Abril is an independent Family Nurse Practitioner, Licensed Acupuncturist and holds several functional medicine certifications. She is the CEO and provider at Lotus Integrative Medicine in Charlottesville, VA where clients receive a personalized blend of allopathic, functional, ayurvedic and oriental medicine to reach their best health. She is an expert in integrative Medicine, several inner alchemy practices and functional medicine. Abril has a special interest in gut-brain health. She holds degrees from Virginia Commonwealth University, Frontier School of Nursing, South Baylo University and Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. She is a member of The Acupuncture Society of Virginia, Acupuncturist's Without Borders, American Academy of Nurse Practitioners and the Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners. Beyond healthcare, Abril enjoys writing, gardening, forest bathing and east asian cooking.

Dr. Laurie Anne Ferguson, DNP, APRN, has practiced as a Nurse Practitioner since 1984. She is certified as an Adult, Family and Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, and has practiced in a variety of clinical settings in the NP role including ER, Occupational Health, and Primary Care in Pennsylvania, North Dakota, Florida, Louisiana and in Manitoba Canada. She received her BSN from the University of San Francisco, MSN from the University of Pennsylvania, and DNP from the University of Texas, Houston Health Sciences Center. A nursing educator since 1993, she has served on faculty at the University of Manitoba, University of South Florida, Louisiana State University and Loyola University New Orleans, where she served as Dean of the College of Nursing and Health. She was named Founding Dean of the School of Nursing at Emory & Henry College in 2021. Dr. Ferguson is a Fellow in the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and maintains an active clinical practice.

Dr. DeWitt is a Cardiothoracic Radiologist currently working at the Veteran Affairs Hospital in Richmond, Virginia and serving with the 433rd Medical Diagnostics Squadron of United States Air Force Reserve stationed in San Antonio, Texas. Dr. DeWitt has served 14 years of active duty in the US Air Force and has presented at numerous international and national radiology meetings. He has contributed to multiple peer review publications and textbooks. Dr. DeWitt is a product of Virginia's public education, graduating from High School in McLean, Virginia and graduating from the College of Williams & Mary in Williamsburg, Thoraco-Abdominal Radiology Fellowship at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and graduated Medical School from the Medical College of Virginia at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. He enjoys teaching and spent three years as a Teach for America Corps Member teaching High School Biology in inner-city Houston before going to medical school.

Alissa is an Account Executive at Commonwealth Public Relations. Her practice focuses on providing strategic communications and writing expertise to clients. With more than 25 years of public relations experience, Alissa has worked with nonprofit, corporate and service organizations to provide assistance with project planning and management, member and employee communications, web page development, social media, event planning, media relations, and writing for magazines, newsletters, annual reports and strategic communication campaigns.

Alissa is Accredited in Public Relations (APR), a mark of qualification, distinction and ethical practice in the public relations industry, by the Public Relations Society of America. She has earned several Virginia Public Relations Awards in both the Tactics and Practices Divisions for her work on web sites, internal communications campaigns, internal video programs, editorials, and brief events and observances. Alissa is a past president of the Richmond Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.

Brian is the founder of Commonwealth PR and brings more than 25 years of experience to his clients. He is adept at providing strategic communications and marketing counsel to clients ranging from nonprofits to Fortune 500 companies.

His professional expertise includes research, planning, and implementation and evaluation, with a specific focus on ROI of his company's efforts on behalf of its clients. As a former reporter for several daily newspapers, Brian knows what makes reporters tick and how to get their attention when pitching clients. PR and media relations is a strong asset that he brings to the table. He was nicknamed "The Bulldog” for his ability to persuade reporters to cover his clients.

Additionally, he brings to his business and clients an Accreditation in Public Relations (APR), a mark of qualification, distinction and ethical practice in the public relations industry. He has served on multiple nonprofit boards in the Richmond area. Brian is a graduate of Emory & Henry College.

Dawn Bourne is a Family Nurse Practitioner practicing full-time at UVA Student Health & Wellness. She obtained her Bachelor and Master of Science in Nursing, as well as Doctor of Nursing Practice degrees from the University of Virginia. Her doctoral work focused on moral distress in Primary Care Providers. She is an active member on the Ethics and Moral Distress Consult Services at the University of Virginia Health System. Dawn is active in the Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners and is currently serving as state Secretary for a second term.

I am a Family Nurse Practitioner working in the UVA Family Medicine Clinic. I am the Director of Ambulatory Quality Improvement for the Department of Family Medicine and hold the role of Co-Medical Director. I also sit on the board for our provider group and And am a member of several clinical committees.

Dr. Olivia Newby has practiced as a family nurse practitioner for over 25 years. She is a certified diabetes educator, for over 10 years, in an urban primary care medical practice and a 'Prevent Type 2' certified lifestyle coach; diabetes has been forefront in her clinical practice. Dr. Newby is an entrepreneur/owner of Healthy Living Center (HLC) in Norfolk, a nonprofit organization, where she focuses on implementing innovative ways to reduce the health disparity within the community by addressing social determinants of health. As president of HLC, her leadership for diabetes management achieved over 75% required goals, thus obtaining accreditation from the American Association of Diabetes Educator (AADE) and the Center for Disease Control "full recognition" and 100% achievement for their diabetes prevention program.

Jackie Cranford is the founder of Cranford Advisory Services LLC, a consultancy focused on effective talent management with an emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion. For over 21 years, she has successfully designed and implemented talent management strategies and facilitated impactful training workshops.

Prior to establishing her consultancy, Jackie directed talent management initiatives for approximately 14 years in three global law firms. As a consultant, she utilizes her expertise to the benefit of a range of organizations in various industries. She also serves as a Trusted Advisor to the Professional Development Consortium and guest lecturer with Georgetown University's Center for Continuing and Professional Education Department.

Jackie graduated from Oral Roberts University and the University of Virginia School of Law. Following law school, she practiced law at K&L Gates and the Environment & Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice before focusing her career on talent management.

Health Sciences Clinical Professor
UC Irvine Department of Family Medicine
Assistant Dean for Culture and Community Education
UC Irvine School of Medicine
Director
UC Irvine Program in Medical Education for the Latino Community (PRIME-LC)
Santa Ana, CA

Dr Vega grew up in Northern California and completed his undergraduate degree at Harvard University. He attended medical school at the University of Wisconsin - Madison and completed residency training in Family Medicine at UC Irvine. He stayed on as faculty in the Department of Family Medicine at UCI and now holds the title of Health Sciences Clinical Professor. He is the Executive Director of UCI's Program in Medical Education for the Latino Community and won a Macy Faculty Scholarship to improve patient-centered health education at UCI. He currently serves as Assistant Dean for Culture and Community Education in the UC Irvine School of Medicine.
Dr. Vega has seen patients and taught medical students and residents at UC Irvine's Family Health Center - Santa Ana for the past 20 years. This clinic is a federally-qualified health center and the largest safety-net clinic for Orange County. Dr. Vega's academic interests are focused on access to quality, compassionate medical care for underserved populations, and the development of training programs to promote this vision of healthcare.

Sarah Tiesing worked as a nurse for 7 years prior to beginning her career as a Nurse practitioner for the last 10 years. She has experience working in Cardiology, Primary care and Hospital medicine. She is currently working as a Hospitalist Nurse Practitioner at CJW Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia where she serves as the Lead Advanced Practice Clinician for her team.

CHRISITNE KESSLER BIO 2019
Christine Kessler is an award-winning nurse practitioner, national/international speaker, prolific author, and clinical consultant specializing in Endocrinology and Metabolic Medicine. During her 46 years of nursing (39 years in advanced practice) she has held diverse roles in management, research, academia (undergraduate and graduate nursing), and clinical practice; the latter as a critical care clinical specialist, an acute care nurse practitioner (as hospitalist & intensivist) and adult endocrinology nurse practitioner. After 15 years as the senior nurse practitioner at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Department of Endocrinology and Metabolic Medicine, Christine now focuses on providing diabetes and weight loss management, as well as general endocrine services to an impoverished population in rural Virginia. Christine has received numerous clinical practice and patient satisfaction awards, among them three prestigious Outstanding Civilian Service Awards, the Department of Medicine's Army Silver ACE Award for being voted TOP medical provider by the medical staff and the Coin of Excellence personally awarded by the Surgeon General for having the highest patient satisfaction rating of all health care providers in the Army WORLDWIDE. . Christine co-chairs the popular, national Metabolic & Endocrine Disease Summit (MEDS) and is a Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners

Lisa completed her MSN (FNP specialty) at University of Tennessee-Knoxville in 1998 and practiced in primary care for 18 years, working at community health centers for the majority of her career. She became ANCC board certified as a PMHNP in 2016 and received grant funding to develop a model integrating mental health as part of the services offered at her primary care clinic. She now divides her time between this integrative primary care site (University of Maryland Medical Center) and the Johns Hopkins' Children Mental Health Center (CMHC), where she provides psychiatric care for children and adolescents. CMHC uses a co-occurring model of providing psychotherapy and psychiatry services in a community setting. Lisa lives in Baltimore with her three children and enjoys learning languages (in the hopes of traveling more in the future!)

Kate Bartholomay, MSN, FNP-BC, CORLN is a Board
Certified Family Nurse Practitioner and has earned
specialty certification as a Certified Otorhinolaryngology
and Head-Neck Nurse. Kate received her Bachelor of
Science in Nursing from the University of Virginia and her
Master of Science in Nursing from the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her bedside nursing background is in
pediatric acute care, however, she has been practicing at Otolaryngology Associates, an outpatient ENT sub-specialty practice in Northern Virginia for the past 14 years. She has a particular interest in pediatric ENT conditions, specifically infant tongue tie.
After growing up in Northern Virginia, Kate now lives in
Alexandria with her husband and two young daughters.


Certifications/Affiliations:
● 2007 FNP Certification American Nurses Credentialing
Center
● 2019 Certified Otorhinolaryngology and Head-Neck Nurse,
National Certifying Board for Otorhinolaryngology and
Head-Neck Nurses
● Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners - member
● Society of Otorhinolaryngology and Head-Neck Nurses -
member
● Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society for Nurses - member

• Dr. Mimi Secor, Nurse Practitioner, National Speaker/ Educator, a #1 International Best-selling Author, and a Health and Fitness Advocate.
• She has worked for 44 years as a Family Nurse Practitioner specializing in Women's Health and more recently Health and Fitness.
• She is Senior Faculty w/ Advanced Practice Education Associates (APEA) Lafayette, LA
• In 2015, Dr. Secor earned her Doctorate in Nursing Practice (DNP) degree from Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions (RMUoHP) in Provo, Utah.
• And is now serving on Board of Trustees at Rocky Mountain University (RMUoHP).
• She is a Fellow in BOTH the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) and the American Academy of Nursing (AAN).
• She has rec'd several awards (for her contributions to the NP profession) including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Massachusetts Coalition of NPs (MCNP)
• And in 2019 she received the Outstanding Alumnae Award from Rocky Mountain University.
• After losing weight and becoming healthy during her DNP, a year later in 2016, she was in her 1st body building competition, making her "Debut at Age 62” and in 2018 she placed 2nd in her fourth competition.

Dr. Judy Jenks has been in healthcare for 35 years and an FNP for 20 years, practicing in Internal med in rural Appalachia. She completed her DNP at Radford University in Executive Leadership and Administration. She holds a Post-Graduate certificate in Appalachian Studies. She owns 2 healthcare businesses; The Jenks Initiative, LLC as an NP Independent Contractor, and Clinic420, LLC the first Medical Cannabis clinic in SWVA and the second NP owned Cannabis Clinic in the state.
She is the Interim Program Coordinator of the MSN, FNP program at Radford University Carilion in Roanoke, VA. Judy is a published author and international speaker on healthcare, having spoken in Romania, Ukraine, Malaysia, Brazil, and across the United States. She is the new President of the Blue Ridge Region of VCNP. Judy is a Professional Legal Nurse Consultant, helping attorneys understand the medical profession.

Interventional and Structural Cardiologist at Henrico Doctors Hospital since 1987
Board certified in Interventional Cardiology since 1999
Fellow of the American College of Cardiology
Chief of Staff Henrico Doctors Hospital 2011
Fellowship in Cardiology VCU 1985-1987
Residency and Chief Resident Internal Medicine University of Maryland Hospital 1981-1985

Ms. Bruen is a 1996 graduate of UVA Nursing school. She has been a NP at UVA since 2004, specializing in caring for patients living with multiple sclerosis and other neuroimmunology disorders since 2010.

Susan obtained her associates degree in nursing in 1977, and began her career in adult critical care, working at several major medical centers throughout the United States, including Dallas, TX, Cincinnati, OH and Roanoke, VA.
She then received her Bachelors of Science in Nursing in 2004 and her Masters Degree in Nursing Clinical Education from Jefferson College of Health Sciences in 2013. She is nationally certified as a Rehabilitation Registered Nurse (CRRN), Case Manager (CCM), and Life Care Planner (CLCP), a Nurse Life Care Planner (CNLCP), as well as being Certified by the Commonwealth of Virginia as a Rehabilitation Provider (CRP).

In 1994, Susan established Wirt & Associates, LLC, where she provides medical-legal consultations, medical case management, and life care planning services to insurance carriers, employers, attorneys (both plaintiff and defense), and families, with a special emphasis on the long-term needs of individuals with chronic health conditions. Although primarily engaged in cases here in the US, Susan has also worked on cases in the UK, Bolivia, Germany, and Ontario, Canada. She is also adjunct faculty for Radford University Carilion in the undergraduate nursing program.

Carolyn Rutledge, PhD, FNP-BC is Professor and Associate Chair of Nursing at Old Dominion University (ODU) where she directs their Doctor of Nursing Practice program. Dr. Rutledge is a Professor of Family Medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School where she maintained a clinical practice for 32 years and served in a faculty role for the medical school, family practice residency, and faculty development. She has published over 60 articles and served as an investigator on 32 grant applications totaling over $23 million focusing on new models of care such as telehealth to provide care to rural and underserved populations. She was the lead in developing the NONPF position paper on educating Nurse Practitioners in telehealth. Dr. Rutledge led the development of the Telehealth Certification for Providers and Educators, a national training programs for telehealth delivery and education. She is a sought-after national consultant in telehealth education and published the book, “Telehealth Essentials for Advanced Practice Nursing” in June 2020. She recently led the development of several “Gap” clinics for the homeless that are manned by nursing students from ODU and allow for collaboration with other professions via telehealth delivery. She is the Academic Director of the Center for Telehealth Innovation, Education, and Research (C-TIER) at ODU. In 2014, Dr. Rutledge received the SCHEV Outstanding Faculty Award, the highest honor provided to faculty in Virginia.

Dr. Mallory Fox earned her BSN in Nursing and Psychology from Hope College and went on to earn a double masters from the University of Michigan in Family Nurse Practitioner and Nursing Education. After completing her doctorate from the University of Michigan, she did a two year-fellowship in Internal Medicine before moving to Virginia where she practiced in both Family Practice and Integrative Functional Medicine. In addition to practicing as a collegiate professor for over five years, Mallory currently holds her Autonomous Practice licensure in the state of Virginia and has taken what she has learned to form her own comprehensive practice, Fox Family Direct Primary Care where her passion lies in utilizing up-to-date research and education to improve high quality access to primary care and mental health.

Dr. Hills joined the leadership team as Deputy Executive Director for Advanced Practice at the Virginia Board of Nursing in September 2017. Prior to transitioning to her role as a regulator, Dr. Hills served on the faculty of Vanderbilt University and Virginia Commonwealth University. Her practice as a women's health nurse practitioner focused on providing health care to the underserved women in the MetroRichmond area.

Brett Badgley Snodgrass has been a certified Family Nurse Practitioner for 14 years, practicing in multiple settings. She is currently the Palliative Medicine Director of Operations for the Baptist Healthcare System. She is also the owner of BBS Health Education - where she created and presents continuing education for healthcare providers, both live and online. Brett is a nationally recognized healthcare blogger - the NP Mom. She is a chronic pain expert, working for more than 20 years with chronic pain patients in a variety of settings. She is board certified with the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. She is also a Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and certified as an Advanced Hospice and Palliative Care Nurse. She is currently completing her Doctorate of Nursing Practice. Brett has also received the AANP State Excellence Award for TN and the Memphis Business Journal Healthcare Hero Award.

Dr. Howard Li is a pulmonologist and intensivist at the Hunter Holmes McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center and an Associate Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. He specializes in lung cancer screening and the evaluation of pulmonary nodules. Dr. Li is the Project Director of the Veterans Affairs Lung Precision Oncology Program for Veterans Integrated Services Network 5 and 6, which is a network of Veterans hospitals in the mid-Atlantic region focused on increasing Veteran access and participation in lung cancer screening and precision oncology clinical trials. Since 2020, Dr. Li has been actively engaged in the clinical care of Veterans with Covid-19 pneumonia and in developing clinical trials testing novel therapies for Covid-19 pneumonia.

Wendy L. Wright,
DNP,ANP-BC,FNP-BC,FAANP,FAAN,FNAP

Wendy received her Doctor of Nursing Practice in 2019 from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. She is a 1992 graduate of the Adult Primary Care Nurse Practitioner program at Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts and completed a family nurse practitioner post-master's program in 1995. She is an adult and family nurse practitioner and the owner of two, nurse practitioner owned and operated clinics within New Hampshire named: Wright & Associates Family Healthcare. Her family practices have won numerous awards, including Top Providers in New Hampshire 2018, Top 20 Fastest Growing Family Business, and Top 20 Women-Owned Business in New Hampshire. In addition, she is the Owner of Partners in Healthcare Education, a medical education company. She is the Past President of NPACE and the Senior lecturer for Fitzgerald Health Education Associates.

She is the recipient of numerous awards and was chosen by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners as the 1999 recipient of the New Hampshire State Excellence Award. In addition, she received the 2009 NH Nurse Practitioner of the Year and the 2014 Top 5 Women in New Hampshire Business Award. In 2005, she was inducted as a Fellow into the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners; in October 2014, a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, and in March 2017, a Fellow into the National Academies of Practice.

She is the founder of the NH Chamber of Entrepreneurial Nurse Practitioners, an organization designed to assist nurse practitioners with independent practice issues. In addition to full-time clinical practice, she presents nationally to different audiences and has been a speaker at over 1000 conferences in 47 states. She is the nurse practitioner representative to the State of NH Immunization Advisory Board. She has been a medical media spokesperson for numerous companies and has appeared on radio, television, and in print magazines. Wendy is frequently consulted by malpractice attorneys around the area of clinical practice and has worked on more than 100 malpractice cases involving nurses and nurse practitioners.

Dr. Barton-Maxwell is an Assistant Professor in the Family Nurse Practitioner program at Georgetown University and maintains a part-time clinical practice at Wheeling Health Right, a clinic for the underserved residents of West Virginia. As past president of The American Association of Heart Failure Nurses, Vera's area of clinical expertise is in the management of chronic heart failure. Dr. Barton-Maxwell received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Wheeling Jesuit University and her PhD in nursing from West Virginia University. Awards include the St. Ignatius of Loyola Award for outstanding alumnus from WJU, the PhD Nursing Leadership Award and the Anna Mary Miller Scholarship for outstanding PhD student from WVU, and the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners State Award for Excellence. Vera's research involves HF patient decision-making surrounding primary prevention implantable cardioverter-defibrillators. She is a published author of peer-reviewed journals and nursing texts, a manuscript reviewer for multiple professional journals, and a national speaker on subjects surrounding cardiac care and HF.

Melanie Dorion is an Integrative and Functional Nurse Practitioner, founder and Medical Director at Be Vital Health Center. She focuses on managing and reversing chronic illnesses, disease prevention, health and performance optimization in adults and older adults. Her approach is grounded in nursing, Functional and Naturopathic medicine philosophies. She studied Naturopathic Medicine at Bastyr University in Washington before doing her Nurse Practitioner degree at Seattle University. Melanie is currently doing her PhD in clinical research at West Virginia University focusing on chronic complex illnesses. She has received advanced training in geriatric medicine, obesity management, nutrition, exercise science, herbal medicine and genetics allowing for a unique approach to health concerns. Melanie's work centers on chronic complex illnesses, disease prevention, environmentally acquired illnesses and performance optimization. Melanie is a chronic disease survivor, having reversed chronic fatigue and is now dedicated to helping others. Melanie thrives to support patients wanting to feel their best, whatever their role - from being a parent, an athlete, business owner or an executive. She is a member of the Institute for Functional Medicine, American Academy of Environmental Medicine, Obesity Medicine Association and the Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners.
Melanie is also passionate about educating patients and healthcare providers and teaches through public speaking, local and online educational events and radio shows. She is the weekly radio co-host for To Your Health on Charlottesville 97.9 and has appeared on I Love Cville radio. Her speaking engagements include Genova Diagnostics, A4M, Biohealth Congress FIM and is a regular speaker at Mary Baldwin University in addition to leading health workshops and Functional Forum meetings in Virginia.

I am a 2002 graduate of East Tennessee State University. I have been practicing since that time in many different fields to include Primary care, Endocrinology, Urgent Care, Nutrition and Sports medicine, and currently Addiction Medicine. I have served in the United States Army since 1991 currently serving as a Special Forces Communications Sergeant with the 19th Special forces Group (Airborne).

Adrian Thacker is a nurse practitioner with board certification as an addiction specialist (CARN-AP). He currently works with ReVIDA Recovery Centers as the site medical director in Duffield, Virginia where their team's mission is to promote safe and healthy communities by empowering individuals to reclaim their lives from opioid use disorder. He was born, raised and is currently working in rural Southwest Virginia where the community has been devastated by the addiction epidemic. Adrian has over 4 years of experience working in the office based opioid treatment (OBOT) setting, has been approved for the DATA 275 waiver and is currently working at a preferred OBOT with the Virginia Addiction Recovery and Treatment Services (ARTS) program. He is an avid patient advocate that is passionate about providing the highest quality, evidence-based treatment services to individuals suffering from substance use disorders (SUD). He takes pride in his recent professional accomplishment of achieving board certification as an addiction specialist nurse practitioner and hopes to become more active with public and professional education efforts advocating for individuals with SUD.

Dr. Eric Marvin is an Assistant Professor at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine and Virginia Tech School of Neuroscience. He graduated from medical school from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine and trained at Virginia Tech Carilion Clinic for neurosurgery residency. Went on to train in skull base and vascular neurosurgery at St. Louis University and went back to Roanoke to work at Virginia Tech as a skull base and open vascular neurosurgeon

Dr. Danny TK Avula is the Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Social Services. He spent 2021 leading Virginia's unprecedented COVID-19 vaccination effort, and helping Virginia become one of the top ten most vaccinated states in the country. Prior to that, he served as the Director of the Richmond City and Henrico County Health Departments.

Dr. Avula is a public health physician specializing in pediatrics and preventive medicine, and continues to practice clinically as a Pediatric Hospitalist. After graduating from the University of Virginia, he earned his medical degree from Virginia Commonwealth University. He completed residencies at VCU and Johns Hopkins University, where he also earned a Master of Public Health. He is an Affiliate Faculty member at VCU, where he regularly serves as an advisor and preceptor to graduate and medical students.

Dr. Avula was appointed to the State Board of Social Services from 2013-2021, and he served as Board Chair from 2017 to 2019. He is also a former Board Chair of the Richmond Memorial Health Foundation. He has been named one of Richmond's "Top Docs'' annually since 2013, and has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Virginia Center for Inclusive Community's Humanitarian Award, a Richmond Times-Dispatch Person of the Year honoree in 2019, and Style Weekly's "Richmonder of the Year" in 2020.

Dr. Avula's work has been covered extensively in the statewide and national media, by outlets like The New York Times, NPR, and PBS Newshour, and he can be found on the TED circuit with his TEDx talk entitled "Dependence Isn't a Dirty Word." At home in Richmond's Church Hill neighborhood, where he has lived for the past 18 years, Dr. Avula's time is devoted to life with his wife and five kids.