DIRECTORS & OFFICERS

Tabatha Parker, N.D. - PRESIDENT

Dr. Parker received her doctorate in naturopathic medicine from the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon. She co-founded Natural Doctors International (NDI), the first international organization of its kind working on many fronts to advance naturopathic medicine in global health. As Executive and Medical Director, Dr. Parker works in Nicaragua in the NDI free clinic, where she lives with her family, and is actively building inroads into the global health community for ND’s. An international speaker and teacher, Dr. Parker has dedicated her life to finding solutions to global health problems thru natural medicine, community development, and cross-discipline collaboration. She has been featured in the AHG journal, AANMC, Helfgott blog and on OPB. Her passion inspires people to become active in global health. She is a member of the American Herbalist Guild, Global Health Council, Doctors for Global Health, and the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians. Dr. Parker can be contacted at: drparker@ndimed.org

Heather Zwickey, PhD - TREASURER

Dr. Heather Zwickey, Dean of Research at the National College of Natural Medicine (NCNM), director of Helfgott Research Institute, and Associate Professor of Immunology, trained at the world renowned National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver.  She received a Ph.D. in Immunology and Microbiology from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Dr. Zwickey went on to complete a postdoctoral fellowship at Yale University. At NCNM, she applies her immunology expertise to natural medicine. Dr. Zwickey’s attraction to NDI stems from her passion for sustainable global health. Her interest in health disparities led her to India, Nepal, Uganda, and Mexico. Dr. Zwickey hopes to see permanent natural medicine services and more medical schools established in countries with low economic resources. At Helfgott Research Institute, Dr. Zwickey is establishing the infrastructure for a Center of Excellence in Global Health Research. In addition to working with clinicians of NDI to collect clinical outcomes , Dr. Zwickey collaborates with researchers at Pontificia Universidade Catolica Do Rio Grange Do Sol in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

Tania Neubauer, ND - SECRETARY

Dr. Tania Neubauer began her healthcare training as an herbalist in the San Francisco Bay Area where she volunteered at the Berkeley Free Clinic, serving as a community health worker and peer counselor. She served as Medical Coordinator, managing a medical clinic focusing on homeless and underserved populations. In 2000, she graduated magna cum laude in Biology from San Francisco State University. In 2001, she trained as a Clinical Herbalist with Michael Moore at the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine in Arizona. She has worked as a medic in a demonstration against the Free Trade Area of the Americas. In 2003, she moved to Estelí, Nicaragua to learn Spanish and work with local natural medicine foundations. Upon her return to naturopathic medical school, she coordinated the first student chapter of NDI. She was thrilled and honored to serve 1 year in the hospital in Ometepe, Nicaragua with NDI, and now sits on the board as Secretary and Treasurer of NDI. Dr. Neubauer works at La Clinica de Guadalupe, a Latino community clinic in Salem, Oregon, which utilizes naturopathic medicine.  drneubauer@ndimed.org

Bill Benda, M.D. – Director

Dr. Benda received his professional training at Duke University, University of Miami School of Medicine, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, and the Program in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona.  He has served as Director of Emergency Medical Services and Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at UCLA, with Doctors of the World in Rwanda during the 1994 ethnic conflict, and as medical director of the Big Sur Health Center.  His clinical work has focused on patients with breast cancer, animal-assisted therapy, and physician health and well-being, and his research on therapeutic riding for children with cerebral palsy has been funded by the National Institutes of Health.  Dr. Benda is a co-founder of the National Integrative Medicine Council, a non-profit organization for which he has served as Director of Medical and Public Affairs.  He is the associate editor of the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine as well as Integrative Medicine – A Clinician’s Journal, serves on the Board of Directors of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians, and lectures extensively on a variety of topics in the integrative arena.