Mikayla Hill, MA
"Rooted in Community: REACH's Food As Medicine Partnership with Black-Owned Farms"
My presentation will focus on how we can promote access to healthy, affordable, and culturally-appropriate foods within Multnomah County as a public institution. We see the policy and programmatic recommendations we share with you as both a chronic disease prevention and climate resilience strategy. I’ll start by drawing the connection between food purchasing, community health, and climate resilience before sharing some of the REACH Program’s policy, systems, and environmental change strategies and recommendations as well as other possible program opportunities that address nutrition security for Multnomah County’s diverse communities. So why institutional food procurement? Procurement (or food purchasing) is one lever of institutional power through which Multnomah County can have an immediate and direct impact on chronic disease disparities, while simultaneously promoting community resilience and driving broader climate goals. Through our food procurement policies and contracting practices, we determine what kind of food is available to employees and community members – whether that food is nutritious, culturally relevant, and health-promoting, or whether it increases the risk of chronic diseases like diabetes or cardiovascular disease. Our procurement policies determine whether food purchasing builds wealth in local communities, or whether it maximizes profits for corporations that exploit land and people and extract resources from our local economy; and they also determine whether food is grown in regenerative agricultural systems that support our ecosystem’s health and climate stability, or whether it perpetuates practices such as large monocrop and concentrated animal feeding operations that threaten our future. As is often said, a budget is a statement of values – but so is a menu. Through our food purchasing power, Multnomah County can send a signal to food service companies, vendors, peer jurisdictions, and businesses about what kind of food system we want to build as well as what kind of food system truly serves our community’s health (Food Justice Agenda for a Resilient Boston).
Bio: Mikayla earned her Bachelor's degree in Psychology and Exercise Sports Science from Austin College. During her collegiate career she assisted social psychology professors in scholarly published ethnic, religious and sexual minorities’ research and statistical data analysis research. She earned her Master's in Holistic Nutrition from the National University of Natural Medicine with intent to help educate all on the importance of healthy lifestyle choices.
Mikayla Hill serves as the Nutrition Promotion Program Specialist for Multnomah County REACH team (Racial Ethnic Approaches to Community Health). REACH’s nutrition strategy area has focused on advancing access to nutritious food among Black and African immigrant/refugee communities. In partnership with over 20 community-based organizations, we serve to address some of the most common food access barriers and affordability concerns within our community. We also strive to advance food policy and systems change to influence the institutions and settings that shape the way we eat and our long-term health outcomes.
Ellen Donald
"Permaculture Approaches to Transforming the Food System"
Permaculture offers practical tools to play for and increase food security. Commonly considered a method for growing food in small spaces, it can also act as a guide to redesign our food system as a whole. In this presentation you'll learn the tools permaculture utilizes to create abundant and diverse organic gardens, and how some of those tools can be used to design food systems that meet the individual and potentially transform society.
Bio: Ellen earned her Permaculture Design Certificate (2006) and completed an Advanced Permaculture Residency (2014-2016) from the Regenerative Design Institute in Bolinas, CA; she also earned a degree in Conservation and Education (2000) from the College of Santa Fe in NM. Ellen has been a permaculture instructor, gardening teacher and environmental educator for over 20 years, and she sees the intersection of politics and current events through the lens of ecology. She believes that the nature of human culture is fundamentally an emergent, interdependent, and co-creative process best rooted in and mimicking natural systems.
Russell Marz, ND, MAcOM
"Your Mental Health, Your Microbiome and the Diversification of Your Diet"
Increasing your microbiome is becoming more appreciated for its effects on mood and mental health. There are 10x more bacteria, viruses and yeasts in your GI tract than there are cells in your body. These organisms are in a delicate balance in your body and are dependent upon what you eat. More than 90% of the serotonin that is produced in the body is produced in the GI tract. We know that this microbiome that we possess is dependent upon the amounts and the diversity of plant fiber that we consume on a daily basis. It is known that many of the cancers that we create in our bodies are created because of an imbalance of our microflora. Elevated levels of sugars in our blood (50% of the U.S. population has either prediabetes or diabetes outright) stimulate a number of undesirable microbes in our gut. In addition, chronic use of antibiotics intentionally or unintentionally through the consumption of animal protein (80% of the 35 million lbs. of antibiotics that we use in the U.S. in used to feed livestock). These antibiotics are both consumed in the animal products that we consume or outright in our water supply as runoff. In addition, we spray around the planet over 4.5 billion lbs. of glyphosate (Roundup Ready) herbicide which gets into our food and water supply because it is water soluble. The combination of all of these factors has created a tremendous imbalance in our microflora. Our intake of both amounts and variations of fiber are so egregiously low that it is creating the perfect storm in our GI tracts and is contributing to the epidemic of depression, anxiety, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, mood disorders and a host of hormonal imbalances. In this lecture a thorough examination of this situation will be discussed and what we all need to do to correct this imbalance.
Bio: Dr. Russell B. Marz received his naturopathic doctorate from the "National College of Naturopathic Medicine" in Portland, Oregon in 1983. Upon graduating from naturopathic school, he completed a 10,000-mile bicycle tour, around North America with a group of naturopathic physicians, where he appeared numerous times on radio and TV giving over 120 lectures on nutrition and naturopathic medicine. In 1985 he founded Omnivite Nutrition Inc (now Marz Nutrition LLC, a company that formulates unique nutritional formulas.
Dr. Marz has taught clinical nutrition at various medical schools as an associate professor for over 40 years. His teaching schools have included "The National College of Naturopathic Medicine", “Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine”, Bridgeport College of Naturopathic Medicine” in Bridgeport, CT and at the “Oregon College of Oriental Medicine”. He is the author of a 600 page clinically oriented textbook in clinical nutrition, Medical Nutrition from Marz. 2nd edition. He earned a master's degree in Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine from the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine in 1992. Since 1990 he has been in private practice at the “Tabor Hill Clinic” in Portland, OR where he is the medical director. In 2015, Dr. Marz was inducted into the Naturopathic Hall of Fame. Aside from his private practice, formulation designing and teaching, Dr. Marz is an active athlete involved in numerous sports including surfing, cycling, swimming, basketball, and tennis to name a few. He has competed on a competitive level as a triathlete for 40 years in almost 400 triathlons, winning a handful of competitions plus numerous age group medals. Dr. Marz has a keen interest in nutrition and the environment and particularly in sustainable nutrition. He has devoted almost 50 years into the study of the optimal diet with regards to health and longevity. He has traveled to 3 of the 5 “Blue Zones” of the world studying the diets of the longest-lived people and has been to several world-famous fasting clinics where he both participated and observed patients. He has done over 100 fasts in his lifetime and using fasting extensively in the treatment of his patients. He is in the process of setting up a fasting retreat in Costa Rica, one of the 5 Blue Zones of the world.
Kimberly Queen, DACBN, DC, MS, CNS, LD
"Community Gardens Increase Access to Healthy Foods"
This presentation surveys viable small-scale remedies to repair the broken promises of environmental, economic and social sustainability in America’s food system, focusing on individual and community-based food production and distribution practices that increase access to local, affordable, and diverse fresh, healthful foods that can reduce hunger, improve food security, enhance food justice, reduce economic inequality, and promote health equity by alleviating malnutrition, especially overnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies associated with the intake of ultra-processed and other hyper-palatable foods.
Bio: Dr. Kimberly Queen, DC, DACBN, MS, CNS, LD, CN, is a Doctor of Chiropractic (University of Western States, OR) and Diplomate with the American Clinical Board of Nutrition. She received her Master of Science in Human Nutrition from the University of Bridgeport (CT) and her Certified Nutrition Specialist credential (CNS) from the American Nutrition Association. She is a Licensed Dietitian (OR) and Certified Nutritionist (WA).
She practiced clinical nutrition for 23 years before transitioning to full-time teaching. She is currently an Associate Professor teaching multiple courses in the BScN/MScN Nutrition Programs at the National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM) in Portland, OR, and Clinical Nutrition Curriculum Director in the School of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies. Her professional duties include developing the clinical nutrition curriculum, authoring the Standards of Clinical Performance and Postgraduate Clinical Internship Guidelines, and supervising CNS candidates. She was recently appointed to the Accreditation Council for Nutrition Professional Education (ACNPE) task force to develop accreditation guidelines for the Supervised Clinical Nutrition Practice Experience.
Dr. Queen, by nature, is a bridge builder, endeavoring to promote mutual understanding and cohesiveness among individuals and groups with contrasting points of view. At NUNM, she actively participates in multiple committees, including the Clinical Standards Committee. She is valued for her consistent focus on maintaining inclusivity and positive communication among administration, faculty, the student body, and staff. Her peers elected her as Chair of the Faculty Senate, where she worked with faculty and the Chief Academic Officer to coordinate academic activities and write institutional policies.
Dr. Queen approaches all of her personal and professional activities with a spirit of charity, expressed through cultural humility and driven by concerns for health equity and social justice.
Kate Patterson, ND
"Nutritional Resources for Eating Well on a Healthy Planet"
Nutritional Resources for Eating on a Healthy Planet explores how food communities can address critical issues such as food insecurity, the loneliness epidemic, and environmental sustainability. The session will also showcase local community partners and highlight opportunities for involvement.
Bio: After graduating from NCNM (now NUNM) in 2010 with a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine, Dr. Kate Patterson developed a primary care, private practice in Portland, Oregon. There, she enjoys working with patients who seek a holistic approach to optimizing health and holds a special interest in working with those living with difficult to treat, chronic conditions.
In 2011, Dr. Patterson returned to NUNM in a teaching capacity. She is presently an associate professor, instructing students in the art of laboratory medicine. She balances these complementary careers while enjoying time with her family and creating delicious, healthful meals
