Dr. Jorge Otañez, MD
Dr. Jorge Otañez is a board-certified Family Medicine and Lifestyle Medicine physician with over 15 years of healthcare experience in both Mexico and the United States. He currently serves as Associate Chief Medical Officer at TrueCare, a Federally Qualified Health Center in Southern California, where he provides clinical oversight to ensure delivery of high-quality, patient-centered care.
Raised in Tijuana, Baja California, Dr. Otañez was inspired to pursue a career in medicine after witnessing firsthand the profound impact of health inequities on individuals and families. This early exposure continues to fuel his commitment to addressing chronic disease, prevention, and whole-person care—particularly in underserved populations.
Dr. Otañez spearheaded a comprehensive initiative at TrueCare that integrates lifestyle-based, food-as-medicine, physical activity, and social connection interventions into primary care settings. He is the host of “The O Factor” Podcast, where he explores lifestyle medicine, leadership, and community-driven solutions to improve health outcomes. Dr. Otañez is deeply engaged in national and state-level professional leadership, including service on numerous boards and committees. In recognition of his impact, Dr. Otañez was named one of the 2022 San Diego Business Journal and San Diego County Imperial Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Top 50 Latino Leaders of Influence.
Dr. Tamiko Katsumoto, MD
Tamiko Katsumoto, MD, DipABLM is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Division of Immunology and Rheumatology at Stanford University and is board certified in lifestyle medicine. Deeply committed to human and planetary health, she is passionate about educating her patients, colleagues, and the general public on the merits of sustainable whole food plant-centered diets as a strategy to both improve individual health and mitigate climate change and environmental degradation.
She is fascinated by the impact of diet and lifestyle on inflammation, autoimmunity, and cancer. She directs the Rheumatology Oncology Clinic and serves as a co-director of the Stanford Immune Related Toxicity Working Group, a multidisciplinary group which aims to improve the quality of care of cancer patients on immune checkpoint inhibitors. She is involved in several clinical trials at Stanford and has spent time at Genentech, where she led several global clinical trials in immunology.
She co-chaired the American College of Rheumatology Climate Change Task Force. She is working closely with the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability and serves on the steering committee for the Center for Human and Planetary Health where she co-leads the Food Systems, Health and Environment Working Group.
Dr. Reshma Shah, MD
Dr. Reshma Shah is a board-certified pediatrician and Adjunct Clinical Instructor at Stanford University. She is co-author of the award-winning book Nourish: The Definitive Plant-Based Nutrition Guide for Families and a contributing author to the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Pediatric Nutrition textbook. She also serves as Co-Director of the Learning Center at Plant-Based Juniors. She has additional training and certification in plant-based nutrition and cooking. Dr. Shah lives in the Bay Area with her family. Most Sundays you can find her at the local farmers market, where she finds inspiration for family meals.
Dr. Csilla Veress, ND
Dr. Veress has contributed to professional medical education, board examination development, and lifestyle medicine training programs. She is the Founder and CEO of Rooted Truth Rising Naturopathic Inc. and is currently completing her first book, scheduled for release in 2026. Her mission is simple: to help people live longer, healthier, and more purposeful lives by addressing the foundational drivers of health and disease.
María José Hummel, PhD, MPH
María José Hummel is a nutritionist, health educator, author, international speaker, and former engineer. She holds multiple degrees, which include a Bachelor’s in Engineering from Cal Poly, a Master’s of Science in Nutrition from the University of Bridgeport, Connecticut, a Master’s in Public Health from San Jose State, a certification in Plant-Based Nutrition from the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies at Cornell University, and she holds a doctorate in naturopathy as well as a Doctorate in Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Natural Medicine from the International Institute of Original Medicine.
As a health educator and plant-based nutritionist, certified by the American Association of Lifestyle Medicine, María José enjoys sharing not only her knowledge, but her passion for nutrition, health, and plant-based cooking. She has appeared on cooking shows on radio and television networks such as 3ABN, 3ABN Latino, and other radio and television networks. She has taught nutrition courses at the Adventist University of Chile and the Peruvian Union University. María José is the author of two vegetarian cookbooks and a book on reversing diabetes (in Spanish).
Chef Beth Love, MDiv
Rev. Chef Beth Love has been creating luscious, vibrant foods that deeply nourish on all levels—palate, body, planet, heart, and soul—for over four decades. She is a sought-after teacher and speaker, ordained New Thought minister, and author of the Tastes Like Love book series. Beth has brought a message of transformation to multiple audiences, in contexts as diverse as the California state prison system, schools, churches, businesses, online forums, local community television, and The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Rev. Beth’s life calling has taken many expressions, but has always been centered on human transformation. She has taught in and run Montessori schools, helped found a New Thought church and served in various capacities in that community for over 20 years, run non-profit organizations focused on the topic of child abuse, and done extensive volunteer work with prison inmates. She is the founder, current executive director, and head of culinary medicine for Eat for the Earth, an organization that supports a human dietary shift towards more plants and less animal products to sustain all life on Earth.
Martha Sandoval, MD
Panelist
Martha Sandoval, MD has been a family medicine physician at Palo Alto Medical Foundation in Watsonville, CA since 2000. She graduated from Stanford School of Medicine in 1996. She is the current Medical Director for Eat for the Earth.
Dr. Sandoval is the Healthy Eating Active Lifestyles Medical Director, has received board certification from American Board Obesity Medicine, and holds a Whole Foods Plant Based Certificate from T Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies.
Steven Leib, MD
Panelist
Over a nearly five-decade career Dr. Leib has compassionately served his community as a family and lifestyle medicine physician. He earned his M.D. at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, followed by a residency in family medicine at UCLA. Though he officially became board certified in lifestyle medicine in 2017, Dr. Leib has passionately practiced with a preventive oriented, lifestyle centric, humanistic yet fiercely scientific-based approach throughout his career. His passion is driven by the relationships he has built with his patients over the course of their lives and the joy he has experience in keeping them healthy and well.
Since his recent retirement, Dr. Leib has remained active in the community. His goal remains to educate and inspire folks to improve their healthspan by way of the latest evidence-based approaches to health behavior change.
On a personal note, Dr. Leib lives in Ben Lomond, California in a historic Victorian home with his wonderful wife Vivian and adorable dog Mollie. He loves spending time with his kids and grandkids. Along with indulging his lifelong love of learning, he enjoys being in his garden, as well as walking or biking in nature.
Past Presenters
