Board of Directors

President
Jim Ventresca, DOM is a member of the Ayurvedic Accreditation Commission. Dr. Ventresca served as a site visit team leader and subject matter expert for the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from 1995 to 2001. A 1984 graduate and past faculty member of the New England School of Acupuncture and among the members of the first group of acupuncturists in the United States to achieve the status of board-certified Diplomate of Acupuncture, he was one of the first acupuncturists licensed in the state of Massachusetts and holds  a license in New Mexico as a Doctor of Oriental Medicine. In addition to practicing in busy clinical settings and teaching acupuncture and Oriental Medicine since 1984, Dr. Ventresca served as academic dean and full professor of acupuncture and Oriental Medicine at Southwest Acupuncture College. Dr. Ventresca is a co-founder of a publicly funded HIV/AIDS substance abuse treatment center and spent three years as the medical director for integrative medicine at HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Dr. Ventresca currently teaches acupuncture to healthcare professionals, as the director and principal instructor for AcuPracticeSeminars.com.

Treasurer
Pratima Kumar Musburger, JD, MPH, is an attorney and public health practitioner. Pratima has spent her career focused on addressing health inequities in underserved communities in both the United States and abroad. While her career path has focused on public health, she believes that her understanding of health and well-being have been strongly shaped by her study of both yoga and Ayurveda. She currently works for a California-based nonprofit organization, bringing systems and sectors together to advance health equity, and teaches yoga in the Ashtanga yoga tradition.

Vaidya Anupama Kizhakkeveettil (Anu), BAMS, MAOM, FAIHM, C-IAYT, PhD, is an Ayurvedic Practitioner, licensed acupuncturist, Professor and Program Director of Ayurvedic Medicine at Southern California University of Health Sciences. Her contributions to the field of complementary and alternative medicine include extensive travel to propagate Ayurveda worldwide, numerous research presentations at national and international conferences, publications in various peer-reviewed research journals, and regular participation as a peer reviewer at conferences. She currently serves on the Research Working Group of the Academic Collaborative for Integrative Health and recently completed a NIH-funded research study. Many of her research papers have earned special recognition at the conferences where they were presented, and she has received a number of awards for her work on Ayurveda and complementary and alternative medicine. In 2020, she received Sheikh Zayed International Award for Ayurveda. She was also invited to attend WHO’s International Expert consulting meeting in 2019 and 2020. As an advocate for the Ayurvedic profession and the advancement of its goals, Vaidya Anu serves as boards of director of the California Association of Ayurvedic Medicine, a nonprofit devoted to furthering Ayurvedic education, research, and practice in California and the National Ayurvedic Medical Association (NAMA), an organization that represents the Ayurvedic profession in the United States and strives to promote the practice of Ayurveda nationwide. Previously, she completed six years of service as a member of the Action Board of the American Public Health Association (APHA), helping to coordinate grassroots and grasstops advocacy activities. She is also the President of the Athreya Herbs, a U.S-based provider of Ayurvedic herbal supplements, and one of the Co-founder of Athreya Ayurvedic Integrative Health Center.

Sivarama ‘Prasad’ Vinjamury, MD(Ayu), MAOM, MPH, is currently working as a Professor of Research at SCU, Whittier, California and is the Director of Capstone research. He also provides clinical services at the Students Health and Counseling Center at CSUF. He has been a principle investigator of studies on Fibromyalgia, Hypertension and Insomnia. Recently, he has been awarded a mini-grant to investigate the effects of acupuncture on chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy in breast cancer patients.

Vaidya Namyata (Nami) Pathak, BAMS, MD(Ayu), VSF, is a Vaidya Scientist with over a decade of extensive training in both Ayurveda and modern biomedicine. She was selected as the youngest Vaidya Scientist in India and has been involved in numerous interdisciplinary projects inspired by Ayurveda. She teaches at leading Ayurveda schools in the US and consults at her Ayu. Care office in Fremont, SF Bay Area. She has spoken at international conferences, community health initiatives, and government health conclaves in India and the US, including the NIH. She has numerous international publications and served on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine for a decade.

Vaidya Vandana Baranwal, BAMS, MD (Ayurveda-BHU) is the founder of AyurveDatri LLC - Women Wellness Solutions and the Founder and President of the Ayurveda Association of Ohio. She teaches Ayurveda at the Integrative Health Center at Ohio State University and is a faculty member at the Hindu University of America. Honored with the Charaka Award for excellence in teaching, she also holds editorial roles with the Journal of Research and Education in Indian Medicine, India, and Ayurveda Journal of Health, University of Massachusetts, USA. She hails from Varanasi, India, a seat of ancient wisdom and spiritual wealth. Her deep-rooted knowledge of Vedic traditions, including Yoga and Astrology, profoundly shapes her holistic healing approach. She is dedicated to advancing women's health through a personalized approach and has co-authored two books: Stree Roga Vimarsha and Prasuti Tantra Sandirshini. Before moving to the USA, she was a professor at the SDM College of Ayurveda and Hospital, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Bangalore. With more than 30 years of experience, her passion and love for Ayurveda fuels her vision for the development and growth of Ayurveda in the Western world.

Advisory Council

Marilyn Allen’s journey into the healing arts of Traditional Medicine began over 35 years ago. She currently serves as part of the Allied Professional Insurance Company Board of Directors and teaches Career Development, Practice Management and Laws and Ethics courses in Acupuncture training programs. She is a registered lobbyist in the state of Arizona and is involved in legislative advocacy for Traditional Medicine.

In 2005, she was appointed as the delegate to the World Health Organization for Traditional Medicine. Marilyn is also involved with the Traditional Medicine Reference Group for Ayurveda Medicine, the Quality of Care and Patient Safety TAG, and the International Standards Organization, which gave her the opportunity to help create standards for herbs, herbal formulas, needle manufacturing and updated terminology.

Suhas Kshirsagar, BAMS, MD(Ayu), AD is a classically trained Ayurvedic Physician with over 30 years of clinical experience. He is a best-selling author, and motivational speaker and an acclaimed educator in the fields of Ayurveda and integrative medicine. He has traveled around the globe popularizing Ayurveda, yoga, meditation, and natural medicine. Dr. Suhas is a sought-after educator in the field of Ayurveda and has started numerous schools and designed curriculums for various universities. He has been featured in many popular podcasts, radio, and television shows. He is an adviser to the Chopra Center and is the director of Ayurvedic Healing Inc.

Alakananda Ma (Olivia Hudis), MBBS, AD is a graduate of St, Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical College, London University, and a NAMA professional member at the Ayurvedic Doctor level. She has been practicing and teaching Ayurveda since 1988. She has served for many years on NAMA’s Standards Committee and has been instrumental in creating national educational standards for Ayurveda. As principal of Alandi Ayurveda Gurukula, she teaches and develops curriculum for Alandi’s four-year full-time program, which is recognized by NAMA as a training course for Ayurvedic Doctors that meets quality standards set by experts in the field. She is dedicated to ensuring credible, high-quality, accredited Ayurvedic education in the U.S.

Malli Rao Varanasi, MS (Industrial Engineering)  is a Manufacturing Executive. After graduating from the University of Minnesota, Malli worked in a large Automotive Parts Manufacturing company in various capacities. He retired as Corporate VP of Manufacturing after a decade in that position.  

After retirement, he worked with the Community Foundations in Atlanta and Orange County California to serve various Nonprofit Charitable organizations in the communities. Actively engaged with the United Way Orange County and its Community Programs. 

Currently he is in the pursuit of understanding Advaita Vedanta and Practice.

Administration

Executive Consultant
Lisa Cavallaro, PsyD, C-IAYT, is a licensed psychologist and holds a doctorate degree in clinical psychology. Lisa specializes in health psychology and behavioral medicine and is the former program director of a multidisciplinary wellness program within a regional medical center. In addition to her 25 years of private practice, she has taught masters and doctoral graduate courses in psychology and facilitated many educational and support groups.

She previously served as an accreditation specialist with the International Association of Yoga Therapists.

Dr. Cavallaro is also credentialed as a certified yoga therapist (C-IAYT) through the International Association of Yoga Therapists and is a faculty member at the Kripalu School of Integrative Yoga Therapy.

Communications Manager
Maeve Mangine brings over 15 years of experience in communications, marketing, administration, and management, primarily in the education and wellness fields. She especially loves design, branding, and writing. As a Kripalu-trained Ayurvedic yoga teacher (RYT-500) with a passion for travel, nature, and learning, she also consults with retreat centers and mission-driven nonprofit organizations.