust, stuffing and more! Learn the benefits of living and raw foods and leave inspired! Co-author of the book Healthful Cuisine, Kelly cooks at the infamous Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca, NY. She holds a Master's Degree in Holistic Nutrition. |
Jon Koga | |