VSDC Speakers'
Bureau
The following
individuals comprise the VSDC speakers' bureau. They were
selected to participate because of their specialized knowledge
and training surrounding vegetarianism's health, ethical,
ecological, and/or spiritual benefits. This is not a final
list, and we hope to add more names in the near future. If you
would like to arrange for a speaker at your event, please
contact Caroline Cherry at volunteer at vsdc dot org.
Note: If
someone from this list agrees to speak at your event, it is the policy of the Vegetarian Society of DC that all food/drinks served be vegan so that all may enjoy.
Mark Rifkin,
M.S., R.D., L.D.N.
6711 Park
Heights Avenue, Clubhouse #L-3, Baltimore, MD 21215
preventive_nutrition at verizon dot net;
410-764-8346
Mark Rifkin,
M.S., R.D., L.D.N, has been a vegetarian since 1984, and has a
Master of Science in Health Education. He has been conducting
presentations on nutrition and food-related topics since 1997.
Mr. Rifkin is interested in applying the benefits of vegetarian
diets to preventing and treating chronic conditions such as
heart disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer, arthritis, adverse
menopausal symptoms, and depression. He also specializes in
helping vegetarians further improve their eating habits.
Milton R.
Mills, M.D.
miltonmillsmd
at yahoo dot com
Milton R.
Mills, M.D., serves as associate director of preventive
medicine for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
(PCRM), a DC-based nonprofit organization of doctors and
laypeople dedicated to promoting better nutrition and higher
research standards.
Dr. Mills
practices outpatient clinic-based medicine in Northern Virginia
and works as a critical care physician with Fairfax Hospital in
Fairfax, Virginia. His varied experience specializing in
internal medicine and HIV disease has made him extensively
knowledgeable about the unique healthcare needs of minorities,
the challenges of practicing medicine in inner cities, and the
special medical and nutritional requirements of HIV+ and AIDS
patients.
As an
African-American physician focusing on preventive medicine, Dr.
Mills has delved into some of the environmental and societal
influences affecting the health of African Americans and other
racial minorities. Dr. Mills has lectured and given research
seminars across the United States and in Mexico on such topics
as the negative impacts of meat and dairy consumption on human
health; nutrition and HIV/AIDS; nutrition and cancer; and the
dietary needs of various ethnic groups.
Dr. Mills,
who graduated in 1991 from Stanford University School of
Medicine in California, began working with AIDS patients while
still in medical school. He also served as student body
president of the medical school, founded the Minority Students'
Alliance, and worked as editor-in-chief and managing editor of
the Stanford Medical School newspaper. He later interned at the
University of California-San Francisco and performed his
residency at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington,
DC.
Dr. Mills'
papers on race and diet have appeared in the Journal of the
National Medical Association and 10 years ago he initiated
PCRM's campaign against racial bias in federal dietary
guidelines.
Jonathan
Balcombe, Ph.D., M.S.
jbalcombe at
pcrm dot org
Jonathan
Balcombe, Ph.D., M.S., is a research scientist with the
DC-based Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM),
a nationwide organization of physicians and laypersons that
promotes preventive medicine, especially good nutrition, and
addresses controversies in modern medicine, including ethical
issues in research.
As a research
scientist, Dr. Balcombe works on issues relating to the use of
nonhuman animals in medical science and education. He analyzes
and synthesizes published findings and writes and presents
papers for publication in scientific and lay journals. Dr.
Balcombe also writes the monthly column Beyond Animal Research
for the PCRM Web site.
Dr.
Balcombe's books include The Use of Animals in Higher
Education: Problems, Alternatives, and Recommendations
and Pleasurable Kingdom: Animals and the Nature of
Feeling Good, which was published by Macmillan in May
2006. Dr. Balcombe has also written about animals in research
for several magazines, including PCRM's Good Medicine and
Alternatives in Veterinary Medical Education. Dr. Balcombe
reviews manuscripts for Animal Behaviour, The American Biology
Teacher, and the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science.
Dr. Balcombe
has given more than 50 presentations on the use of animals in
research and on alternatives to the use of animals in medical
research and education. His recent presentations include
"Rodents in Laboratories: Thinking Outside the Cage," at the
Sixth Annual Animal Welfare Forum in Canada and a presentation
on pleasure in animals at the second InterNICHE conference in
Norway.
Dr. Balcombe
received his Doctorate in Ethology from the University of
Tennessee in Knoxville. He received his Master of Science in
Biology from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada,
and his bachelor's in biology from York University in North
York, Ontario.
Before coming
to PCRM, Dr. Balcombe served as the Research Coordinator for
Immersion Medical, a medical simulation company in
Gaithersburg, Maryland. He is also a former VSDC vice
president. Dr. Balcombe is available to speak on any or a
combination of the following topics: animal pleasure (topic of
his new book Pleasurable Kingdom: Animals and the Nature
of Feeling Good, Macmillan, 2006); animals in education
(topic of his book The Use of Animals in Higher
Education: Problems, Alternatives, and Recommendations
(Humane Society Press, 2000); or animals in research.
Karen E.
Davis, Ph.D., President, United Poultry Concerns
PO Box 150,
Machipongo, VA 23405
karen at
upc-online dot org; phone: 757-678-7875; fax:
757-678-5070
Dr. Davis is
President and Founder, in 1990, of United Poultry Concerns, a
nonprofit organization that promotes the compassionate and
respectful treatment of domestic fowls. She has a Ph.D. in
English from the University of Maryland-College Park, where she
taught for 12 years in the English Department.
Her articles
have appeared in The Faculty Voice (University of Maryland),
Journal of English and Germanic Philology, English Language
Notes, Teaching English in the Two-Year College, and Between
the Species: A Journal of Ethics. Her work, letters-to-the
editor and op-eds have run in the New York Times, New Yorker,
Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Washington Times,
Washingtonian, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Columbus
Dispatch, The Plain Dealer (Cleveland), Rochester Democrat and
Chronicle, Harper's Magazine, Atlantic Monthly, Minnesota
Monthly, Minneapolis Star Tribune, The Nation, The Sun
(Baltimore), Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, San
Jose Mercury News, the "Dear Abby" syndicated advice column,
Egg Industry, Feedstuffs, Journal of the American Veterinary
Medical Association, Canadian Veterinary Journal, and many
other publications. She has been a guest on many television and
radio programs, such as The Howard Stern Show, The Daily Show
with Jon Stewart on Comedy Central, Fact Finders on WB Channel
11 News @ Ten in New York City, and This American Life on
National Public Radio.
Since 1999,
Dr. Davis and UPC have hosted seven conferences on farmed
animal advocacy issues. UPC's 7th annual conference presented
the topic of "Inadmissible Comparisons" at the New York
University Law School, co-hosted by Lantern Books and the NYU
Student Animal Legal Defense Fund, in New York City on 24-25
March 2007.
Dr. Davis has
authored several books, including A Home for Henny
(a children's book published by UPC); Instead of Chicken,
Instead of Turkey: A Poultryless "Poultry" Potpourri (a
cookbook published by the Book Publishing Co.); Prisoned
Chickens, Poisoned Eggs: An Inside Look at the Modern Poultry
Industry (Book Publishing Co.); More Than a Meal:
The Turkey in History, Myth, Ritual, and Reality
(Lantern Books); and The Holocaust and the Henmaid's
Tale: A Case for Comparing Atrocities (Lantern Books).
Her essay, "The Turkey in History," appears in the
Encyclopedia of Animals and Humans edited by Marc
Bekoff and Janette Nystrom (Greenwood, 2007). She is currently
revising and updating her book, Prisoned Chickens,
Poisoned Eggs, first published in 1996, for
republication by the Book Publishing Company in 2008.
Erica
Meier
emeier at cok
dot net; 301-891-2458
Erica Meier
is the executive director of Compassion Over Killing (COK), a
non-profit animal advocacy organization based in Washington DC.
Since 1995, COK has worked to end the abuse of animals in
agriculture through undercover investigations, public outreach,
litigation, and other advocacy programs.
COK's efforts
to expose cruelty to farmed animals have garnered national
media coverage in various newspapers, including the New York
Times, Washington Post, and USA Today, and on television
newscasts as well. Before working at COK, Ms. Meier spent four
years as an animal control officer in DC, rescuing sick,
injured, and homeless animals as well as enforcing animal
protection laws.
 
 Last modified:
April 26, 2013 11:01 AM
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