2021 Conference 

Brian Burke, MD 

Bio coming soon!

Melissa Buchan, Neo Fertility Advisor, Founder of Chart Your Cycle, Co-Developer of Chart Neo is a Duke-trained and board-certified health and wellness coach and the first Neo Fertility Advisor in the United States. Melissa incorporates the coach approach into her fertility awareness program offering her clients the opportunity to learn cycle charting alongside goal setting and positive behavior change for improved outcomes in their reproductive health journey. She is also a co-developer of the Chart Neo app and web platform, a medical management model menstrual cycle charting app that provides seamless and secure charting and data sharing between client and provider. Melissa has distilled her 15 years of fertility awareness and cycle charting experience into her new program, Chart Your Cycle, and online fertility awareness and health coaching program empowering women to manage their fertility and reproductive health, advocate for patient-centered care, and create meaningful lifestyle changes that promote healing and hormonal balance. 

Bio coming soon!

Dede Chism is the Co-Founder and CEO of Bella Health & Wellness in Denver, Colorado. Dede holds a Master’s degree in Science from Regis University and has been a Nurse practitioner for over 25 years. Dede’s career in nursing has taken her from critical care obstetrics to coordinating medical missions to Peru, to authoring of ‘The High-Risk Pregnancy Sourcebook.”  Dede is one of the founding members of the National Consortium of Pro Women’s Healthcare Centers, creating standards for pro-life clinics across the country.  Dede speaks around the nation on various topics including women’s health, life issues and motivationally inspiring topics that flow from a compelling testimony.  

Allison Dreher, MA is the education coordinator for the St. Augustine Foundation, a charitable organization with a mission to provide education about FABMs, among other topics. In 2009, she earned a Master’s degree in Religious Education from Loyola University in New Orleans, LA. In 2013, she trained as a Billings Ovulation Method teacher. Mrs. Dreher is a member of the NGO team that represents WOOMB International at the United Nations for its Commission on the Status of Women. Her jobs there include lobbying and raising awareness about the Billings Ovulation Method and its benefits to women worldwide.

Marguerite Duane, MD, MHA, FAAFP is a Board-certified family physician and adjunct associate professor at Georgetown University. She is co-founder and executive director of FACTS—the Fertility Appreciation Collaborative to Teach the Science. She is trained as a Creighton Model medical consultant and TeenSTAR educator. Dr. Duane works with Modern Mobile Medicine, a direct primary care (DPC) house-calls based practice serving patients of all ages in the DC area. She received her M.D. degree with recognition in primary care from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and completed family medicine residency at Lancaster General Hospital in Lancaster, PA.

Jean Golden-Tevald, DO, CFCMC, FCP, IFMCP has been a family physician in rural New Jersey since 1989. Dr. Jean grew up in Lincoln Park, NJ and completed her undergraduate studies at Barnard College, Columbia University in New York City. She graduated from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1987 and completed her residency in Family Medicine at Union Hospital, Union, NJ and is  Board  Certified in Family Medicine.

Dr. Jean received her training in the Creighton Model FertilityCare System and NaPro TECHNOLOGY at the Saint Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction in Omaha, NE. She is trained as a FertilityCare Practitioner as well as a Certified FertilityCare Medical Consultant. She is a Certified Practitioner by the Institute of Functional Medicine as of 2018. As the bestselling author of “Hope and Healing, What Ultimately You Need from Your Doctor”, Dr. Jean is passionate about helping patients achieve the best level of health possible.

Theresa Hardy, PhD, RN

Bio coming soon!

Teresa Kenney, APRN has been a women’s health nurse practitioner for over 20 years. She practices in Omaha, Nebraska at the St. Paul VI Institute and is a certified NaproTechnology medical consultant. She also practices at Sancta Familia Medical, a family practice office and specializes in women’s health services there as well. She is a member of the American Academy of Fertility Care Professionals and services on the national board of The Guiding Star Project, a national wholistic women’s health movement. Recently, she has been serving the FACTS organization by offering her expertise in restorative women’s health through case presentations that are offered within the FACTS electives.

Summer Holmes-Mason MD, FACOG is a board certified Obstetrician-Gynecologist. She obtained her Bachelor’s Degree from the Pennsylvania State University and her medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Her residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology was completed at the University of Maryland Medical Systems. She completed additional training in the Creighton Model Fertility Care System/NaproTechnology, FEMM and Functional Medicine. Dr. Holmes Mason practices in Wooster, Ohio incorporating FABM’s with lifestyle medicine to improve women’s health.

Lisa Hendrickson-Jack is a certified Fertility Awareness Educator and Holistic Reproductive Health Practitioner who teaches women to chart their menstrual cycles for natural birth control, conception, and monitoring overall health. In her new book The Fifth Vital Sign, Lisa debunks the myth that regular ovulation is only important when you want children by recognizing the menstrual cycle as a vital sign. Drawing heavily from the current scientific literature, Lisa presents an evidence-based approach to fertility awareness and menstrual cycle optimization. She hosts the Fertility Friday Podcast, a weekly radio show devoted to helping women connect to their fifth vital sign by uncovering the connection between menstrual cycle health, fertility, and overall health.

Danielle Koestner, DO is a Family Medicine/OB physician who does mostly women’s health care via telemedicine. She is currently at sea with her husband and their 6 children promoting Fertility Awareness Based Methods and the associated medical protocols of the Reproductive Health Research Institute. She is a part of the FEMM Medical Education Team and is passionate about helping physicians and mid level healthcare professionals integrate these evidence based medical protocols into their practice in the most efficient way possible. “We’re all passionate about helping patients but we want to help meet their personal fertility goals and most importantly promote their overall health for years to come!”

Joseph Stanford, MD

Bio coming soon!

Pilar Vigil, MD

Bio coming soon!

Ed (and Cathy) Reilly, MD State Senator was elected to the Maryland state senate in 2010, where he has continued to serve ever since. His current assignments include serving as the Deputy Minority Leader, and on the Committee of Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs. He received his B.B.A. from Iona College in 1972 in Banking and Finance. He is the father of four children and grandfather to ten grandchildren.

Amina White, MD

Bio coming soon!

Laura Symul has obtained her PhD in computational biology from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), in Switzerland, where she has worked on the molecular regulation of the circadian clock. In particular she explored the regulation of rhythmic gene expression and protein translation combining analyses of -omics data with mathematical models describing the regulatory dynamics to infer quantities otherwise not measurable. Laura Symul has also specialized in the visualization of data and, during her industry experience, has helped companies to take data-driven decisions.

As a postdoctoral fellow, her research focuses on women’s health and menstrual health in particular. This includes research on fertility, on cycle-related symptoms and on drivers of changes in vaginal microbiome communities. She uses a combination of self-tracked data from mobile phone apps and devices and clinical multi-omics data.

Elisa Yao, ND is a diplomate of the American Board of Integrative & Holistic Medicine, and also with training in Natural Procreative Technology. She has a telemedicine clinic in California that focuses on wholistic fertility and wholistic women’s health. She graduated from UC Berkeley with Phi Beta Kappa honors with a major in Molecular Cell Biology and is a proud alumna of UC Davis School of Medicine.

Patrick Yeung, MD is a Professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, & Women’s Health, Division of Gynecologic Surgical Subspecialties at Saint Louis University. Dr. Patrick Yeung specializes in the optimal laser excision (LAPEX) of endometriosis as a source of fertility and pelvic pain. He also provides a comprehensive approach to restorative surgery and targeted hormonal support for achieving pregnancy (NaProTechnology® or NPT), without in vitro fertilization (IVF). Dr. Yeung completed a Fellowship in Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery (FMIGS) at the University of Louisville and mini-Fellowship in laser excision (LAPEX) at the Center for Endometriosis Care (CEC) in Atlanta. Dr. Yeung has always desired to combine the best of minimally invasive optimal laser excision surgery (LAPEX) for endometriosis with the best strategies for adhesion prevention. He is interested in research on improving fertility including prevention of pelvic adhesions, and quality of life following surgery.  Memberships include the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists (AAGL),the American Association of Fertility Care Professionals (AAFCP), the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetrician-Gynecologists (AAPLOG), the World Endometriosis Research Foundation (WERF), and the Catholic Medical Association (CMA). He is a Fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (FACOG). Dr. Yeung is married with five children, and his wife herself benefited from excision surgery for advanced endometriosis and adhesion prevention techniques to achieve pregnancy.

Naomi Whittaker, MD, NFPMC, FCI is an OBGYN fertility surgeon focused on women’s restorative reproductive medicine, compassionate healthcare, and education. Dr. Whittaker is a board certified OBGYN and a fellowship trained surgeon who specializes in the Creighton Model FertilityCare System and NaProTechnology, which works cooperatively with a woman’s body to treat the underlying cause of gynecologic issues and infertility, such as endometriosis and PCOS. She helps women improve their gynecologic health, and avoid/achieve pregnancy in accordance with their natural fertility using the latest research, medicine, and surgery.

Dr. Whittaker earned her medical degree at Creighton University School of Medicine and completed her residency in OB/GYN at OSF Hospital in Peoria, IL.  She then completed the Saint John Paul II Fellowship in Medical and Surgical NaProTECHNOLOGY at the Pope Paul VI Institute in Omaha, Nebraska. Dr. Whittaker is currently practicing at Penn State Holy Spirit Hospital in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.