Dra. Tabatha Parker, ND
Naturopathic Medicine, Global Health
Lecture theme
Future of IM (in United States)
As traditional, complementary and integrative health begins to integrate into many national systems around the world, a variety of strategic opportunities exist to amplify the work each of us is doing in our local areas. Look at the history of TCIM, specific examples of successful collaboration and the bright future of what is possible as we find ways to strategically collaborate around the world.
Short CV
Super Short Bio Dr. Tabatha Parker is a naturopathic doctor and the Executive Director of the Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine (AIHM). Parker was named 2015 Physician of the Year from the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP), and 2011 Visionary of the Year by UTNE Reader. She was founding co-secretary general of the World Naturopathic Federation and worked with the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). Parker worked in primary care in Nicaragua for over a decade, as a clinician and activist for the integrative health & medicine global health community and advocates for holistic healthcare as a human right. Short Bio Dr. Tabatha Parker is a naturopathic doctor and the Executive Director of the Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine (AIHM), a global community of holistic and integrative health professionals. Parker has received a variety of awards and honorary degrees, including 2015 Physician of the Year from the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP), and 2011 Visionary of the Year by UTNE Reader. She was founding co-secretary general of the World Naturopathic Federation and worked with the World Health Organization on the WHO Benchmarks for Training in Naturopathy. Parker led an international service-relief organization for over a decade where her clinical work in Nicaragua focused on women’s empowerment and cervical cancer screening. Her work with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), aided the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health to fully implement the WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2014 – 2023. Parker sits on the steering committee of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health. As an activist for the integrative health & medicine global health community she advocates for holistic healthcare as a human right and works for parity for healthcare providers and full access for all patients to traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine. Long Bio Tabatha Parker, ND Dr. Tabatha Parker is a naturopathic doctor and Executive Director of the Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine (AIHM), a global community of holistic and integrative health professionals. Parker has received a variety of awards and honorary degrees, including 2015 Physician of the Year from the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP), an honorary 2nd naturopathic degree from the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine (CCNM) and the highest honor in naturopathy, “Magister Natura” from Spain for her work advancing the naturopathic profession globally. In 2011, Parker was named a Visionary of the Year by UTNE Reader. Parker co-chaired the National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM) Global Health Master’s program, the first global health masters offered at a naturopathic medical school. Parker teaches as faculty at a variety of institutions including Bastyr University and the world-renowned AIHM Fellowship. Parker’s is known for her global contribution and commitment to integrative health. She was founding co-secretary general of the World Naturopathic Federation and worked with the World Health Organization on the WHO Benchmarks for Training in Naturopathy. She co-chaired the AANP Global Health Committee for over 10 years and was an agency liaison/author for the Foundations of Naturopathic Medicine. In 2014, appointed by Governor Jerry Brown, she served on the California State Naturopathic Medicine Committee. As co-founder of Natural Doctors International (NDI), Parker led this international service-relief organization for over a decade as the first naturopathic global health organization. Her clinical work in Nicaragua focused on women’s empowerment and cervical cancer screening. She developed the first permanent global naturopathic clinic as well as naturopathic global health courses and interprofessional internships. In 2012, she became the first naturopathic physician to graduate as a Faculty Development Scholar from Dr. Ellen Beck’s University of California San Diego program Addressing the Health Needs of the Underserved. As NDI board president, Parker is the agency’s liaison for the MOU with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), to aid the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health and the Institute of Natural Medicine and Complementary Therapies (IMNTC) to fully implement the WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2014 – 2023. In June of 2017, she attended the historic Regional PAHO Meeting of the Americas on Universal Health Care and the Contribution of Traditional and Complementary Medicine where leaders from the Americas and Caribbean region, Australia, Spain and China came together to discuss bringing natural medicine into national health systems and universal healthcare. Parker collaborates with the TCIM Americas Network which formed at that seminal meeting and participates as a collaborator on the PAHO working group for Universal Health in the 21st Century. As a planetary advocate, Parker sits on the steering committee of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health and was instrumental in co-chairing one of the largest integrative health & medicine conferences that highlights planetary health, the AIHM Annual Conference - People, Planet, Purpose, Global Practitioners United in Health and Healing. Parker co-chaired the International Congress of Integrative Health & Medicine held in Stuttgart, Germany in 2016. She has held integral roles at AIHM since 2014 including Education Director and Associate AIHM Fellowship Director, prior to her current role as Executive Director. As an activist for the integrative health & medicine global health community she believes holistic healthcare is a human right and works for parity for healthcare providers and full access for all patients to traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine.