Recognized as one of Inc. Magazine’s 2015 ‘30 Under 30 Best and Brightest Entrepreneurs’ — Gautam Gupta is the Co-Founder and CEO of NatureBox — a direct-to-consumer snack company that makes smart, delicious snacking easy. Launched in 2012, NatureBox has quickly become one of America’s fastest- growing food brands with no signs of slowing down. Today NatureBox ships over 100 NatureBox brand snacks to fans across the US and in Canada. The Bay Area company leverages real-time consumer data to drive innovation and bring new products to market every month. Prior to starting NatureBox, Gautam worked at General Catalyst Partners where he focused on early-stage consumer investing and saw firsthand the tremendous potential to bring an e-commerce model to the food industry. Gautam resides in San Carlos, CA, a short walk from NatureBox’s headquarters.

Derek Millender was named Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers in August 2013. He was previously the Cavs assistant strength and conditioning coach for three seasons. Millender is responsible for coordinating the teams In-Season and off-season: performance testing and monitoring, and Strength and Conditioning. Millender also incorporates other training programs such as Yoga and Pilates into player individualized programs. In addition to developing in-season programs, he works individually with each player during the offseason to prepare them for the rigors of an NBA campaign. He also works with a nutritionist closely to recommend the right foods at the right time (Nutrient Timing), along with supplement recommendation.

Prior to joining the Cavs, he was the head strength and conditioning coach for Cleveland State University. He also spent two years in the Cleveland Indians organization (2006 Mahoning Valley Scrappers (A), 2007 Akron Aeros (AA)).

The Pensacola, Florida native completed his undergrad studies in 2004 at the University of South Alabama and earned his Master’s Degree in Exercise Science from Cleveland State University in 2010. Millender is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach * D with Distinction (10yrs as a certified strength and conditioning coach) a Performance Enhancement Specialist (PES) through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) and is also a Sports Performance Coach through United States Weightlifting (USAW).

He resides in Cleveland, Ohio.

Jonathan Bloom is a journalist, consultant and thought leader on the topic of food waste. Jonathan wrote the book American Wasteland and created the web site Wasted Food. He has spoken on food waste from Santiago to San Francisco to Singapore and consulted with the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, Harvard Law School, Natural Resources Defense Council and General Mills. In 2013-2014, he was the O.V.W. Hawkins Expert-in-Residence at Bucknell University. A Boston native, Jonathan now lives Durham, NC, with his wife, two sons and many, many containers for leftovers.

Neal Barnard, M.D., F.A.C.C., is an adjunct associate professor of medicine at the George Washington

University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, D.C., and president of the Physicians

Committee for Responsible Medicine.

Dr. Barnard has led numerous research studies investigating the effects of diet on diabetes, body weight,

and chronic pain, including a groundbreaking study of dietary interventions in type 2 diabetes, funded by

the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Barnard has authored more than 70 scientific publications as well as

17 books, including the New York Times best-sellers Power Foods for the Brain, 21-Day Weight Loss

Kickstart, and the USA Today best-seller Dr. Barnard’s Program for Reversing Diabetes.

As president of the Physicians Committee, Dr. Barnard leads programs advocating for preventive medicine,

good nutrition, and higher ethical standards in research. He has hosted three PBS television programs on

nutrition and health and is frequently called on by news programs to discuss issues related to nutrition and

research.

Originally from Fargo, N.D., Dr. Barnard received his medical degree at the George Washington University

School of Medicine and completed his residency at the same institution. He practiced at St. Vincent’s

Hospital in New York before returning to Washington to found the Physicians Committee.

Barnard Medical Center

In 2015, Dr. Barnard founded the nonprofit Barnard Medical Center, which opened in January 2016, in

Washington, D.C. Barnard Medical’s board-certified physicians, nurse practitioners, and registered

dietitians provide complete primary care. Barnard Medical also helps patients tackle the causes of illness,

with extra attention on improving health through prevention and nutrition. Barnard Medical takes

advantage of years of research conducted by the Physicians Committee research team and other

researchers, showing how a new approach to medicine and nutrition could help prevent and reverse serious

health problems, such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol,

migraines, and arthritis. Barnard Medical’s focus on nutrition includes comprehensive nutrition counseling

with registered dietitians and group cooking classes.

Dr. Aviva Romm. Named by mindbodygreen.com as one of the 100 Women to Watch in Wellness, Dr. Aviva Romm has bridged her interests in traditional medicine with her knowledge of science for over 3 decades. A midwife and herbalist for 25 years, now a Yale trained MD, Board Certified in Family Medicine with Obstetrics. Aviva’s focus is on women’s and children’s health, with an emphasis on the impact of stress physiology on health, chronic disease, food cravings, weight, and hormone imbalance, and the use of food, mindfulness, and natural medicine to develop and express greater resilience and live fuller lives. She is also an avid environmental health advocate, writing and teaching about the impact of pollutants on fertility, pregnancy, women’s hormones, chronic illness and children’s long-term health. Aviva is recognized as an international authority in the field of botanical medicine, and is the author of 7 books on natural medicine for women and children, including the textbook Botanical Medicine for Women’s Health. The mother of 4 and grandmother of 2, she lives and practices medicine in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts.

Dr. Zelana Montminy, a leading figure in Positive Psychology and one of Maria Shriver’s Architects of Change, brings a unique and varied skillset to the wellness realm. She is the author of 21 Days to Resilience, ranked #1 on Amazon as a Mental Health Hot New Release and speaks around the world on the topic. Whether it's to a large conference, business, academic or non-profit institution, private client, or groups of parents and their children, her message of resilience and wellness resonates profoundly with all. Dr. Z, as people like to call her, is also a go-to authority in the media, appearing on The Doctors, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Fox, TV Guide, PopSugar, and E! Entertainment Television. She makes regular contributions to the pages of Better Home & Gardens, Cosmopolitan magazine, People, Redbook, Psychology Today, Mind Body Green, The Huffington Post, and more. She holds masters and doctorate degrees in clinical psychology with a specialization in health and studied nutrition at Cornell University. Dr. Z is a member of the American Psychological Association, an active regional board member of Young President’s Organization, a consultant for the Institute for Applied Positive Research, and on the Program Advisory Board of the Respect Institute. She currently lives with her husband and two toddlers in Los Angeles.

Erik D. Olson, J.D., is director of the Health Program, and Senior Strategic Director for Food and Health at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). He has more than 30 years of experience in consumer, public health, and environmental policy. He oversees NRDC’s work on issues including antibiotics use in animal production, food waste, climate-healthy food, pesticides, toxic chemicals in food and consumer products, drinking water contamination, global mercury pollution, textile-related pollution in Asia, and other food, agriculture and toxics issues.

Prior to joining NRDC, Olson was Senior Director of Food Programs at The Pew Charitable Trusts, where he managed campaigns to improve food safety, school nutrition standards, and food additives. At Pew he helped lead the successful effort to enact the first overhaul of the FDA’s food safety program in over 70 years. Previously, he was Deputy Staff Director and General Counsel of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. In his previous 15-year stint at NRDC, he helped enact the Food Quality Protection Act and the 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments. He has litigated major federal environmental cases ranging from the Exxon Valdez case to drinking water, Superfund, and other litigation. Olson is a member of the Institute of Medicine’s Food Forum and is on the Board for Food Policy Action. He received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where served as an editor of the environmental law journal, and his A.B. from Columbia University.

Gavan J. Fitzsimons is the R. David Thomas professor of marketing and psychology at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

His research focuses on understanding the ways in which consumers may be influenced without their conscious knowledge or awareness by marketers and marketing researchers, often without any intent on the part of the marketer. His work has been published in numerous academic journals such as the Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Psychology, Journal of Marketing Research, Marketing Science, Management Science, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and Psychological Science. His ideas have also been featured in many popular press outlets such as NPR, CNN, MSNBC, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Psychology Today, Oprah Magazine and Time Magazine, amongst many others. He is co-director of the Duke-Ipsos Center for Shopper Insights.

We are celebrating 25 episodes of Take Out with Ashley and Robyn. Listen to them discuss how the past 25 episodes have gone, what they have learned, their favorite parts and also I have them answer the 5 questions they always ask their guests. What a fun show! Ashley and Robyn discuss how they noticed how the guests always and a personal connection to the food movement. A Personal awakening that led them to pursue it professionally. How the challenges they had led to the solutions they found. They discuss the changes at Wholefoods and Costco as well as the huge acquisition deals going on in the food industry for billions of dollars. They discuss how we need a wake up call more than ever in the food industry in America. Even love is discussed on this episode!

Robyn Thomas is currently serving in her tenth year as the Executive Director of the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. A national nonprofit organization founded by attorneys, the Law Center is focused on providing comprehensive legal research and expertise in support of smart gun laws that save lives. Under her leadership, the Law Center has experienced a dramatic increase in the scope of it’s work in providing legal support to legislators, activists, and the media in their search for commonsense solutions to gun violence. Ms. Thomas oversees the Law Center’s legal activities across the nation, including the development of state and local gun policies, and has testified at numerous public hearings in support of such laws. She is also an expert on the Second Amendment and oversees the Law Center’s tracking and analysis of all Second Amendment litigation nationwide.

Prior to her work with the Law Center, Ms. Thomas served as the Executive Director of the Tikkun Community and Tikkun Magazine and practiced law at Lord Bissell & Brook and Milberg Weiss Bershad & Shulman in New York. She is a graduate of Duke University and University of Miami School of Law, where she graduated magna cum laude. Learn more at smartgunlaws.org.