THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES THIRTEEN MEMBERS TO THE WHITE HOUSE COMMISSION ON COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE POLICY

President Clinton today announced the appointment of the following members of the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy: Chair: James S. Gordon, M.D.; George M. Bernier, Jr., M.D.; George Thomas DeVries, III; William R. Fair, M.D.; Joseph J. Fins, M.D.; Wayne B. Jonas, M.D.; Charlotte Rose Kerr, R.S.M.; Dean Ornish, M.D.; Conchita M. Paz, M.D.; Buford L. Rolin; and Julia Scott. President Clinton today also announced his intent to appoint Thomas M. Chappell and Dr. Effie Poy Yew Chow as members of the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy.

Dr. James S. Gordon, of Washington, DC, who will serve as Chair of the Commission, is currently the Director of the Center for Mind-Body Medicine. Previously, he chaired the Program Advisory Council at the Office of Alternative Medicine of the National Institutes of Health. In addition to maintaining a private practice in Psychiatry and Medicine, Dr. Gordon has been a Clinical Professor at the Georgetown University School of Medicine in the Departments of Psychiatry and Family Medicine since 1980. He is a member of the National Institute of Health's Cancer Advisory Panel and was the Director of a Special Study of Alternative Services for the President's Commission on Mental Health. He has written extensively on the subjects of psychiatry and alternative and holistic care, and serves on the Editorial Boards of Alternative and Complementary Therapies and Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. He received his A.B. from Harvard College and his M.D. from Harvard Medical School.

Dr. George M. Bernier, Jr., of Galveston, TX, is a hematologist/oncologist and is currently the Vice President for Education at the University of Texas Medical Branch. Previously, he was Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dean of Medicine, and a Professor of Medicine at the University of Texas. Dr. Bernier has held academic appointments at the University of Pittsburgh, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Hanover, New Hampshire, and at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. He has published numerous articles and abstracts, and several books. He received a B.A. degree from Boston College and a M.D. degree from Harvard University.

Mr. George Thomas DeVries, III, of Rancho Santa Fe, CA, is Chairman, President, CEO and co-founder of American Specialty Health and its subsidiaries, American Specialty Health Plans, American Specialty Health Networks, and American Specialty Health & Wellness. In his position, he manages complementary and alternative health care benefits, networks and services for over 60 health plans covering over 25 million Americans. American Specialty Health Plans is a licensed specialty health plan covering over 3.7 million Californians for chiropractic and acupuncture. American Specialty Health Networks is a national health services organization serving over 21 million Americans and offering a provider network of over 19,000 chiropractors, acupuncturists, massage therapists, dieticians, naturopaths, and fitness clubs. American Specialty Health & Wellness is an alternative healthcare consumer products company offering e-commerce and mail order. Mr. DeVries has published a number of articles and has lectured on alternative health care in managed care and third-party reimbursement. He received a B.A. from the University of California at San Diego.

Dr. William R. Fair, M.D., of Longboat Key, FL, was, until recently, the Florence and Theodore Baumritter/Enid Ancell Chair of Urology, and was Chief of the Urology Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. Currently, he is Emeritus Professor of Urology at the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University and Member Emeritus at Memorial Sloan-Kettering. Dr. Fair serves on the Cancer Advisory Panel for the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Molecular Urology and the Associate Editor of Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, and on the editorial boards of other highly respected journals. He has published extensively in the areas of urology and oncology. He chairs the Committee on Complementary and Alternative Medicine of the American Urological Association, and is Chairman of the Clinical Advisory Board of Haelth, LLC. Dr. Fair received his B.S. from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science and his M.D. from Jefferson Medical College.

Dr. Joseph J. Fins, of New York, NY, is an internist and Director of Medical Ethics at New York Weill Cornell Medical Center of New York - Presbyterian Hospital, Associate Professor of Medicine and Medicine in Psychiatry at the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University, Associate Professor in the Program in Clinical Epidemiology and Health Services Research at Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, and Associate for Medicine at The Hastings Center. He lectures extensively and has written widely in the field of Medical Ethics. Dr. Fins received his B.A. from Wesleyan University and his M.D. from Cornell University Medical College.

Sister Charlotte Rose Kerr, R.S.M., of Baltimore, MD, is a Registered Nurse, a Practitioner of Traditional Acupuncture and, since 1977 a Senior Faculty Member at the Traditional Acupuncture Institute. Previously, she was an Assistant Professor of Nursing at the University of Maryland School of Nursing. Sister Kerr has been a member of the Advisory Council of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Alternative Medicine Program. She has spent several summers in Europe, studying such subjects as Theology and Healing. In her work, Sister Kerr emphasizes the integration of Western traditional medicine and complementary healing methods. Sister Kerr received her B.S.N. from the University of Maryland School of Nursing. She received her Master's Degree in Public Health from the University of North Carolina and another Master's Degree in acupuncture from the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, U.K.

Dr. Wayne B. Jonas, of Alexandria, VA, is currently a member of the Department of Family Medicine of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine. Previously, Dr. Jonas served as the Director of the Office of Alternative Medicine for the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health. Prior to that, he served as the Director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Traditional Medicine. He has authored and co-authored numerous publications on alternative and homeopathic treatment and care. Some of his current research includes projects in environmental toxicology, neurotoxicology, stroke, and biofield healing. Dr. Jonas received a B.A. from Davidson College and a M.D. from Bowman Gray School of Medicine.

Dr. Dean Ornish, of Sausalito, CA, is the founder, president, and director of the non-profit Preventive Medicine Research Institute. He is Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and a founder of the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine there. He was the first to prove that heart disease is reversible by changing diet and lifestyle. He has published many books and academic papers and has received numerous awards in recognition of his work. Dr. Ornish received a B.A. from the University of Texas and completed his medical training at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Harvard Medical School, and the Massachusetts General hospital. He was a clinical fellow in medicine at the Harvard Medical School. Dr. Ornish was recognized by Life magazine as "one of the 50 most influential members of his generation."

Dr. Conchita M. Paz, of Las Cruces, NM, has maintained a private practice, in which she specializes in family medicine, for ten years. Currently, she serves as a part-time faculty member at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and at the Southern New Mexico Family Practice Residency Program. She was Chairperson of the Family Practice Department and serves on a number of committees at Memorial Medical Center. Dr. Paz received her B.S. and M.D. degrees from the University of New Mexico.

Mr. Buford L. Rolin, of Atmore, AL, has been the Health Administrator for the Poarch Band of Creek Indians since 1984. He is a member of the State of Alabama Public Health Advisory Board and a member of the Board of Directors of the Creek Indian Heritage Memorial Association. Mr. Rolin is currently the Chairman of the Creek Indian Arts Council. He is the former Chairman of the National Indian Health Board, and he still serves as a member of the Executive Committee and as a Member-At-Large. He has received several awards from the National Indian Health Board, and he has also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. Mr. Rolin attended the Health Services Administrators Development Program at the School of Community and Allied Health of the University of Alabama and Pensacola Junior College.

Ms. Julia Scott, of Washington, DC, is President of the National Black Women's Health Project (NBWHP), a national membership organization that focuses on wellness, self-help, and health advocacy. Previously, she was Director of the Public Policy and Education Office of NBWHP. Ms. Scott was Special Assistant to the President and Coordinator of the Adolescent Pregnancy Child Watch at the Children's Defense Fund. She has directed and administered to several foundations and community health agencies and has written numerous articles on African American Women's health. Ms. Scott was educated in nursing at the Waterbury Hospital School of Nursing.

Mr. Thomas Chappell, of Kennebunk, ME, is the co-founder and CEO of Tom's of Maine, which he co-founded with his wife Kate in 1970. It is a company that produces innovative, natural personal products and natural wellness products in a caring and creative work environment. Mr. Chappell is founder and CEO of the Saltwater Institute, a learning institute of leaders seeking to integrate their values into their personal and professional lives. He is active in many philanthropic organizations, among them an Advisory Council member for the Center for Study of Values in Public Life at Harvard Divinity School, Harvard Divinity School Dean's Council, and a Board Member of the Nature Conservancy of Maine. He has written two books, The Soul of a Business and Managing Upside Down. Mr. Chappell received his B.A. from Trinity College and his Master's in Theology from the Harvard Divinity School.

Dr. Effie Poy Yew Chow, of San Francisco, CA, is the founder of the East West Academy of Healing Arts in 1973 and, more recently, The EWAHA Qigong Institute, the American Qigong Association, and the World Qigong Federation. She is the recipient of over twenty awards including "The Humanitarian of the Year 1999" and the "Visionary of the Decade 2000" awards. She has been the only Qigong Grandmaster and acupuncturist involved in the development of national health policies within DHHS. She was also involved in the first Ad Hoc Advisory Panel of the Office of Alternative Medicine at NIH. She has made over two hundred and fifty media appearances and interviews in the area of complementary and alternative medicine. Dr. Chow received her training in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Qigong in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Canada, and the United States. She is a registered public health and psychiatric nurse and has received a Master's degree and a Ph.D.

The White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy shall provide a report, through the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to the President on legislative and administrative recommendations for assuring that public policy maximizes the benefits to Americans of complementary and alternative medicine.

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