National Diabetes Program

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, that paved the way for viewing type 2 diabetes as a potentially reversible condition for many patients.

As president of the Physicians Committee, Dr. Barnard leads programs advocating for preventive medicine, good nutrition, and higher ethical standards in research. His research contributed to the acceptance of plant-based diets in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. In 2015, he was named a fellow of the American College of Cardiology. In 2016, he founded the Barnard Medical Center in Washington, D.C., as a model for making nutrition a routine part of all medical care.   

Working with the Medical Society of the District of Columbia and the American Medical Association, Dr. Barnard has authored key resolutions, now part of AMA policy, calling for a new focus on prevention and nutrition in federal policies and in medical practice. In 2018, he received the Medical Society of the District of Columbia’s Distinguished Service Award. He has hosted four PBS television programs on nutrition and health.

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.

Dr. Kahleova has published more than a dozen nutrition studies. She is the author of Vegetarian Diet in the Treatment of Diabetes (Maxdorf, 2013). She also wrote the chapter about using a plant-based diet to treat diabetes in Vegetarian and Plant-Based Diets in Health and Disease Prevention (Academic Press, 2017).

Her research topics include testing the effects of diet on metabolism, insulin function, fitness, and mental health, as well as studying the impact meal timing and meal frequency have on metabolism and body weight.

Dr. Kahleova earned her doctorate in nutrition and diabetes and her medical degree from Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic. As a postdoctoral research fellow at Loma Linda University in California, Dr. Kahleova analyzed data from 50,000 Adventist Health Study-2 participants. She analyzed data on meal frequency and timing in relationship to changes in body weight. She finds two to three meals a day, without snacks, are optimal for body weight control. This led to her recommendation to eat breakfast regularly and to make it the largest meal of the day.

Dr. Kahleova’s favorite prescription for optimal health and wellness is to eat a whole food, plant-based diet and to be physically active.

Dr. Herby is the nutrition education specialist for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting preventive medicine, especially better nutrition, and higher standards in research. Her work focuses on educating health care professionals and the general public on the role of nutrition in preventing, managing, and reversing chronic disease.

Prior to joining the Physicians Committee, she worked as a clinical dietitian and Food for Life instructor at Adventist Health Howard Memorial Hospital in Willits, Calif. Dr. Herby received her Master of Science in nutrition from Bastyr University in Seattle and went on to earn a Doctor of Health Sciences from the University of Bridgeport. 

Dr. Pineda received her internal medicine and primary care degree from the University of Connecticut Health Center and completed a three-year endocrinology fellowship at the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney disease, National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Md. Dr. Pineda, a native Washingtonian, grew up in Dominican Republic where she obtained her medical degree at the Pedro Henriquez Urena University.

Dr. Pineda is board-certified and has practiced internal medicine and endocrinology in Washington, D.C., since 1993. In addition to internal medicine, her areas of expertise are diabetes, thyroid diseases, and metabolic and weight disorders. She also offers metabolic testing and nutritional counseling. Dr. Pineda and her staff are fluent in Spanish.

She is the past president of the Pan American Medical Society and chair of the board of the Medical Society of the District of Columbia.

Brenda Jagatic, CDCES, is a diabetes educator and public health specialist committed to teaching the prevention and management of chronic diseases. She serves as the president of Healthier-Stronger-Happier, a culturally sensitive, values-based organization that consults with organizations and individuals to promote population health. Brenda is passionate about teaching others the importance of good nutrition to prevent and manage chronic diseases.

Dr. Sklar is a board-certified endocrinologist and internist. He received his medical degree at the Boston University Medical Center in Boston, Mass. He completed his residency in internal medicine at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York. Subsequently, he participated in an endocrinology fellowship at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.  While there, he worked in the laboratory of Peter Nissley, MD, studying the developmental regulation of the insulin-like growth factor-II/mannose-6-phosphate receptor. In 1990, he joined the faculty in the endocrinology division at the Georgetown University Medical Center as an assistant professor of medicine.  While at Georgetown University, Dr. Sklar was involved in patient care, clinical research, and teaching. His research interests were focused on the effects of the influence of diet on the control of type 2 diabetes. In 1996, he worked with the Physicians Committee to design and execute a study examining the effects of a high-fiber, low-fat vegan diet in patients with type 2 diabetes. In 1997, Dr. Sklar began a private practice in Washington, D.C., specializing in endocrinology. Since that time, he has been on the board of directors of the Physicians Committee and has worked with the Physicians Committee on outpatient clinical studies. Dr. Sklar is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and has been recognized yearly as a Washingtonian Top Doctor.

Dr. Crayton is former president of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She also is the director and nutrition consultant at Living Well Associates and a professor emeritus at Auburn University, where she worked for more than 35 years. Previously, Dr. Crayton was a home economist at Tuskegee (Institute) University and a therapeutic dietitian at hospitals in St. Louis, Mo.

She was a house of delegates director on the Academy's board for two years, served on the house leadership team for two years, and was an at-large member of the board for three years. A member of the Academy Foundation's board of directors since 2013, Dr. Crayton served as chair of the Nutrition Education for the Public dietetic practice group and its membership committee and is a past president of the Alabama Dietetic Association, holding offices at all levels of the district association. She is a member of the Hunger and Environmental Nutrition DPG and the National Organization of Blacks In Dietetics member interest group.

Dr. Crayton served for three years on Auburn University's Diversity Leadership Council and is a three-time recipient of the March of Dimes' Hero Award. Dr. Crayton is a graduate of Grambling State University. She earned a master’s degree from St. Louis University and a doctorate in vocational and adult education from Auburn University.

Donna's plant-based journey began when she became prediabetic near the end of 2018. A friend introduced Donna to a vegan lifestyle to improve her health, and shortly after feeling better she went back to the standard American diet. In 2021, she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes with an A1C of 12. At that point, Donna started attending the Physicians Committee’s Fight Diabetes with Food classes and began a support group on Facebook. Donna, her husband, and three sons all started a vegan lifestyle and have never looked back. Donna reversed her type 2 diabetes, her husband is off all blood pressure medication, and her sons no longer have asthma or eczema. 

Mary Montequin holds a master’s degree specializing in marriage and family therapy. She offers support and counsel to help others better understand their relationship with food and the dynamics that relationship plays with others and on their health. Additionally, she is a certified Food for Life instructor with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, certified in plant-based nutrition with the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies, and holds a professional certification for plant-based cooking through Rouxbe culinary school. This background allows her to teach others how to avoid, manage, and, in many cases, reverse chronic diseases by living a whole food, plant-based lifestyle.

Mary has personal experience with the phenomenal healing and reversal of several chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, by adopting a plant-based lifestyle. Her personal restoration to health is what motivates her to share with anyone interested in learning the lifesaving gift eating whole foods has to offer.

Mary’s goal is that no one ever feels alone or confused when learning how to move away from foods associated with chronic diseases and toward foods that reverse them. Her motto is: “It’s never too late to change your plate.”

Marc Ramirez is a former University of Michigan football player and TEDx presenter who lost 60 pounds and reversed type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, psoriasis, obesity, and frequent heartburn through the power of food. He is president of the nonprofit Chickpea and Bean Inc., whose mission is to educate people about the power and benefits of a plant-based lifestyle. You can learn more about Marc at ChickpeaAndBean.com or on social media.