- Speakers
- Cooking Demonstrations
- Kid's Activities
- Ask the Experts
Speakers
Presentation Title: "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease"
Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr. is the author of Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease and more than 150 scholarly papers. Former President Bill Clinton credits Dr. Esselstyn's work as part of the reason Clinton moved to a plant-based diet. Dr. Esselstyn received his BA from Yale University and his MD from Western Reserve University. In 1956, pulling the No. 6 oar as a member of the victorious United States rowing team, he was awarded a gold medal at the Olympic Games. In 1968, as an Army surgeon in Vietnam, he was awarded the Bronze Star.
Dr. Esselstyn has served as President of the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons, organized the first National Conference on the Elimination of Coronary Artery Disease, was the first recipient of the Benjamin Spock Award for Compassion in Medicine. He presently directs the cardiovascular prevention and reversal program at The Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute.
Dr. Esselstyn and his wife, Ann Crile Esselstyn, have followed a plant-based diet for more than 26 years. Dr. Esselstyn presently directs the cardiovascular prevention and reversal program at The Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute.
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Presentation Title: "The Seven Habits of Healthy Vegans"
Virginia Messina, MPH, RD, is a dietitian and public health nutritionist specializing in vegan nutrition. She has a degree in nutrition from Douglass College of Rutgers University and a master's degree in public health nutrition from the University of Michigan.
Ginny publishes widely on topics related to vegan diets for both health professionals and the public. She is the co-author of Vegan For Life, has twice co-authored the American Dietetic Association's Position on Vegetarian Diets, and is co-author of a textbook on vegetarianism written for health professionals and nutrition students.
She has worked as a dietitian for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, taught nutrition to dietetics students at the university level, and was the director of nutrition services for a medical clinic serving 50,000 patients at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Ginny serves on the advisory boards of the Vegetarian Resource Group.
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Saturday Presentation Title: "A Race For Life: From Cancer to the Ironman"
Sunday Presentation Title: "Senior Fitness: Challenging Aging”
Ruth Heidrich, Ph.D., Vegan Ironman Triathlete, Winner of more than 900 trophies; 6 Ironman Triathlons, 8 Senior Olympics Gold Medals, 67 marathons including Boston, New York, & Moscow; World Fitness Record at the famed Cooper Clinic, Dallas, TX; named "One of the Ten Fittest Women in North America; breast cancer survivor; vegan for 30 years; author of A Race For Life, CHEF, a cook/rawbook, and Senior Fitness.
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Presentation Title: "The Formula for Improving Personal
and Planetary Health = Plant Foods + The Pressure Cooker"
Most people have limited time for cooking yet still want to put great meals on the table on a regular basis. Join Jill Nussinow, MS, RD, aka The Veggie Queen, as she shares what she’s learned in almost 30 years as a culinary dietitian teaching people about plant foods. For more than 15 years, she’s been teaching pressure cooking. She’ll share tips and techniques for choosing and using a pressure cooker to make The New Fast Food™.
As a longtime vegetarian and vegan, it has been easy for Jill to share what she knows.
For more than 10 years she has been teaching the McDougall program cooking
segments. She teaches Inspiring Ideas for Plant-Based Eating.
Jill has been on the culinary faculty of Santa Rosa Junior College for more than 20
years. She also teaches in private homes, at cooking schools throughout the US, at
festivals and events, farmer’s markets and more. She lives in Santa Rosa, California.
Jill is the author of award-winning cookbooks, The Veggie Queen™: Vegetables Get
the Royal Treatment and The New Fast Food™: The Veggie Queen™ Pressure
Cooks Whole Food Meals in Less than 30 Minutes. The New Fast Food is her
most recent book which has 150 vegan recipes, of which 138 are naturally gluten-free.
She also stars in the DVD Pressure Cooking: A Fresh Look, Delicious Dishes in
Minutes. You can see more of what she does at TheVeggieQueen.com and on You Tube.
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Presentation Title: "Giving Voice to Your Cause"
Animated Storyteller, International Communication Trainer and Author, Pamela Ziemann is ready to share a unique learning experience to help you put an effective voice to your passion.
Pamela has been leading communication and improvisation workshops throughout Canada, Australia, and the United States since 1996. Having overcome her own fear of public speaking, she has compassion for those she works with and a passion for effective vegan advocacy.
Much more than a communication expert, Pamela guides her clients to connect their inner passion with their outer cause. She helps them articulate their message in a way that’s intuitive, thoughtful and powerful.
Pamela is the author of “Giving Voice to Your Cause,” which blends 60 unique speaking tips with real world examples of what it takes for social enterprises to accomplish their mission.
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Milton Mills, MD, is Associate Director of Preventive Medicine for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and works as a Critical Care physician with Fairfax Hospital in Virginia and United Medical Center in Washington DC. His experience specializing in Internal Medicine and HIV disease, and in the relationship between nutrition and chronic diseases has made him extensively knowledgeable about the unique health care needs of minorities, the challenges of practicing medicine in inner cities, and the special medical and nutritional requirements of HIV+ and AIDS patients.
Dr. Mills graduated from Stanford University School of Medicine, serving as student body president of the medical school and Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor of the Stanford Medical School newspaper. He did his internship at the University of California-San Francisco, and his residency at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C.
September 22 Presentation Title: "Flowers & the Human Intellect”
This lecture addresses the question of why humans love flowers and find them "beautiful." Beauty is a biological imperative that compels behavior. Science has shown that physical beauty correlates with greater genetic health, fitness and improved survival. It follows, therefore, that finding flowers beautiful should also improve our health, fitness and survival.
September 23 Presentation Title: "Meat Eating & the Biology of Disgust"
This lecture explores the human emotion of "disgust" focusing on pathogen disgust (as opposed to moral or sexual disgust). Dr Mills argues that although people eat meat, they really don't like it and that is why humans are compelled to change its appearance, taste, texture and smell in order to find it palatable. He will show how the qualities that elicit pathogen disgust in all humans and show that these are the characteristics of raw meat. The lecture also discusses some possible reasons why humans societies might have found it expedient to use animals foods in the past when plant foods were unavailable and then point out that this no longer the case.
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Presentation Title: "Health Impacts of Soy Foods"
Mark Messina, PhD, is an adjunct associate professor at Loma Linda University, is the co-owner of Nutrition Matters Inc., a nutrition consulting company; and the executive director of the Soy Nutrition Institute. He is a former program director with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), where he initiated a research program on the anticancer effects of soy.
Since leaving the NCI, Dr. Messina has devoted his time primarily to the study of the health effects of soy foods and soybean isoflavones. He writes extensively on these subjects and has published more than 50 articles and book chapters for health professionals. He has also given more than 400 presentations to both consumer and professional groups throughout the United States and in 35 countries. |
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Presentation Title: "THINK VEGAN: Ten Tips to Get You Started"
Join Jasmin Singer and Mariann Sullivan, co-founders of Our Hen House (ourhenhouse.org), as they guide you through the exciting journey of making transitions toward a vegan lifestyle. They will cover everything from the social quandaries (like keeping your cool while handling comments from friends and family) – to tips on how to successfully navigate through a not (yet) vegan world (such as how to get a delicious meal at a non-veg restaurant) – to some of the actual nuts and bolts of vegan eating (including ideas about transition foods, thoughts on being a “junk food vegan” versus eating in an optimally-healthy way, and further resources that will aid your process). Bring your pens, your questions, and your sense of humor. Be prepared to be enlightened and entertained by the hens of Our Hen House. |
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Ellen Jaffe Jones
Presentation Title for September 22: "Eat Vegan on $4 a Day"
Cooking Demo on September 23: "Cooking Vegan without Breaking the Bank!"
Ellen's best-selling book, Eat Vegan on $4 a Day rapidly rose to the publisher’s top seller list.
Her publisher credits part of the success with Ellen's dedication and use of social media. Ellen
now coaches other authors on how to build their social media "presence."
Ellen received 2 Emmys and 4 nominations as a popular TV investigative reporter and anchor for
18 years. Nowadays Ellen is a Nationally Certified Personal Trainer by the Aerobics & Fitness
Association of America and is also a Certified Coach with The Road Runners Club of America.
RRCA certifies most road races in the US, and is the premier national organization dedicated to
promoting the development and growth of running and walking throughout the country. Ellen
is also the volunteer assistant coach for a High School Girls' Cross Country & Track Team in
Florida.
She runs 8 minute miles (same as when she was 28), often places in her age group at local 5K
races, and can hold a 6 minute plank position. She ran her first marathon in 2010 (The Palm
Beaches Marathon) and was the 5th oldest female to finish.
Be sure to like Ellen Jaffe Jones on Facebook and follow her on Twitter!
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Robert Cheeke, Ed Bauer, Giacomo Marchese, Mark Eisenhart
Presentation Title: "Vegan Fitness - Different Perspectives on the Total Package"
Vegan athlete panel - Accomplished vegan athletes will share their secrets to success in athletics on a pure plant-based diet. Get your questions answered about how to get enough protein as a vegan athlete, what foods to eat before and after exercise, which exercises are best and how often to work out based on your goals, and much, much more. There will be time for Q and A throughout the panel discussion. To learn more about the presenters, visit their websites:
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George Wuerthner
Presentation Title: "Ecological Impact of livestock production on the Earth"
George Wuerthner is a professional photographer, writer and ecologist. He has written more than two dozen books on natural history and other environmental topics. He is currently the ecological projects director for the Foundation for Deep Ecology. Wuerthner has visited hundreds of mountain ranges around the West, more than 380 wilderness areas, more than 180 national park units, and every national forest west of the Mississippi.
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Jiivapriya, Yoga Instructor
Jiivapriya has been practicing yoga and meditation for 15 years. She has enjoyed teaching yoga classes for both children and adults in Portland for the past 7 years. She is also a co-founder and teacher of Tender Leaf Preschool, a Neo-Humanist school in SW Portland, which uses yoga, meditation, vegan diet, art and nature study as the base of its learning curriculum. tenderleaf.org
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Suman S.Barkhas, Yoga and Tai Chi Instructor
Presentation Title for September 23: "Tai Chi for Better Balance"
Suman S.Barkhas, Nationally certified (E-RYT-500) Yoga Therapist , Yoga teacher trainer and Tai chi Moving for better balance Master instructor trainer offering Holistic Health therapeutic classes of Yoga, Chair Yoga, Tai Chi for better balance for all levels at Peace Health River Bend Oregon Heart & Vascular Institute.
Suman (Sodnomdarjaa) Barkhas, born in Mongolia, has traveled as a yoga monk throughout forty-six countries. He currently resides in Eugene, Oregon, working as a holistic wellness coach and has been a vegetarian for more then 21 years.
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Cooking Demonstrations
Laura Theodore "The Jazzy Vegetarian"
Laura Theodore, The Jazzy Vegetarian is a popular television personality and radio host, vegan chef, compassionate cookbook author and award-winning jazz singer and actor. She is the proud creator of the Jazzy Vegetarian, and author of Jazzy Vegetarian: Lively Vegan Cuisine Made Easy and Delicious. Laura is presently the on-camera host and co-producer of the Jazzy Vegetarian cooking show on national Public Television, now in it’s second season. Ms. Theodore has made guest appearances on ABC, NBC, CBS, USA, and she was recently featured on the Insider, Entertainment Tonight Online, News 4-NBC and CBS Radio. Laura has been featured in The New York Times, USA Today, New York Daily News, New York Post, VegNews, Family Circle, PBS Food, Vegetarian Times Online, JazzTimes, Variety, and Time Magazine, among others.
Laura’s focus is on creating delicious American Classic Meals, while focusing on easy to prepare recipes. Whether you are a dedicated vegan, adopting a vegetarian lifestyle, or just want to fit a ‘veggie style meal’ into your weekly menu plan, Laura demonstrates how to prepare simple, vegan dishes that will please everybody that you are cooking for. A love for good food, compassion for animals and enthusiasm for great music has created a joyous life path for Laura Theodore, The Jazzy Vegetarian.
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Presentation Title for September 22: "It’s Soylicious"
Laura will take you on a journey through tasty and fun ways to incorporate tofu in to your recipes. From Creamy Cucumber Soup to Pots De Crème we’ll explore tips and tricks for enhancing dishes with tofu. And the best part is…no one will ever know…unless YOU tell them!
Presentation Title for September 23: "All-American Classics"
Laura will share her jazzy tips on how to make classic American fare into classic plant-based fare. She’ll share some traditionally inspired recipes and full menu plans for creating mouth-watering and healthful meals. The focus will be on incorporating local produce when possible, in addition to ingredients that are available at your supermarket. Creating tasty plant-based meals for omnivorous dinner guests or finicky family members really is tasty and easy!
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Christy Morgan "The Blissful Chef"
Presentation Title: “Quick Protein Packed Snacks For Everyone!”
If you are going to have a snack might as well make it packed with protein and nutrients. Christy will show you some of her favorite ways to get protein in your diet with easy snacks everyone will love. Learn how to make the most delicious green smoothie, how to make a kale salad full of nutrients, and a quick snack perfect pre or post-workout. Enjoy samples of Christy's delicious Bliss Protein Balls and Dreamsicle Smoothie.
Christy Morgan, The Blissful Chef, has been tantalizing taste buds for years as a vegan chef, cooking instructor, food writer, and cookbook author. Christy’s mission is to show that a whole food plant-based diet can be delicious, easy and will bring more energy and bliss into your life! Her fun and informative classes teach amateurs and seasoned veterans alike how to create simple yet delicious, sustainable, “green” meals using local organic produce and seasonal cooking techniques.
Christy has been seen on VegNews.com, One Green Planet, Daily Candy, Fox Good Day, From A to Vegan, and is a guest on numerous radio shows and podcasts including Martha Stewart Living Radio, Our Hen House, Vegan World Radio, and the Dr. Don Show. Her cookbook Blissful Bites is available now where books our sold! Be sure to follow her on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.
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Robin Asbell
Presentation Title: "Big Vegan Does Sweet and Savory!"
Chef Robin Asbell will prepare Middle Eastern Cous Cous with Dates and Almonds, Fast Broccoli-Kale Sandwiches with Tahini Sauce, and Spiced Cranberry Granola Bars, and talk about how to make delicious, whole food vegan cuisine.
Robin Asbell is the author of Big Vegan: Over 350 Recipes, No Meat, No Dairy, All Delicious (Chronicle Books Fall 2011) her third book about cooking with whole, natural foods. Her newest book, Sweet and Easy Vegan is hitting bookstores right now, bringing whole grain and alternatively sweetened vegan treat recipes to the world. Her second book, The New Vegetarian Cookbook, explores delicious meatless cuisine that even meat lovers will enjoy. She also writes for many national magazines, such as Vegetarian Times, VegNews, Clean Eating, Better Homes and Gardens, Taunton’s Fine Cooking, and Real Food. Asbell has many years of experience creating fabulous food in restaurants, delis and bakeries. She also creates customized healthful meals in the homes of private clients.
For more information on Robin, check out her website and new Vegetarian blog.
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Ellen Jaffe Jones
Cooking Demo on September 23: "Cooking Vegan without Breaking the Bank!"
Ellen Jaffe Jones is the author of the best-selling book Eat Vegan on $4 a Day, an Aerobics & fitness Association of America certified personal trainer, Road Runners Club of America certified running coach, and accomplished endurance and sprint runner. She just placed 6th overall female in a 5K last weekend making this her 28th 5 or 10K age group win in a running race since 2008. Her 200 Meter Times in the local Florida Senior Games are :06 slower than the personal records of NCAA college girls on the University of Southern California Track Team.
Whether you're feeding an army or just a few, recipes from Eat Vegan on $4 a Day will show you how you can stretch your food budget without sacrificing nutrition. You'll get to taste Ellen's Load ‘Em Up Burritos & Citrus Salad! Yum!
Be sure to like Ellen Jaffe Jones on Facebook and follow her on Twitter!
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Jennifer Cornbleet
Presentation Title for September 22: "Raw Food Made Easy"
Getting your RDA of nutritious and delicious just got easier! To celebrate the release of an updated and expanded version of her best-selling book Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People, well-known chef and cooking instructor, Jennifer Cornbleet is sharing the secrets to flavorful, healthful meals made without cooking and without processed ingredients. Includes tastes of her Tropical Fruit Tart.
Presentation Title for September 23: "Super Drinks with Jennifer Cornbleet
Satisfying your appetite and fueling your body with nutrition has never been easier! To celebrate the release of an updated and expanded version of her best-selling book Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People, well-known chef and cooking instructor, Jennifer Cornbleet is sharing her secrets for great-tasting, ultra-healthy ‘Super Drinks’ that will keep you fed and energized all day long. Includes tastes of her Chocolate Green Smoothie.
Jennifer Cornbleet is a nationally recognized raw-food chef and instructor and a long-time
faculty member at Living Light Culinary Institute in California. She lectures and holds classes in
the San Francisco Bay area and nationwide. Her website, learnrawfood.com, is a comprehensive resource for online training and raw-food recipes, information, and products.
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Aaron Adams
Presentation: "Making Vegan Ravioli"
In Aaron's demo, you'll learn how easy it is to make your own make your own vegan pasta dough free of eggs and dairy. Aaron will demonstrate how to create pasta dough and delicious stuffings for the ravioli. During this informative class attendees will get to sample Aaron's amazing winter butternut squash ravioli.
Chef Aaron has been working professionally in kitchen since 1995, up and down the West and East Coast. In 2003, then owner of a small meat-centric French restaurant in Jacksonville, Florida, Aaron felt that something "just wasn't right." A year later, he found himself in Portland, Oregon, following a vegan lifestyle and trying to live an environmentally and ethically responsible life. In late 2008, Aaron, alongside his partner Diane Horne, opened up Portobello Vegan Trattoria in Portland, Oregon.
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Kid's Activities
Rick Reynolds, M.Ed.
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Join Rick Reynolds, M.Ed., author of “The EverGreen Twins Activity Book,”
and “Marco the Molecule” for a variety of fun activities, including “Worm Bin
Magic!” Kids will investigate a working worm bin and learning everything
they need to know start one at home and keep it going. Red worms are
vegetarians, so they make the perfect “pets” for fellow vegetarians; they
turn your veggie and fruit scraps into compost—fast! Other free activities will
include a “Pollination Maze,” Eco-doku™ puzzles, and more!
The EverGreen Twins teach ecology and sustainability to kids of all ages
in fun ways while integrating other key learning concepts and skills in
science, math, language arts, social studies, technology, and art. Made in
Portland with 100% recycled materials, the books have been well-received
by kids, parents, teachers, and the press. In fact, they may be the most
eco-friendly, fun, and educational book on the planet! Learn more at
www.engagingpress.com.
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Ask the Experts (Exhibit Hall)
Experts on nutrition, health, cooking, and traveling as a vegan will be available at various times throughout the day. Experts remain available both during and in between other scheduled presentations.
Wendy Abraham, ND
Dr. Abraham is a naturopathic physician in
Portland. She has over 20 years of experience as a medical reflexologist
helping people deal with pain. As a naturopathic physician she helps
people with lifestyle changes often starting with food. Dr. Abraham
promotes a plant-based diet to address many health issues including
inflammation, heart disease, pain, and weight loss. She taught vegan
cooking classes for The Cancer Project throughout Portland. Dr. Abraham
has had two healthy vegetarian pregnancies and spends most, if not all, of
her free time with her two healthy vegetarian little girls. She is
currently practicing in SW Portland and accepting new patients.
www.naturalpainsolutionsportland.com
Ed Bauer
Ed Bauer is a Certified Personal Trainer through the Aerobics and Fitness
Association of America, American Council on Exercise, and the National
Exercise and Sports Trainers Association, as well as a Certified Fitness
Nutrition Coach. He is a 15 year vegan with over 2000 sessions of training
experience. Ed is also an all natural NPC Champion Bodybuilder. He is
available for training and nutritional counseling. Contact Ed Bauer at
edbauerfit@gmail.com to get started.
Steve Aberle
How difficult is it to find a vegan meal while traveling? Bring your travel guides and ask! Steve is a computer scientist by profession who is married to a dietitian. Their daughter moved to Britain in 1997, and they have ventured out across western Europe as extensions to family visits, finding vegan food along the way in England, Wales, Scotland, France, and Germany. Steve was raised on meat and potatoes, but has now been vegetarian for over 15 years, vegan for over 13 years, and living foods vegan for over 11 years.
Grant Butler
Grant Butler has been writing about Oregon's food scene for nearly two decades, but completely changed his perspective when he switched to a plant-based diet two years ago. Since then, he's explored Portland's thriving vegan restaurant scene, met dozens of chefs and enthusiastic home cooks, and introduced plenty of delicious recipes to the mainstream readership of The Oregonian with his Going Vegan column. Grant will share his personal journey from a burger-gobbling kid to a kale-crazed adult, including how his new food choices have changed his family's dynamics and eating habits. He'll also offer his assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of Portland's vegan community, offering a road map to where it's going and what needs to be done to get there, including a series of challenges for both vegans and omnivores designed to open hearts and minds about our shared future.
Stephanie Lucas, RN, MS, MPA
As an RN for over 25 years, Stephanie has seen first-hand how our Standard American Diet has contributed to dramatically increased rates of obesity and chronic illnesses. As a parent with a vegan teenager, she can share practical advice on motivating healthy eating. Stephanie is also a member of NW VEG's, Veganic Gardening Group, and she is knowledgeable and enthusiastic about gardening without the need for animal by-products.
Gail Nelson, MPH, RD, ACSM-CPT
Gail is a Registered Dietitian with the Academy of Nutrition and
Dietetics, and a Certified Personal Trainer with the American College of
Sports Medicine (ACSM). Her focus is helping people achieve healthy
lifestyles and weight loss using the power of plant-based foods as well as
healthy exercise. As the mother of two active young boys, she draws upon
her own experience to teach people how to get healthy meals on the table
in a hurry. She also specializes in helping busy people "sneak in" cardio
and resistance exercise throughout the day in order to meet the ACSM
recommended "30 minutes of exercise most days of the week". She can be
reached at gnelsonrd@gmail.com.
Alison Ozgur, RD
Alison Ozgur, R.D., is a registered dietitian, author, and motivational speaker, specializing in plant-based nutrition. She is an instructor for the T. Colin Campbell Foundation's Certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition course through eCornell and co-author of the plant-based nutrition and fitness book, “Go Beyond Good”. She writes monthly columns for newsletters, hosts nutrition talks and grocery store tours, and is the Washington and Oregon state coordinator for the Vegetarian Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. fitnessdietitian.com
Christy Whitney
Christy Whitney holds a specialized Masters Degree in living nutrition,
fasting and detoxification from the University of Integrated Science. She
is a yoga teacher, colon hydrotherapist, live food chef and detox coach.
She transforms her clients health and their lives by combing her
knowledge, inspiration and modalities to create personalized or group
programs that support her clients success and provides them with
sustainable results. She feels her purpose on this planet is assisting
people to find their way to freedom in health, movement and mindset.
Mark Eisenhart
Mark Eisenhart
I am a High Raw and Vegan Gluten Free Sponsored Athlete who recently
competed on American Nina Warrior and will again next season. In the near
future I will be embarking on several mountaineering expeditions in
Greenland Iceland, and India. I am also an Actor, Transformational Speaker,
and Life Coach who is garnering national publicity for dropping 215lbs and
eradicating 20 states of disease in one year without surgery. In 2013 I
will publish my second book describing that experience called Changing What
You Eat Changes Who You Are. I have appeared on the CBS Show The
Doctors, KGW and KOIN 6 in Portland, NW Cable News in Seattle, WBKI in
Louisville, and many other TV and radio shows with several more on deck for
the near future as well as in Vegan Health and Fitness Magazine and Veg
World Magazine.
Northwest VEG strives to ensure that our activities are fully accessible. To request a sign language interpreter or other accommodations, please contact us at vegfest@nwveg.org as early as possible so we may attempt to fulfill your request.
This event will need 300+ volunteers to make it an even greater success than last year's VegFest. Want to help out with VegFest 2012? Please email volunteer@nwveg.org
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