Michelle Tollefson Editor

Michelle Tollefson, MD, FACOG, DipABLM, FACLM, is an obstetrician- gynecologist in Denver, CO, and a professor in the Health Professions Department at Metropolitan State University of Denver where she created and oversees the Lifestyle Medicine Program and the Wellness Coaching and Lifestyle Medicine Pathway.

Dr. Tollefson is a graduate of Creighton University, where she received both her Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Medicine degrees. She completed her obstetrics and gynecology residency at the University of Missouri in Kansas City. She is also board certified in Lifestyle Medicine and is a fellow of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM).

As an ACLM member for more than a decade, she founded and co-chairs the Women’s Health Member Interest Group as well as the Pre- Professional Lifestyle Medicine Education Member Interest Group. She serves as the ACLM Board Secretary and on the Education and Membership Committees. Dr. Tollefson has worked with Dr. James Rippe, Lifestyle Medicine Series Editor, on prior projects, including guest- editorship of a special edition of the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine.

She is also a breast cancer survivor and thriver and facilitates PAVING the Path to Wellness online Lifestyle Medicine groups for breast cancer survivors. She lives in Colorado with her husband and three children, Kaitlyn, Luke, and Blake.

Nancy Eriksen, MD, FACOG, DipABLM, is an associate professor of Maternal-Fetal Medicine in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. Dr. Eriksen is a graduate of the University of Miami in Miami, Florida, where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. She received her Doctor of Medicine degree and completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. She completed her fellowship in Maternal- Fetal Medicine at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Houston, Texas. She is board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maternal- Fetal Medicine, and Lifestyle Medicine. Dr. Eriksen is a member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) Women’s Health Member Interest Group and co-chair of the Pregnancy subcommittee.

Dr. Eriksen lectures on a variety of topics related to Lifestyle Medicine and women’s health for local, regional, and national audiences. She has been a speaker for an ACLM webinar and at national meetings for ACLM and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Her most recent project is developing the Preconceptual Health and Nutrition and Pregnancy and Nutrition modules for the ACLM Food as Medicine CME course. Her clinical interests include the impact of a whole-food plant-based nutrition on improving preconceptual health and pregnancy outcomes.

Neha Pathak, MD, DipABLM, is a physician and WebMD/ Medscape medical editor and writer. Dr. Pathak is an honors graduate of Harvard College. She received her Doctor of Medicine degree and completed her internal medicine degree at Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York. She is board certified in both Internal Medicine and Lifestyle Medicine.

Dr. Pathak began practicing Lifestyle Medicine within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with the Whole Health program. She completed the VA Quality Scholar program, a VA- sponsored quality improvement fellowship during which she developed and implemented a pilot program to improve care for vulnerable veterans utilizing interdisciplinary care, telehealth monitoring, and interventions focused on lifestyle and social determinants of health.

Dr. Pathak serves on the board of directors of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) and is a member of the ACLM’s Women’s Health and Health Equity Achieved through Lifestyle Medicine (HEAL) member interest groups. She is also co-chair of the ACLM’s Global Sustainability Committee.

She is passionate about educating the public and health professionals about the benefits of Lifestyle Medicine not only to protect individual health, but also to improve community and planetary health. She lives in Atlanta with her husband and three daughters, Ishani, Kiran, and Vidya.