In 2025, the Institute for Natural Medicine (INM) builds on its newly expanded mission to bring whole person health mainstream. As part of our strategy, we aim to build bridges across leading medical and academic institutions. We envision advancing whole-person health conversations through scientific validation and cross-disciplinary partnerships.
Building our collaborative team to include a wide range of leaders across the integrative medicine and patient advocacy spectrum is one strategy. Two new additions to INM’s Honorary Board help us further our mission.
Brent Bauer, MD, Founder of the Integrative Medicine Program at Mayo Clinic
Dr. Brent Bauer, a professor of medicine and founder of the Integrative Medicine Program at Mayo Clinic, brings more than 30 years of leadership and scientific rigor in integrative health.
As the long-standing research director of the Mayo Integrative Medicine program, Dr. Bauer has shaped and expanded the evidence base for integrative therapies through more than 200 peer-reviewed publications, multiple book chapters and editorial guidance on the Mayo Clinic Guide to Integrative Medicine and the Mayo Clinic Guide to Holistic Health. He is the former medical director of Rejuvenate, Mayo Clinic’s first spa.
From INM’s press release:
“In 1928,” said Dr. Bauer, “Dr. William J. Mayo, one of the founders of the Mayo Clinic, said ‘the aim of medicine is to prevent disease and prolong life; the ideal of medicine is to eliminate the need of a physician.’ Today, 98 years later, we are close to realizing that vision. Through a combination of enhanced cross-disciplinary collaboration and a population that is increasingly engaged and informed, optimizing health for all is in reach.”
Dr. Bauer’s contributions to integrative medicine are unparalleled, and we look forward to his collaboration, which will help us further our mission of bringing whole-person health into mainstream conversations and institutional settings.
Robin Shapiro, Pioneering Patient Advocate
Robin Shapiro, board chair and co-founder of HealthAdvocateX, has more than 30 years of experience in health care public relations, public affairs and advocacy. Throughout her career, she has empowered patients and health care consumers to be informed partners in all aspects of their care.
As a pioneer in the critical field of patient advocacy, Shapiro strongly supports adopting a whole-person approach to health. Centering patients’ voices and needs is crucial to their success.
Her 2019 book, The Secret Language of Healthcare: How to Ask for the Care You Deserve, highlights practical ways patients can communicate their care goals more effectively—a position well aligned with INM’s efforts to help build a “common language” around whole-person health for health care professionals and consumers.
From INM’s press release: “I am proud to support the important work of INM and recognize the organization’s commitment to whole-person health,” said Shapiro. “In my decades of helping people find their voice and choice around medical decision-making and health, it is clear that each person’s mind and body are unique and deserve an integrated approach. The health advocacy movement is grounded in making sure people, when they become patients, are not treated as body parts but as a whole body system that deserves careful consideration and understanding to receive the best care possible.”
As co-founder of several companies, including HPG LLC (now known as REVERBA, a patient experience company) and Allied Health Advocates, the first independent health advocacy company dedicated to helping patients work with private advocates, Shapiro brings an important patient-centered perspective improving health care delivery in the United States.
Existing Honorary Board Members
Dr. Bauer and Shapiro join a distinguished group of visionary leaders from across the medical community. Together, they support INM’s aim to bring a whole-person health approach into the mainstream.
Dr. Mary Hardy is a board-certified internist specializing in botanical and integrative medicine with more than 35 years of experience. She founded Cedars-Sinai’s Integrative Medicine Clinic and served as a research associate at RAND Corporation, conducting systematic reviews of complementary therapies. Dr. Hardy has held leadership positions at the University of California, Los Angeles’ (UCLA) Botanical Research Center and Simms/Mann-UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology. She has advised the U.S. Pharmacopeia, the Canadian Ministry of Health and numerous organizations on the safety and efficacy of herbal products.
Dr. Jeffrey Bland, founder of Functional Medicine, has dedicated more than 50 years to advancing human health through systems biology and personalized lifestyle medicine. A former biochemistry professor and director at the Linus Pauling Institute, Dr. Bland is the author of more than 120 peer-reviewed research publications and is a globally sought-after speaker.
Dr. Len Wisneski is a Clinical Professor at George Washington University, specializing in endocrinology and integrative medicine. A pioneer in holistic health care, he has authored numerous publications, served on NIH (National Institutes of Health) panels, co-founded American Whole Health, and advocates for whole-person care through teaching, policy work and genomic research.
Dr. Arvin Jenab is a leading naturopathic physician serving as medical director at University of California (UC) Irvine’s Samueli Institute. Through teaching, advocacy and developing rigorous residency programs, he champions integrative, whole-person care and interprofessional collaboration, emphasizing systems-based approaches to understanding health and disease patterns.
As INM evolves, we will continue to grow our Honorary Board to expand collaborative opportunities and bring our message and mission to new audiences.
Michelle Simon, PhD, ND President & CEO, Institute for Natural Medicine
In 1992, the leadership core of naturopathic doctors established the Institute for Natural Medicine (INM) as a not for profit organization dedicated to advancing natural medicine. The purpose of the INM is to increase awareness of, broaden public access to, and encourage research about natural medicine and therapies. Among its milestones the INM counts the launch of the Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges (AANMC) as an independent organization, leading California’s efforts to obtain licensure, developing an interactive childhood education program focused on healthy eating and lifestyles called Naturally Well in 2017, and expanding residency access by establishing and funding a residency program in 2018. INM has joined forces with the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP), serving as the charitable arm, to deepen access to naturopathic care, public education and research. Dr. Michelle Simon serves as president and CEO of INM, is a licensed naturopathic physician, clinician, educator and leader in many organizations dedicated to improving the quality and delivery of health care. In addition to holding a naturopathic doctorate from Bastyr University, she also holds a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Simon has served on the boards for the Integrative Healthcare Policy Consortium (IHPC), the AANP and the Naturopathic Physicians Research Institute (NPRI). Dr. Simon also served nine years on the Washington State Health Technology Clinical Committee which is part of the Health Technology Assessment program that examines the scientific evidentiary basis for efficacy, safety and cost effectiveness of health care technologies. She was also an invited participant for health care economics at “Summit on Integrative Medicine and the Health of the Public” at the Institute for Medicine (IOM) in 2009. Dr. Simon was recognized as the 2018 Physician of the Year by the AANP.
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