Tova Mac is a mission-driven social impact entrepreneur and small business advocate with 18 years of cross-industry experience spanning logistics, food/beverage, wellness, technology, and health. Through her Los Angeles firm, TWT Strategies, she advises businesses on success pathways. Her commitment to economic and community health was evident during the pandemic when she founded and led PPE Unite, mobilizing resources for 150,000+ small businesses across California. This crisis leadership built on her prior roles as a business advisor for the Los Angeles SBDC, Director of a Los Angeles SBDC Incubator for tech and underrepresented founders, and Co-Executive Director for Align Organization, focusing on economic recovery. Tova uses her expertise in building resilient systems to empower IFD practitioners and is creating the strategic framework to integrate and advance functional dentistry.

Mary Ellen Chalmers, DMD, BCNP, MS, FMCP, leads the development of IFD’s residency-style educational framework. A practicing functional dentist based in Santa Rosa, California, she holds degrees from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine and the University of Southern California Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry. She is an IFM Certified Practitioner and Diplomate of the American Board of Orofacial Pain. Dr. Chalmers has lectured internationally on oral-systemic health and serves as faculty with the American College of Integrative Medicine and Dentistry. Her work focuses on integrating functional medicine principles into dental education to equip clinicians to recognize early systemic signals, address root causes of disease, and practice dentistry as a true form of preventative medicine.

Valerie Kanter, DMD, MS, helps shape IFD’s strategic growth, partnerships, and long-term impact. A board-certified endodontist licensed in California and Florida, Dr. Kanter is the founder of Integrative Endodontics and the visionary behind ComprEndo Academy, a continuing education platform advancing integrative endodontic care. She is internationally recognized for translating the complexity of dental anatomy, chronic infection, and tissue regeneration into precision protocols that honor both the tooth and the whole body. A clinical instructor at the UCLA School of Dentistry and a frequent international speaker, Dr. Kanter’s teaching weaves together evidence-based techniques, energetic awareness, and trauma-informed care, creating space for a new paradigm of dentistry.

Dr. Staci Whitman, DMD, FMCP, leads education, community building, and public awareness around oral-systemic health. A nationally recognized pioneer in functional dentistry, she founded the first dedicated Functional Pediatric Dental practice in the United States in Portland, OR. She is also one of the few dentists board certified through The Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM) and her work bridges the gap between clinical dentistry, functional medicine, and public health, with specialized training in airway and sleep medicine, oral microbiome science, nutrition, and craniofacial development. Known as Dr. Staci, she hosts one of the most prominent educational platforms on functional dentistry, lectures internationally, and is a frequent guest on top-ranked health and wellness podcasts. Dr. Staci empowers clinicians to think beyond symptom-based care and dentistry as the blueprint for lifelong health.

Lauren works as a Registered Dietitian. She earned her Master of Science in Clinical Nutrition and a Bachelor’s degree in Biopsychology, in addition to completing coursework in human nutrition and functional medicine. After 6 years in the clinical and private practice setting, Lauren moved into brand work. For the past 7 years, she has worked in marketing, brand building, and community for health and wellness-focused consumer brands.

Georgenne Garcia has over ten years of professional experience at the crossroads of marketing, operations, and community-focused initiatives. A graduate of the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles, she has applied her expertise to a range of efforts, from coordinating community health initiatives with PPE Unite during the pandemic to supporting small business recovery with Align Organization. With a background in medical small business and a deep commitment to mission-driven work, Georgenne is now dedicated to providing seamless, reliable support for IFD’s students as they advance their professional training in functional dentistry.

Through Kharabunga Studios, Khara Fernando helped bring the creative launch and brand development for The Institute for Functional Dentistry to life.

With a background spanning tech, sustainable small business management, and a professional practice as a multidisciplinary artist, Khara specializes in building mission-driven brands. Blending project management with creative strategy, she translates complex ideas into seamless digital experiences that are as clear as they are memorable.

Jessica Clough is the Founder of Saphiris Media, a boutique production company based in Los Angeles and San Diego. Specializing in visual storytelling for leaders in the health and wellness space, Jessica travels internationally to film and produce high-quality content for brands and retreats, focusing on podcast production and educational media. She is thrilled to partner with the Institute for Functional Dentistry team to launch their educational programs, filming with faculty, speakers, and keynote presentations and supporting production. 

Dr. Elenbaas earned her Bachelor of Science from Mississippi State University in 1993 and her Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) from the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) School of Dentistry in 1996. Following dental school, she served as a dental officer in the United States Navy Dental Corps, with assignments in Rota, Spain, and the Fleet Marine Force in Okinawa, Japan. After her military service she returned to Mississippi and established Beach View Dental in Gulfport, a general and cosmetic dentistry practice.

Driven by a passion to address causative factors leading to disease, chronic pain, and systemic health issues, Dr. Elenbaas pursued advanced training in Functional Medicine. She earned her certification in Functional Medicine through the Institute for Functional Medicine in 2016 and was the third dentist to be certified. She was awarded a Master of Science in Orofacial Pain and Oral Medicine from the Ostrow School of Dentistry at the University of Southern California in 2020 and became a Diplomate of the American Board of Orofacial Pain. In 2023 she founded Remedy Clinic in Gulfport, Mississippi, a practice devoted exclusively to the diagnosis and integrative treatment of orofacial pain, temporomandibular disorders (TMD), headaches, and sleep-disordered breathing.

Dr. Elenbaas lectures stateside and internationally. As an active dental community leader, she currently serves as District V President of the Mississippi Dental Association and is an Affiliate Faculty at the UMMC School of Dentistry teaching orofacial pain, headache disorders, and systemic disease at UMMC. She continues to give back to her community by volunteering dental services at the Bethesda Free Medical and Dental Clinic in Ocean Springs.

Dr. Lila Popa is a general dentist based in West Vancouver, Canada, where she operates a referral-based implant and functional dentistry practice. She is known for her integrative, root-cause approach that bridges evidence-based dentistry with functional medicine. She earned her Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Bucharest, Romania, and is a board-certified IFM Certified Practitioner (FMCP), with advanced training in oral implant surgery.

Since 2016, Dr. Popa has emphasized the systemic links between oral and overall health, with a focus on chronic inflammation, dental anxiety, and trauma-informed care.

While completing her North American dental accreditation, she also became a Yoga Alliance–certified yoga teacher and trained in mindfulness and meditation, including Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and guided imagery, along with yogic philosophy, the Yoga Sutras, Yama/Niyama, pranayama, and Yoga Nidra. From 2010 to 2020, she owned and operated Rooftop Yoga, a community studio in downtown Vancouver, teaching yoga and meditation for over a decade and training in Vipassana.

She has served as a clinical instructor at the University of British Columbia (UBC) Faculty of Dentistry since 2018, mentoring third- and fourth-year students in patient-centered care.

A regular speaker and writer on integrative oral health, Dr. Popa’s published article, “Psychology of the Dental Chair: Rewriting the Dental Experience,” explores the role of trauma, empathy, and narrative in transforming the dental encounter.

Dr. Victor Khatchaturian is a graduate of the University of Southern California, one of the best training institutions in the country. He has practiced cutting edge dentistry for decades and has completed several postgraduate courses in different fields of dentistry since receiving his DDS degree.

Dr. Victor Khatchaturian has a wide range of experience in different areas of dentistry, from cosmetic and restorative dentistry to surgical treatments and root canal therapy. He has a particular reputation for providing among the best dental veneers in Beverly Hills and beyond. His emphasis on patient comfort as well as keeping up-to-date with the latest advancements in dentistry enable him to provide his patients with among the highest quality of care in the field.