HOT FLASH HAVOC interviewed over 40 of the world’s leading health experts to help unravel the confusion concerning perimenopause, menopause, hormones and the controversial Women's Health Initiative (WHI).


These experts included doctors, nurses, researchers, thought leaders, journalists, national and international health organizations.

Past president of the International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health (ISSWSH), formerly Assistant Clinical Professor, Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Biology, Harvard Medical School, Consultative Gynecologist for Menopause & Female Sexual Function & Dysfunction, Aspen, CO.

A distinguished and sought-after speaker, Dr. Altman has been featured at medical conferences both nationally and throughout the world on topics including perimenopause, menopause, hormonal therapy, female sexual function and dysfunction, and state-of-the-art developments in diagnosis, therapy and research of all these issues. He is the author of Making Love the Way We Used To… Or Better: Secrets to Satisfying Midlife Sexuality, as well as numerous chapters on menopause and sexual dysfunction in academic textbooks used by physicians and other healthcare providers.

Over the past twenty-five years Dr. Altman has been quoted on controversial issues related to his expertise in numerous publications including Time Magazine, Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Glamour and Self-magazine.

He has appeared on television, radio and internet news programs, as well as shows including; Good Morning America, People are Talking, Getting Healthy and Doctor On Call. 

Most recently, Dr. Altman has been closely involved with the development and ultimate FDA approval of the first drug ever for women suffering from the most common type of female sexual dysfunction, low or absent sexual desire.

Read more about Dr. Alan Altman

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President, Hormone Education & Research Foundation

Hormone Education & Research, Inc. is a non-profit dedicated to educating consumers about their sex steroid hormones, and strategies to treat and manage their hormones throughout the life cycle. This ranges from supplying women with the information they need to make the best choices in birth control, to education about the true risks and benefits of menopause hormone therapy.


 

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Dr. Verna Brooks-McKenzie is an Obstetrician and Gynecologist from Jamaica who is also certified by The North American Menopause Society as a Menopause Practitioner. She received a Government of Jamaica Medical Scholarship and attended The University of the West Indies where she graduated with Honors in Obstetrics and Gynecology. She  received her postgraduate degree, Doctor of Medicine in Obstetrics and Gynecology and her Fellowship into The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. She obtained her credentials as a Certified Menopause Practitioner by the North American Menopause Society after  successfully lobbying the Executive Director to allow medical practitioners worldwide to sit the certification examination. She is included in the movie “Hot Flash Havoc” as a menopause expert.  

Her passion for women’s health inspired her to opened the first Menopause Center in Mandeville Jamaica and the English Speaking Caribbean and she played a vital role in launching the first Menopause Society in Jamaica. The CEO of The Chrissie Tomlinson Memorial Hospital in Grand Cayman invited her to offer her expertise in this field  to the people of the Cayman Islands which she did for approximately six years.

Dr Brooks McKenzie is a pioneer in her field and was successful in launching the first Osteoporosis Society and inaugural Symposium for medical professionals. She  offered ultrasound bone density  screening in it’s infancy in Jamaica because she observed that a significant number of postmenopausal women in a population of predominantly people of African descent had low bone mass and there were insufficient numbers of bone densitometers on the island. Her pioneering work also included the introduction of trans vaginal ultrasound technology to Jamaica in the 1990’s among  other achievements.

Papers, Conferences, Public Appearances
Dr. Brooks-McKenzie has lectured extensively to medical professionals and the public both nationally and internationally on women’s health issues including lecturing to doctors and lady pharmacists in Ghana West Africa for a USAID Social Marketing of Injectable Contraceptives Project. She represented the Government of Jamaica at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing China and at other meetings of the Commission for the Status of Women at the United Nations headquarters in New York. She has written numerous articles on health issues and has presented over 100 scientific papers at medical conferences. Dr Nafis Sadik, former CEO of the United Nations Population Fund invited her to assist the organization in operationalizing the new concepts in Women’s Reproductive Health into their country programs and projects. She is included in the publication of the proceedings which was circulated worldwide.

Her pioneering work in the field of osteoporosis in Jamaica was presented in Panama City at a meeting of The International Osteoporosis Foundation. She spoke at the IOF World Congress of Osteoporosis Patient Societies in Miami Florida in 2007 where representatives participated from over 180 Societies worldwide. At the invitation of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, she presented her ground breaking work in menopause and osteoporosis at the Third Multicultural Consultant Board Meeting in San Juan Puerto Rico in 2008. In June 2010 she visited the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota and participated in a Visiting Clinical Rotation at the invitation of Dr Lynne Shuster, Director and Assistant Professor of Medicine, Women’s Health Clinic.  .

Voluntary Activities and Awards
Dr. Brooks-McKenzie has served on several Boards in Jamaica. She was Honorary Secretary of the Medical Association of Jamaica (MAJ), chaired the South Central Branch of the MAJ and coordinated many continuing medical education activities for doctors and nurses. She was a member of the Lions Club of Mandeville Multiple District 60B for over 20 years and chaired several committees at the District and Multiple District levels.    

She has received many awards in recognition of her outstanding achievements including the Distinguished Alumni Achievement award for Excellence and induction into the Hall of Fame of her alma mater Ardenne.  The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, West Indies Section, bestowed upon her the award for Outstanding and Distinguished Service in the field of Women’s Health and the Jamaica Gleaner, the most widely circulated newspaper in Jamaica acknowledged her as a Phenomenal Woman in their publication in celebration of International Women’s Day. She continues to contribute her knowledge and expertise to improve women’s health and is currently living and studying in the United States.
 

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Specialist in Gynecology/Menopause/Sexual Medicine, MahaaiMedicalCenter

January 2008 – Present (3 years 10 months)

Evaluation in non-operative gynecology;specialist in `menopause ( also epidemiologic) and sexual medicine (ESSM school 1997) for female and male sexual disorders. Clinical Laboratory Department, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, St Elisabeth Hospital, Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles

 

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Professor Psychiatry & Neurobehavioral Sciences,University of Virginia

Anita Clayton, MD is a Professor at the University of Virginia, Medical Director of the University of Virginia Center for Psychiatric Clinical Research, and Medical Director of the Employee Assistance Program. One of the world’s preeminent experts on women’s sexuality and a psychiatrist with the University of Virginia Health System, she authored the book, Satisfaction: Women, Sex, and the Quest for Intimacy. Dr. Clayton, who is a wife and mother, has been featured in nearly 60 publications ranging from The New York Times and Psychiatric Times to The Wall Street Journal and The Ladies Home Journal. According to Dr. Anita H. Clayton of the University of Virginia, the secret exists, and it’s big. In an era when so many women have become over-achievers and have high expectations for almost every area of their lives, too many of them have decided to settle for mediocre sex.  Dr. Clayton, who is one of the world’s preeminent experts on women’s sexuality and a psychiatrist with the University of Virginia Health System, exposes this secret in her new book, Satisfaction: Women, Sex, and the Quest for Intimacy, Written with Robin Cantor-Cooke, Satisfaction, is based on Dr. Clayton’s extensive research and clinical experience with thousands of women.

Dr. Clayton, who is a wife and mother, has been featured in nearly 60 publications ranging from The New York Times and Psychiatric Times to The Wall Street Journal and The Ladies Home Journal.
 

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Karen Giblin is a foremost authority on menopausal health. She is CEO and Founder of Red Hot Mamas, the nation's largest menopause education program providing mid-life women's health information and support which began in 1991.  Red Hot Mamas programs  are free to women and have been offered in over 200 hospitals and physician practices in the US and Canada.  

Directed by Giblin, the Red Hot Mamas award-winning website, www.redhotmamas.org, is highly accredited and provides up-to-date information to help women take charge of their menopause. She is Editor-in Chief of the Red Hot Mamas monthly E-newsletter, The Menopause Minute.  The website and newsletter dispense the latest news on menopause health, medical research, strategies and approaches to guide women through menopause, treatment options, and offers tips on how to make smarter lifestyle choices to live long, healthy lives at menopause and beyond.
 
Giblin is a frequently quoted source whose insights have appeared in national media and press including The Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Reuters News, LA Times, LA Daily News, Newsday, MSNBC, Web MD, Fortune, Family Circle, Good Housekeeping, Women's Day , Time,  Harper’s Bazaar,  Living Fit,  Pink, Reader's Digest's New Choices, magazines and other publications.  She has appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, CNN News, CBS, NBC, Fox TV, Better TV, QVC and other media outlets. 

Giblin is co-author of "Eat to Defeat Menopause" (De Capo Publishing, 2011) and "The Manual of Management Counseling for the Perimenopausal and Menopausal Patient"   (Parthenon-CRC Press, 2004).  In addition, she has been the lead investigator and presenter of numerous research projects on women’s health. 
 
She is a member of the International Menopause Society and addressed their "First Global Summit on Menopause" in Zurich, Switzerland about "Women's Perceptions of Hormone Therapy Post WHI".  She is also a member of The North American Menopause Society and former producer and host of “Health Watch” – a radio program dedicated to health issues.

She also served three terms as Selectman, Town of Ridgefield, CT, and was the recipient of the 1995 Elizabeth Blackwell Award/Feminist Leadership Award, from the National Organization of Women.
 

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Education Program Manager, Good Vibrations; Doctorate in Adult Sexuality Education; Certified Sexuality Educator, American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors & Therapists

Charles Glickman is the provider in adult education principles and practices, sexuality issues for service providers, and sexuality topics. Certified as a Sexuality Educator by the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors & Therapists (www.aasect.org). Interested in opportunities to provide single-session or multi-session trainings on a wide range of topics.


 

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Phyllis E. Greenberger, M.S.W., is the President and CEO of the Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR), a national non-profit organization based in Washington DC, is widely recognized as the thought-leader in women’s health research. SWHR’s mission is to improve the health of all women through advocacy, education and research.

Greenberger is the first and only President and CEO of SWHR since its founding in 1990. Through her leadership, dedication and promotion of women’s health, sex differences is now widely known and recognized as a critical factor in women’s health.

As a well respected women’s health advocate, Greenberger has earned widespread media attention. The Medical Herald selected her as one of the twenty most influential women in medicine today. In 2006, Greenberger was named one of Washingtonian’s 100 Most Powerful Women by Washingtonian Magazine. Woman’s Day magazine awarded Greenberger the 2006 “Red Dress Award” in recognition of her work in leading the way in the fight against heart disease in women, and in 2010 named her one of 50 “Women Who Are Changing the World.” She is profiled in the book Extraordinary Women: Fantasies Revealed (Stewart, Tabori and Chang, 2006), which features profiles and portraits of 58 prominent women in the United States, and is part of Disruptive Women in Health Care.

Greenberger with Dr. Jennifer Wider is the editor of the book The Savvy Woman Patient: How and Why Your Sex Impacts Your Health (Capitol Books, 2006). A resource guide detailing sex differences across major health diseases, the book provides detailed information about symptoms, treatments and diagnosis creating an opportunity for women to become savvy about their medical health.

Greenberger has presented and spoken to numerous international and national audiences. Internationally, she was invited by the American Jewish Congress Commission for Women’s Empowerment to present at Tel Aviv University, as well as the International Pharmaceutical Federation and the International Council of Nurses. Nationally, Greenberger has addressed among other organizations, the Aspen Institute Health Forum(09); the Biotechnology Industry Organization about health disparities and drug development for women and minorities; the Southern Women in Public Service Conference; and Beyond Hunt Valley: Research on Women’s Health for the 21st Century, held by the Office of Research on Women’s Health. She was a panelist at the National Journal’s Women 2020 Super Summit. Greenberger frequently testifies before Congress advocating for additional research and funding for women’s health.

Besides sitting on SWHR’s Board of Directors, Greenberger currently serves on the Scientific Advisory Board for Women Heart, a national coalition for women with heart disease; the University of Wisconsin (UW) Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) Executive Advisory Committee, a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded K-12 institutional training grant aimed at improving the health of women and understanding how sex/gender differences impact health and disease ; was a board member of the Interstitial Cystitis Association; the Editorial Board for Shape magazine; Women’s Task Force for the National Hemophilia Foundation; and is a member of the International Women’s Forum and the National Association of Professional Women (NAPW).

Previously, Greenberger served as an Advisory Board member for PBS’ To the Contrary , the only national all-women’s news analysis program, and was a health advisor to the Entertainment Industries Council’s First Draft program. She also served on the Report Card Advisory Committee for Making the Grade: A National and State-by-State Report Card; the advisory board for Style & Sense magazine; was an Advisory Board member for the Association of Black Cardiologists’ Center for Women’s Health; a member of Board of Advisors for the Iris Alliance Fund that is dedicated to promoting the mental health of children and families; on the Steering Committee of the Campaign for Public Health. Additionally, Greenberger served as a member of the Research Committee of the Presidential HIV/AIDS Advisory Council and the National Institutes of Health’s National Advisory Environmental Health Sciences Council; was a board member to the National Council on Patient Information and Education and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Lay Advisory Committee; and was a consumer representative to the Medicare Coverage Advisory Committee for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Greenberger is the recipient of numerous awards, including: the “Award for Research Excellence” by the National Association for Women’s Health, “Journal of Women’s Health & Gender-Based Medicine’s Achievement Award,” “Champion of Women’s Health” by Ladies’ Home Journal , the “Washington Woman of Genius” by Trinity College in Washington, D.C., and received an award for public advocacy from the Clinical Research Forum. She was named the 2013 ‘Woman of the Year’ by the NAPW.

Greenberger received a B.A. from Syracuse University and an M.S.W. from The Catholic University of America.

Read Phyllis’ blog on The Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/phyllis-greenberger/
 

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Naturopathic Physician; Acupuncturist; Urban Wellness Group, Portland, Oregon
 

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Sheryl Kingsberg, PhD - Dr. Kingsberg is chief of behavioral medicine, MacDonald Women’s Hospital, University Hospitals Case Medical Center and associate professor in the departments of reproductive biology and psychiatry, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. She was a collaborator on the REVEAL study on women’s sexual health and lectures worldwide on Female Sexual Dysfunction, Postpartum Depression, Psychologic Aspects of Infertility, Psychological Aspects of Cancer.

Since 1991, she has served as staff psychologist of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at University Hospitals of Cleveland. Dr. Kingsberg's main research interests are in female sexual function and the psychological aspects of infertility and menopause. In addition to numerous professional presentations, she is well represented in the current literature including publications in journals, including Fertility and Sterility, Menopause, The Archives of Sexual Behavior, Journal of Women's Health & Gender-based Medicine, the International Journal of Fertility and Women's Medicine, and the Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy.

Dr. Kingsberg has authored numerous chapters on topics including, perimenopause and sexuality, oocyte donation, infertility and aging, sexual aversion disorder, and the treatment of psychogenic erectile dysfunction. She has been the principal investigator on a research grant to enhance the sexual health curriculum of the Case Western Reserve University Medical School. She is an active member in numerous national and international organizations, including the American Psychological Association (APA), the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), the Society for Sex Therapy and Research (SSTAR), the North American Menopause Society (NAMS), the International Society for Women's Sexual Health (ISSWSH), the North American Society for Psychosocial Obstetrics and Gynecology (NASPOG), and the Society for Behavioral Medicine (SBM).
 

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Senior Faculty Research Fellow, Michelle Clayman Institute for Gender Research, Stanford University's Fredi Kronenberg, Ph.D. is Professor of Clinical Physiology, and director of the Rosenthal Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine and an NIH-funded Center for CAM Research in Aging and Women’s Health. Dr. Kronenberg is co-founder of the North American Menopause Society, is on editorial boards of Menopause, and the Journal of Tropical and Medicinal Plants; she was a founding editor of the Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine.

She is an expert in women’s health and menopause, the physiology of hot flashes and alternative therapies for treating them. Dr. Kronenberg is director of CME courses: ‘Botanical Medicine in Modern Clinical Practice’ and ‘Integrative Pain Medicine.’ Dr. Kronenberg is co-founder of the North American Menopause Society, is on editorial boards of Menopause, and the Journal of Tropical and Medicinal Plants; she was a founding editor of the Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine. Her postdoctoral research at Columbia University initiated her work in women's health and menopause. She is a leading expert in menopausal hot flashes, and alternative therapies.
 

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Robert D. Langer, MD, MPH, is a family physician, chronic disease epidemiologist and preventive medicine specialist. His primary focus is the prevention of chronic diseases associated with aging. Dr. Langer has more than 25 years of experience in studies of hormone replacement therapy, postmenopausal health, cardiovascular disease, breast cancer, osteoporosis and dementia. He has been a Principal Investigator for many national and international studies of the effects of HRT, diet, physical activity, nutritional supplements, lipid lowering drugs, and antihypertensive drugs on these diseases and is the author of more than 150 manuscripts in the peer-reviewed literature.

Dr. Langer is Board Certified in Preventive Medicine, and a Fellow of the American College of Preventive Medicine, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American Heart Association Council on Epidemiology and Prevention, as well as a member of the American Society for Preventive Cardiology. He is Principal Scientist and Medical Director of the Jackson Hole Center for Preventive Medicine, an Adjunct Scholar in Epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania Center for Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, and an Adjunct Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas. He retired as a Professor of Family and Preventive Medicine at the University of California, San Diego in 2005.

Dr. Langer was the Principal Investigator of the UCSD Vanguard Clinical Center for Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) for the entire primary study period from 1993 through 2005, and is a past chairman of the WHI National Investigators Committee. He was chairman of the WHI Observational Study Advisory Committee and one of the founding investigators for the WHI Coronary Calcium Study. Dr. Langer began his research career as the Project Director for the UCSD site in the first major NIH study of HRT, the Postmenopausal Estrogen/Progestin Interventions Study (PEPI).

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Medical Director, Women's Health & Breast Center at Franciscan Health System, Washington State

Dr. Barbara Levy received her medical degree from the University of California, San Diego. She completed her internship and residency at Oregon Health and Sciences Center in Portland, OR. She is a fellow in both the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American College of Surgeons. Dr. Levy is certified through the Accreditation Council for Gynecologic Endoscopy as well as the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology.   In 1995, she was elected the first woman president of American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists. Dr. Levy has written over 60 publications in her specialty and in 2003 she was awarded 1ST Prize at the ACOG Film Festival for her video “Vaginal Hysterectomy for a Massively Enlarged Nonprolapsed Uterus”.   

Dr. Levy serves as the Medical Director for Women’s Health for the 5 hospital Franciscan Health System in Tacoma, Washington. She also maintains a private gynecologic practice in Federal Way, Washington. She is devoted to holistic, sensitive and respectful treatment of women’s special health needs. Dr. Levy’s focus is on minimally invasive gynecologic surgery and treatment of incontinence. She has particular interest in management of uterine fibroids, pelvic pain, pelvic floor disorders and gynecologic tumors. 
 

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WHI Principal Investigator; Professor of Women's Health & Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Joann Manson, DPH, MD, who is also the Elizabeth F. Brigham Professor of Women's Health and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, received her A.B. degree in 1975, Masters of Public Health in 1984, and Doctorate of Public Health in 1987, all from Harvard, and was selected for making a broad impact in medical research and health care delivery focused on women. As one of the lead investigators on several landmark women's health studies, including the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), the Nurses' Health Study, and the Women's Antioxidant and Cardiovascular Study, her research has particularly addressed the role of lifestyle factors, diet, antioxidant and other micronutrient supplementation, and hormone replacement therapy as predictors of cardiovascular disease in women.

She is currently Professor in the Department of Epidemiology - Department of Epidemiology - Harvard School of Public Health.  Expertise: lead investigator of WHI study; research has addressed the role of lifestyle factors, diet, and other micronutrient supplementation and hormone replacement therapy as predictors of cardiovascular disease in women.
 

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Associate Professor Psychiatry & Psychology, Neuropsychiatric Institute, University of Illinois

Dr. Pauline Maki is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology in the Neuropsychiatric Institute at the University of Illinois at Chicago.  She is a cognitive neuropsychologist who received her Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Minnesota and two post-doctoral fellowships, one in memory and aging at Johns Hopkins University and a second in neuroimaging at the NIH.  She is on faculty in her current position for 5 years.  She has been studying the effects of hormones on the brain, primarily memory function, since 1996.

Pauline M. Maki , Ph.D. directs a comprehensive program of research on hormonal factors that influence cognitive functioning and mood in women. Her primary focus has been the effects of sex steroid hormones, including estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone on cognition and brain function. Her research program comprises a series of observational studies and clinical intervention trials. She uses neuropsychological and neuroimaging tools (i.e., positron emission tomography and structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging) to study estrogen therapy, botanical treatments for menopausal symptoms, testosterone supplementation, menstrual cycle phase, hormone suppression, and selective estrogen receptor modulators. Dr. Maki was a co-PI on the Women's Health Initiative Study of Cognitive Aging and the Study Tamoxifen and Raloxifene (Co-STAR). She also directs the Neurocognitive Working Group of the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS), a large, multi-site longitudinal study of women with HIV.

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Anne is a certified women's health nurse practitioner and Professor of Nursing at Vanderbilt University. She developed the women's health nurse practitioner program at Vanderbilt in 1992 which has graduate over 400 practitioners with this specialty focus.

Anne is a member of the Board of Directors for the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health and serves on the editorial board of Women's Health Care: A Practical Guide for Nurse Practitioners. She lectures nationally on topics related to women's health care and nurse practitioners as providers of this care.

In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Anne maintains an active practice in Nashville, Tennessee in collaboration with Dr. Roseann Maikis. She is a certified colonoscopist and specializes in well woman care.

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Executive Director, Our Bodies, Ourselves

Judy Norsigian, Executive Director and Founder of Our Bodies, Ourselves Judy Norsigian, executive director and a founder of the Boston Women's Health Book Collective (which does business under the name Our Bodies Ourselves), is a co-author of Our Bodies, Ourselves, Our Bodies, Ourselves: Menopause and Our Bodies, Ourselves: Pregnancy and Birth. Judy speaks and writes frequently on a wide range of women's health concerns, including abortion and contraception, sexually transmitted infections, genetics and reproductive technologies, tobacco and women, women and health care reform, and midwifery advocacy. She has appeared on numerous national television and radio programs, including OPRAH, the TODAY show, GOOD MORNING AMERICA, THE EARLY SHOW and NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw. She served on the board of the National Women's Health Network for 14 years and currently serves as a board member for Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research.

Judy is a founder and longtime board member of Community Works, which raises funds for Boston area social change organizations through payroll deduction charitable giving programs. Her personal recognitions include: the Public Service Award from the Massachusetts Public Health Association (1989); Radcliffe College Alumnae Association Annual Recognition Award (1995); Boston YWCA's Academy of Women Achievers (1996); the 2002 Massachusetts Health Council Award; and an honorary doctorate degree from Boston University (2007).

Expertise: Judy speaks and writes frequently on a wide range of women's health concerns, including abortion and contraception, sexually transmitted infections, genetics and reproductive technologies, tobacco and women, women and health care reform, and midwifery advocacy.
 

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Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Maryland

Dr. Pamela Peeke is the Chief Medical Correspondent for Discovery Health TV and is featured in the award winning National Body Challenge series. Dr. Peeke is a regular in-studio medical commentator for the national networks including CNN’s American Morning, the Today show and Fox & Friends. In addition she is a member of Oprah Winfrey’s “O Team” of national recognized experts in women’s health. Dr. Peeke is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and a member of the American College of Sports Medicine.

Dr. Pamela Peeke is an internationally renowned physician, scientist and expert in the fields of nutrition, metabolism, stress and fitness. Calling herself an “edutainer”, Dr. Peeke uses her trademark wit and humor to provide audiences with a healthy lifestyle message in such a memorable and entertaining style that she is the most requested woman physician speaker in America. An avid athlete, Dr. Peeke is nationally known as the “doc who walks the talk” as she inspires by living the message she teaches. Dr. Peeke is a featured physician in the National Institutes of Health’s “Changing Face of Medicine” exhibit on the history of women physicians at the National Library of Medicine. She has been named one of America’s top physicians by the Consumers Research Council of America. Dr. Peeke is a Pew Foundation Scholar in Nutrition and Metabolism and Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Maryland.

Author: Body of Life for Women & Fight Fat After Forty

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Tara Parker-Pope, a professional reporter for twenty years, writes a weekly consumer health column and daily health blog for The New York Times, and prior to that was the health columnist for The Wall Street Journal. Her special Wall Street Journal report on the findings of the Women's Health Initiative earned her the Media Award from the North American Menopause Society, as well as the Second Century Award for Excellence in Health Care from the Columbia University School of Nursing. She was an investigative journalist on the WHI.

Author: The Hormone Decision

 

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National Training Director, Renfrew Center Foundation.

The Renfrew Center is a women's mental health center with locations in Philadelphia and Radnor, PA; Coconut Creek, FL; New York City; Old Greenwich, CT; Ridgewood, NJ; Charlotte, NC; Nashville, TN; Dallas, TX and Bethesda, MD, as well as a nationwide professional resource network. They specialize in the treatment of eating disorders (anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder), trauma, anxiety, depression, and other women's issues.

 

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Michelle King Robson is one of the nation's leading women's health and wellness advocates. Michelle started EmpowHER.com following her own personal struggle with a debilitating health issue. A tireless voice for women and the visionary behind EmpowHER, Michelle spends her time talking to women's groups, health care organizations, political leaders, regulatory bodies and the media about women's health and wellness issues, the importance of women advocating for themselves and their loved ones and is currently finishing writing a book around her experience and passion for helping improve and change woman’s lives.

No stranger to standing in the gap for the women EmpowHER supports, Michelle has testified before the FDA, and has led the second largest write-in campaign in FDA history for drugs and treatments for women's health.  Michelle's goal is to drive innovation and change in patient experience, health care delivery, and development and approval of health-improving, life-changing medicine, treatments and procedures for women around the world. Michelle King Robson participated in the film Hot Flash Havoc by sharing her story with others.

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Philip M. Sarrel, MD is currently Emeritus Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences and Psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut. At Yale, Dr. Sarrel has been Co-Director of the Sex Counseling Service since 1969 and Director of the Mid-life Study Program since 1984. Dr. Sarrel is the author or co-author of over 200 medical articles and chapters for medical texts and is also the coauthor of six textbooks related to menopause and to understanding sexual behavior and response. His research during the past 17 years has focused on studies of arterial effects of hormones and issues related to sex and aging. He was one of the co-investigators of the Women’s Estrogen for Stroke Prevention Trial funded by the National Institutes of Neurological Disease and Stroke. 

Dr. Sarrel is currently a contributing editor of Menopause: The Journal of the North American Menopause Society. In addition to his position at Yale, Dr. Philip M. Sarrel is Founder and President of the Advancing Health After Hysterectomy Foundation.

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Medical Director, Women's Health & Research Consultants;  Clinical Professor, George Washington University

Dr. James Simon is Clinical Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C.  Dr. Simon maintains a private practice of reproductive endocrinology & infertility located at 1850 M St., NW, Washington, D.C.  Dr. Simon is certified by the American Board of Obstetrics & Gynecology in both obstetrics & gynecology, and reproductive endocrinology & infertility.  He is also certified by the International Society for Clinical Densitometry (ISCD) & directs a bone densitometry center. He also served as a past president of the North American Menopause Society (NAMS; 2003-2004).Dr. Simon received his M.D. degree from Rush Medical College (1974-1978) & completed his internship & residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the George Washington University Hospital (1978-1982). He completed his fellowship training in reproductive endocrinology & infertility at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (1982-1985). Dr. Simon then became Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine in Norfolk, Virginia (1985-1987). He served as Chief of the Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility Division at the Georgetown University School of Medicine (1987-1996) before assuming his current duties.

During his tenure at Georgetown, Dr. Simon was the Biomedical Director of The Institute for Reproductive Health, a cooperative program of the National Institutes of Health & the US Agency for International Development, & was an adjunct scientist at the National Institutes of Health. In addition, he founded & directed the Bone Densitometry Unit .Dr. Simon is an established investigator in reproductive endocrinology. His basic research interest is implantation, specifically, embryo/endometrial signaling & tissue remodeling. His clinical research focuses on the Menopause, particularly Osteoporosis diagnosis, prevention & treatment, and hormone replacement therapies, including complementary & alternative approaches.
 

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Dr. Leon Speroff is Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine, Portland, Oregon and is a leader in the field of reproductive endocrinology, menopause, hormone replacement therapy and contraception.

"Dr. Speroff has contributed monumentally to the medical literature in his field," said Arthur Haney, MD, professor and chair of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Chicago. "Not only is he responsible for a series of fundamental research studies, he has played a crucial role in pulling together vast collections of unrelated studies and synthesizing them into a coherent whole, and thus shaping the research agenda for the future."

Not only is he responsible for a series of fundamental research studies, he has played a crucial role in pulling together vast collections of unrelated studies and synthesizing them into a coherent whole, and thus shaping the research agenda for the future.

As the senior author of Clinical Gynecologic Endocrinology and Infertility, now in its seventh edition, and coauthor of A Clinical Guide for Contraception, now in its fourth edition, Dr. Speroff examined all the research in each field in ways and summarized it for physicians and lay persons as well.

Dr. Speroff also served as president of the American Fertility Society (now the American Society for Reproductive Medicine). He was the founding president of the Society of Reproductive Endocrinologists. He served on the editorial boards of 14 specialty journals in obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive medicine.

The Lifetime Cable channel featured him as the host of their television program on obstetrics and gynecology.
 

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Wulf H. Utian MD, PhD, DSc is a physician, and world-renowned researcher, author, and lecturer on menopause & infertility. He was an early pioneer in the development of in vitro fertilization, and started the world’s first research center on menopause in 1967. Among numerous awards, he was honored by Good Housekeeping as “one of America’s best physicians in women’s health,” by Ladies Home Journal as one of the “top ten researchers in women’s health” and by the FDA with an FDA Citation “for the collective outstanding performance of the ‘Menopause and Hormones Information Campaign’.” 

He is an independent consultant in women’s health issues, especially regarding new drug development.  Considered to be one of the world’s most significant authorities on menopause and women’s health, Dr. Utian is the Executive Director Emeritus and Honorary Founding President of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS); the Arthur H. Bill Professor Emeritus of Reproductive Biology, Case Western Reserve School of Medicine; Consultant in Gynecology and Women’s Health, The Cleveland Clinic; Visiting Professor, University of Cape Town, South Africa, and Chairman of the Advisory Board of Rapid Medical Research. Previously, he was Director of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Mt. Sinai Medical Center of Cleveland, and then at University Hospitals of Cleveland and Chairman of Reproductive Biology at Case Western Reserve University.

He received his medical degree from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, and his PhD from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. In 2007 he earned the DSc (Med) degree from the University of Cape Town, it’s highest degree and awarded only 11 times in over 100 years. He is Board Certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Endocrinology.

He is one of the three original Founders in 1976 of the International Menopause Society, of which he is Honorary Past President, and founder of the North American Menopause Society. He is the recipient of multiple research grants and has studied the metabolic and psychosocial aspects of hormones and menopause for many years.  He was Medical Editor of Maturitas from 1983-1993, is Honorary Founding Editor of Menopause (1994-2010), and was Editor of Menopause Management from its inception in 1987 until December 2009.

During his career, Dr. Utian has written over 200 scientific papers related to women’s health, multiple editorials, and has authored several books, including eight on menopause, with “CHANGE YOUR MENOPAUSE – Why one size does not fit all” just published in October 2011, following his successful self-help book, “THE UTIAN STRATEGY - Is this your problem or is this my problem?” in 2010.

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Dr. Elizabeth Vliet M.D. is a women’s health specialist & Founder of HER Place: Health Enhancement Renewal for Women, Tucson & Dallas. She has appeared on Fox News, Cavuto, Stuart Varney Show, Fox & Friends, addressing critical healthcare reform issues.

A nationally recognized speaker on women’s health issues, Dr. Vliet has presented numerous scientific papers and keynote addresses at regional, national, and international conferences. She regularly teaches Continuing Medical Education courses on Women’s Health to physicians and other health professionals. Dr. Vliet has studied, researched, and written on the effects of hormone changes on migraines, fibromyalgia and chronic pain, PMS, PCOS, depression and anxiety, osteoporosis, cardiovascular risks, etc. Her books include: It’s My Ovaries, Stupid!, Screaming to Be Heard: Hormone Connections Women Suspect… and Doctors Still Ignore, and Women, Weight and Hormones. Her clinical approach is to treat the whole person by carefully evaluating hormone changes throughout a patient’s life cycle, then integrating preventive and complementary medicine to help women (and sometimes men) develop individualized plans for optimal physical, emotional, and spiritual health.

Pursuing her interest in the integration of mind and body, she completed specialty training in Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She is a Diplomat of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and of the American Academy of Pain Management. Dr. Vliet is a member of the International Menopause Society, the International Society of Gynecologic Endocrinology, American Society of Reproductive Medicine, the North American Menopause Society, and the American Medical Association. She is on the advisory board for The Alliance for Better Bone Health. She was the Co-coordinating Editor for Practical Reviews in Women’s Health, published by the American College of Women’s Health Physicians Continuing Medical Education.

Author: Screaming To Be Heard; It's My Ovaries, Stupid!
 

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Susan Wysocki, RNC, NP, FAANP President and CEO of the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health (NPWH). She is a national recognized speaker and opinion leader in the field of women’s health. Ms. Wysocki’s publications include: Women’s Health Care: A Practical Journal for Nurse Practitioners. Further, and contributing Editor, DC Bureau, for Nurse Practitioner World News.