Pinnacle Conference 2023

MAY 5-7, 2025 | RITZ LAS COLINAS | DALLAS, TEXAS

Meet The Pinnacle 2023 Speakers

Jen
Caudle DO

Prioritizing Passion to Pave a Unique Career Path

  • Dr Jen Caudle is a board-certified Family Medicine physician. She is an Associate Professor in the department of Family Medicine at Rowan University-School of Osteopathic Medicine where she is the co-clerkship director for the 3rd year family medicine clerkship. In addition to seeing her own patients, she also serves as a preceptor for RowanSOM family medicine residents.

    Prior to this, Dr. Caudle was a faculty member in the Johns Hopkins University / Sinai Hospital Residency Program in Internal Medicine in Baltimore, MD, and an Instructor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

    Dr. Caudle graduated with Honors from Princeton University and earned her medical degree from UMDNJ - School of Osteopathic Medicine.

    For years she has been one of the most visible physicians in America, appearing in the homes of millions every week on shows like the Dr. Oz Show, TODAY Show, The Doctors, CNN, Fox News, the Rachael Ray Show and others. For many years she averaged >100 television appearances per year.

    Known as “Dr. Jen” to her 700K+ followers across all social media platforms, she posts informational videos on popular health topics and provides motivational tips to live a healthier life.

    Dr Jen has published articles in The Daily Beast, CNN.com, DoctorOz.com, ABCNews.com and has been quoted by USA Today, Reuters, Readers Digest and Good Housekeeping among others. She is also a frequent host for ShareCare, ReachMD and other health platforms.

Ruth Williams MD

National Leadership: How to Land The Role & Excel

  • Dr. Williams is a glaucoma consultant at the Wheaton Eye Clinic. She was CEO of this 80-year-old ophthalmology practice for nearly a decade. Wheaton Eye Clinic provides subspecialty eye care to more than 190,000 patients each year and employs 34 ophthalmologists and 14 optometrists in six locations. One of the few large, independent single specialty practices in the region, Wheaton Eye Clinic provides ophthalmic care to the patients of several integrated health systems in the Midwest.

    Dr. Williams is a past president of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Before serving on the Academy’s Board of Trustees, she represented ophthalmology at the AMA, also chairing its specialty section. She has served on the board of several ophthalmic organizations and is currently the Vice-Chair of the Glaucoma Research Foundation board of directors. Dr. Williams is the Chief Medical Editor of EyeNet Magazine.

    A dynamic speaker, Dr. Williams has given numerous named lectures, nationally and internationally. She has appeared on a dozen major television networks and talk shows and provided interviews to The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, U.S. News & World Report, Health, Women’s Health, Shape, and Good Housekeeping.

    After attending Rush Medical College, Dr. Williams completed an ophthalmology residency at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco and a glaucoma fellowship at Shaffer Associates and the University of California San Francisco.

Sarah
Wakefield MD

Keys to Advancing Into
Academic Leadership as a Woman

  • Dr. Wakefield is a board-certified adult, child/adolescent, and forensic psychiatrist and additionally has training and expertise in reproductive psychiatry. She attended medical school at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas and a general psychiatry residency at Louisiana State University School of Medicine in Shreveport. Dr. Wakefield completed a fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry and an additional fellowship in forensic psychiatry also at LSUHealth before joining the faculty at Texas Tech University School of Medicine in 2014. She is currently chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Texas Tech University School of Medicine and is active in providing psychiatric diagnostic evaluations and treatment planning for families, adolescents in the juvenile justice system, and for pregnant or post-partum mothers. Dr. Wakefield serves on the Executive Committee of the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium. She serves as the Medical Director for the Texas Perinatal Psychiatry Access Network, the Clinical Co-lead of the Youth Depression and Suicide Research Network, and the clinic consultant for the West Texas Mental Health Collaborative. Dr. Wakefield is dedicated to system improvement in mental health care delivery and to mental health care education.

Kriti
Mohan MD

Fostering an Engaged Practice Culture
with Dedicated Staff

  • Dr. Kriti Mohan is a board-certified Plastic Surgeon and owner of Ciaravino Total Beauty. She completed her undergraduate career at Boston College and Rutgers University, earning her Bachelors degree in Cell Biology and Neuroscience, with a minor in Art History. After finishing her plastic surgery training at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX, she was presented with the unique opportunity to lead Ciaravino Total Beauty in carrying on the legacy of excellence in aesthetic breast surgery. In doing so, she took over one of the largest cosmetic breast practices in the country. She directs an all-female staff of 15 employees with a daily mission of empowering their patients to be able to look and feel their best. Dr. Mohan has been featured in Forbes highlighting her journey in breaking glass ceilings to become a female leader in business and medicine. She also has a special passion for mission work, and has traveled internationally to Ghana, Vietnam, as well as yearly to Mexico on surgical mission trips to perform surgery on those in need. She resides in Houston, TX with her fiancé who is also a plastic surgeon, as well as their two fur babies. Dr. Mohan is honored to be a speaker at Pinnacle this year and be surrounded by all these incredibly talented women who support one another in this way.

Arti
Thangudu MD

Creating & Cultivating Your Concierge Practice

  • Dr. Arti Thangudu completed her undergraduate degree at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, MD at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, internship in Internal Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, residency in Internal Medicine at Tulane University School of Medicine & endocrinology fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. She is triple board certified in Internal Medicine; Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism and Lifestyle Medicine.

    Early in her career at UPMC, Dr. Thangudu implemented virtual and tech solutions to augment diabetes care through tele-endocrinology and continuous glucose monitoring. From that early work, she learned the immense power to transform patient outcomes with the integration of meaningful technology in metabolic disease. She moved on to become an attending physician at the largest endocrinology private practice in the US, Diabetes and Glandular Disease clinic, where she honed her clinical skills in a high volume setting. Here, she learned about barriers to care in the traditional healthcare setting and has since been committed to overcoming them. She also learned the deficits of medical training as far as nutritional and lifestyle so augmented her skillset by becoming certified in nutrition and board certified in Lifestyle Medicine.

    In 2019, Dr. Thangudu left the insurance model to found her direct care endocrinology practice, Complete Medicine. This is a space for relationship-based, patient-centered, lifestyle-focused care for patients with metabolic disease. Telemedicine and integrated diabetes tech have been central to her practice since day one and she transitioned seamlessly when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

    The success of Complete Medicine resulted in a partnership with Health by Design, an employer-based clinic, to optimize diabetes outcomes in their police and fire retiree population. She has achieved significant A1c, complication risk and weight reduction, as well as stellar patient satisfaction and a tremendous reduction in overall cost of care to their employer-funded health insurance plan. She now additionally serves as a consultant to several companies in need of expertise in metabolic disease and outcomes driven care.

    Dr. Thangudu believes that together we are better and strives to empower everyone around her to reach their peak potential.

Renee
Young ND

Upleveling Practice Productivity and Systems

  • Dr. Renee Young founded Young Naturopathic Center for Wellness in Los Gatos California in 2002. She enjoys managing her practice and assisting other professionals in learning how to excel professionally and financially.

    The San Jose Sharks have consulted with her since 2016, on diet and performance using advanced functional medical testing. Boston Heart Labs has utilized Dr. Young to provide speaking engagements for medical doctors interested in understanding functional lab work. Dr. Young keeps great work life balance with her family. She is a truly love life kind of person.

Lori
Atkins MD

Pinnacle Mentors: Wisdom for
Building & Maintaining a Profitable,
Purpose-Driven Career

  • Dr. Lori Atkins is an OBGYN in Fort Worth, Texas. She earned her undergraduate degree at Baylor University and her Medical degree from University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. She did residency at University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas. Lori entered private practice in 1996 and became board certified in 1998. Since graduating residency has built three successful practices and helped to nurture and promote the career of her partners as they have joined her. Over the last 4 years Lori and her partners have created and nurtured Fenom Women’s Care, PLLC. Lori has served as an educator and is currently an associate professor at the at TCU Burnett school of medicine She has been a mentor to many during her busy career.Fitness and a healthy lifestyle have always been important to Lori and have been a priority in her life. She began teaching yoga in 2007. She is a 1200 hour certified Baptiste Yoga instructor. She teaches classes weekly to the community online. She also started yoga class for cancer survivors and supporters at Baylor Scott and White Hospital Fort Worth in 2011, the classes are taught weekly as part of the THRIVE program. In 2022, Lori opened Bumble Bee Yoga Community, a 501 c 3 focused on programs for suicide prevention. She is a mother of 2 a son 25 and a daughter 1. Lori incorporates whole health into her life and her medical practice.

Shieva
Ghofrany MD

Pinnacle Mentors: Wisdom for
Building & Maintaining a Profitable,
Purpose-Driven Career

  • Shieva Ghofrany, MD FACOG has been in private practice since 2003 at Coastal Obstetrics & Gynecology in Stamford. After completing a liberal arts bachelor’s degree at Georgetown University she then completed a post-baccalaureate pre-medical program at Columbia University. She attended medical school at Tel Aviv University/Sackler School of Medicine after which she did her residency at Stamford Hospital/Columbia University. She then pursued coursework in “Integrative Health and Healing” through The Graduate Institute in Connecticut which she completed in summer of 2016.

    Her coursework helped immensely when she was diagnosed in June 2016 with ovarian cancer and her newfound complementary knowledge improved her mechanisms of coping with her extensive surgical complications and 18 weeks of chemotherapy. Her cancer had arisen in the setting of her long history of endometriosis and her early detection at stage 2 helped solidify her belief that if women and doctors work together, we can STOP erroneously labelling ovarian cancer “the silent killer”.

    As a mother of three, she has personal as well as professional knowledge of pregnancy, miscarriages and childbirth (having had six miscarriages, one vaginal delivery and two cesarean sections herself). Then in December 2009 she underwent weight loss surgery and continues to understand the CONSTANT struggle between food, weight and emotion--particularly for women. Given her multitude of “health” and particularly obstetric/gynecological experiences—she often quips that she is “not only the ‘hair club’ president, but also a client!”.

    Born in America in 1970 to parents who emigrated from Iran after medical school. They pursued residency in the US where they ultimately decided to stay thus her upbringing was very influenced by the culture of her Persian roots. She and her sister (the Chief Justice of Miami-Dade County) had a strong role model of female strength as her mother began her medical school studied in the late 1950’s when it was not the norm in the US or Iran.

    Dr Ghofrany enjoys media work and has been quoted in many online and print publications including articles in The Huffington Post, Parents Magazine, and Mind Body Green. As well, she continues to be listed in Castles-Connolly Top Docs each year, has taped videos for “the Bump”, “Web MD” and “Verywell.com” and most notably was featured in two episodes of PBS HUMAN:The World Within that aired May 2021 and is now available on Netflix.

    Since February 2019, she has grown her social media presence (largely on Instagram) so that she can chat openly about “all things female”, focusing mostly on “increasing women’s knowledge to help decrease their anxiety” from 200 followers to almost 35K followers as of April 2022.

    The Pandemic presented a unique reminder that women need and want QUALIFIED information as well as community and to that end in November 2020 she and partner Jenny Hayes Edwards launched their company called “Tribe Called V”, an online platform that aims to “increase women’s knowledge about their health in order to decrease their anxiety”. Their initial offering was their “my OB&ME” pregnancy program (including an eBOOK as well as monthly virtual meetings). They are currently working on their gynecology portal which will house videos delivered in Shieva’s candid, easily digestible vernacular.

    In addition to her private practice, Coastal OBGYN, where she has been with her partners since residency finished in 2003, she has also consulted for various womens’ health/wellness companies including roles at Bodily, By Heart and Aspira Women’s Health. Each company offered a synergistic goal aligned with Shieva’s to provide women with a more robust ability to improve their knowledge and in turn their health.

Tiffany
Moon MD

Pinnacle Mentors: Wisdom for
Building & Maintaining a Profitable,
Purpose-Driven Career

  • Tiffany Moon, M.D. earned her medical degree at UT Southwestern, graduating with Alpha Omega Alpha Honors as well as a Distinction in Research. She completed her residency at the University of California, San Francisco. Her research interests include obesity, thoracic anesthesia, pain perception under general anesthesia, difficult airways, and neuromuscular blockade and reversal. Dr. Moon is passionate about medical student and resident education, and in 2014 she won the Dennis F. Landers, M.D., Ph.D. Faculty of the Year Teaching Award. She serves on multiple committees for the American Society of Anesthesiologists and is an Oral Board Examiner for the American Board of Anesthesiology. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the International Society for the Perioperative Care of the Obese Patient (ISPCOP). In 2019 and 2020, she was honored by D Magazine as one of Dallas' Best Doctors. She has also received the Distinguished Educator Award from the Society for Education in Anesthesia and American Society of Anesthesiologists and was inducted into the prestigious Association of University Anesthesiologists (AUA).Dr. Moon is the principal investigator on multiple clinical research grants and has received numerous research awards. She has published more than three dozen original manuscripts, reviews, and book chapters and speaks internationally on topics related to her research.

Marsheila Devan

Master Class: Effective Communication and Public Speaking Workshop

  • Marsheila DeVan has over thirty years of training experience and is the Founder of MD Communications Consulting. Her expertise includes work within university systems as well as the pharmaceutical and medical industries, concentrating on professional speaker development, interpersonal skills improvement, meeting moderation, media training, curriculum development, sales training, leadership and one-to-one coaching.

    Marsheila holds a Bachelors Degree in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of California, Irvine with a concentration in Organizational Behavior and Strategic Planning.

    Her international experience includes teaching to multiple nationalities and specialties around the world. Her demeanor, humor and approach to training create an open and comfortable learning environment that results in a high level of interaction and learning.

Katie
Duke NP

Behind The Scenes

  • Katie Duke is a Board Certified Nurse Practitioner and Creator based in NYC. She completed her BSN from City University of New York Hunter College, & her Masters of Science in Nursing from Columbia University in the City of New York. She has 20 years of professional hospital based nursing experience & as the pioneer of nursing presence on social media, she is a voice for nurses & is dedicated to impactful advocacy work & fighting for change for healthcare workers.
    She is a notable speaker with 50+ keynote addresses, & a seasoned mentor, having precepted over 125 new graduate nurses & nurse practitioners over her years of clinical practice. Throughout the course of her creator career she has pioneered many paths for future generations of nurses: she was the first healthcare worker to have a collaborative scrubs collection, she was the first nurse influencer on social media- and since has partnered with over 200 brands on impactful social campaigns. Her advocacy & creator work has been featured in The Washington Post, Forbes, The New York Times, Entrepreneur magazine, Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire, ABC news, & more.

Darria
Long MD

 Breaking Into Mainstream Media: Leveraging Connection & Expertise

  • Dr. Darria Long believes that everyone deserves access to clear, and data-driven health information — and the confidence that comes with that. She founded Trueve to carry out that mission. Dr. Darria is a Harvard and Yale-trained Emergency physician, Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Tennessee School of Medicine, practicing ER doctor, and international TV contributor and regular on CNN, Headline News, The Dr. Oz Show, NBC, and other outlets. Dr. Darria is also the national bestselling author of Mom Hacks and TedX speaker of the now widely popular “An ER doctor on ending the crazy busy” - and mom of 2. The TrueveLab launched The Study of Burnout in Women - the first large-scale, academic study focused specifically on burnout in women, since COVID.

lori
atkins MD

Meditation

  • Dr. Tang is a board-certified gynecologist, and minimally invasive gynecologic surgeon, and is an internationally recognized leader in reproductive health, and social media. She reaches millions of viewers across the world each month with her educational videos about period health, pelvic pain, gender affirming healthcare, and reproductive rights. Her goal is to break down the stigma around reproductive health, and empower people to understand their own bodies, and take control of their health. Dr. Tang has been featured in the Washington Post, Yahoo Lifestyle, Self Magazine, Philadelphia Magazine, NBC.com, and NPR. She serves on the speakers bureaus for AbbVie Pharmaceuticals and Macmillan Publishers, and has partnered with corporations such as Proctor and Gamble for media campaigns.

Shari
Marchbein MD

Grow a Patient Base with
Modern Marketing Techniques

  • Dr. Shari Marchbein is a board-certified dermatologist and a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology. Dr. Marchbein’s academic and clinical interests include the treatment of acne, in particular adult female acne, acne scarring, and rosacea. She also specializes in various aesthetic procedures including Botulinum toxin and filler injections, as well as laser surgery. Dr. Marchbein has been sought out as a leader in her field for the treatment of acne and rosacea and has published multiple articles on acne pathogenesis and treatment.

    She has presented at renowned national conferences on the topics of acne and rosacea, including the annual American Academy of Dermatology and NYUs Advances in Dermatology meetings. As a skincare expert, she has been featured in key media outlets including Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Allure, Women’s Health, W Magazine, Instyle, and Byrdie.

    She is a native New Yorker who grew up on Long Island’s North Shore. Dr. Marchbein earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the State University of New York at Binghamton where she graduated Summa Cum Laude and became a member of the Golden Key National Honor Society and Phi Beta Kappa National Honor Society.

    Dr. Marchbein earned her medical degree at the State University of New York at Syracuse in 2004. During her time at Syracuse, she was inducted into the prestigious AOA National Medical Honor Society. Dr. Marchbein then completed her internship in Internal Medicine and residency in Dermatology at Pennsylvania State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, where she served as chief resident.

    After completing her residency in 2008, Dr. Marchbein moved back to New York City, where she recently opened her own private practice in the heart of Manhattan. She has enjoyed teaching dermatology residents for the past 11 years as an Assistant Professor of Clinical Dermatology at NYU School of Medicine. She is the proud mother to 8 1/2 year old twin boys, who make sure life is never boring and whose energy keeps her on her toes

Karen
Tang MD

Leveraging Your Social Media Following to Create a Thriving Community

  • Dr. Tang is a board-certified gynecologist, and minimally invasive gynecologic surgeon, and is an internationally recognized leader in reproductive health, and social media. She reaches millions of viewers across the world each month with her educational videos about period health, pelvic pain, gender affirming healthcare, and reproductive rights. Her goal is to break down the stigma around reproductive health, and empower people to understand their own bodies, and take control of their health. Dr. Tang has been featured in the Washington Post, Yahoo Lifestyle, Self Magazine, Philadelphia Magazine, NBC.com, and NPR. She serves on the speakers bureaus for AbbVie Pharmaceuticals and Macmillan Publishers, and has partnered with corporations such as Proctor and Gamble for media campaigns.

Natalie
Crawford MD

Social Media
Marketing Panel

  • Dr. Crawford is co-founder of Fora Fertility, a boutique fertility practice in Austin, Texas is board certified in both Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. She promotes fertility awareness and education through social media on Instagram, with over 110K followers, her blog, and her wildly successful podcast “As a Woman” podcast, with over 1 million downloads, and on her YouTube channel.

Pamela Mehta MD

Social Media
Marketing Panel

  • Dr. Pamela Mehta is a board certified orthopaedic surgeon practicing in Northern California. Dr. Mehta has been in practice for over 10 years and started her own solo concierge private practice called Resilience Orthopaedics in 2016. She focuses on surgery of the shoulders, knees, hips and hands and has a passion for getting her patients back to their active lifestyles. In addition to her clinical practice she advises several medical companies and startups. She is passionate about women designing a life on their own terms when it comes to career and family. She shares her life as a practice owner and mom to 3 on her social media platforms @dr.pamelamehta.

Rupa
Wong MD

Social Media
Marketing Panel

  • Dr. Rupa Wong is a wife, mom to 3 kids, entrepreneur, and the managing partner of Honolulu Eye Clinic for the past 13 years. In addition to building a successful practice on Oahu (she's been featured as a Best Doctor since 2010 and was even featured on the cover of Honolulu magazine). Dr. Wong is active on Instagram, her blog and YouTube channel where she discusses harmonizing work and life, as well as the gaps in business knowledge that medical school does not address.

MEGAN MINNS KING

Pinnacle Host and Emcee

  • Megan is a CEO, content creator, and mom. Megan has been an entrepreneur and content creator since 2014 and specializes in helping millennial entrepreneurs simplify and systemize their business - and their life. She is passionate about helping busy women integrate all of the areas of life - from business and work, to motherhood and home, to self-care and relationships - into one fulfilling and enjoyable life. Megan creates content on her YouTube channel, Instagram, TikTok, and blog sharing tips about productivity, planning, business, mindset, motherhood, self-care, and more. Megan has a Master's Degree in Organizational and Human Resource Development, corporate Human Resources and Recruiting experience, and established expertise in helping entrepreneurs scale their business to six figures and beyond.

Pinnacle 2023 Agenda 

FRIDAY

Welcome Cocktail Reception 

SATURDAY - Business, Leadership, and Communication

Breakfast and Welcome  

Jen Caudle, DO: Keynote - Prioritizing Passion to Pave a Unique Career Path
Board-certified Family Medicine physician and media expert

Ruth Williams MD: National Leadership: How to Land The Role & Excel
Board certified Ophthalmologist, and past president of the Board of Ophthalmology

Sarah Wakefield MD:Keys to Advancing Into Academic Leadership as a Woman
Triple board certified Psychiatrist, department chair, and network medical director

Kriti Mohan MD: Fostering an Engaged Practice Culture with Dedicated Staff
Board certified Plastic Surgeon and private practice owner

Arti Thangudu MD: Creating & Cultivating Your Concierge Practice
Double board certified Endocrinologist and concierge practice founder and owner

Renee Young, ND: Strategies to Uplevel your Business Productivity
Licensed Naturopathic doctor and founder and private practice owner

Panel - Pinnacle Mentors: Wisdom for Building & Maintaining a Profitable, Purpose-Driven Career

Dr. Shieva Ghofrany
Board certified OBGYN and founder of women’s health community
Dr. Hafiza Khan
Double board certified Cardiologist and private practice partner
Dr. Tiffany Moon
Board certified Anesthesiologist, associate professor and CEO
Dr. Lori Atkins
Board certified OBGYN and private practice founder

Marsheila Devan: Master Class: Effective Communication and Public Speaking
Communications expert and entrepreneur

Entrepreneur Exhibit Hall

Cocktail Hour

Katie Duke NP: Gala Speaker-Behind The Scenes
Board certified acute care Nurse Practitioner, public figure, and podcast host

SUNDAY - Media and Marketing: Using Your Online Voice

Guided Meditation with Lori Atkins MD

Dr. Darria Long: Break Into Mainstream Media: Leveraging Connection & Expertise
Board certified Emergency Medicine, media expert, and TEDx speaker

Jessica Shepherd, MD: Becoming the Expert: From Health Media to CMO + CEO
Board certified OBGYN and women’s health and media expert

Shari Marchbein, MD: Grow a Patient Base with Modern Marketing Techniques
Board certified Dermatologist, assistant professor, and private practice founder and owner

Karen Tang, MD: Leveraging Your Social Media Following to Create a Thriving Community
Board certified OBGYN, content creator, and reproductive health expert

Stephanie Gustin, MD: Amplifying Your Voice for Advocacy
Double board certified Reproductive Endocrinologist, advocate for reproductive rights, and practice owner

Founders Social Media Marketing Panel
Dr. Natalie Crawford
Double board certified Reproductive Endocrinologist, Founder Fora Fertility, Affiliate Clinical Faculty, University of Texas Dell Medical School, Dept of Women’s Health‍
Dr. Pamela Mehta
Board certified Orthopaedic Surgeon, Founder Resilience Orthopaedics‍
Dr. Rupa Wong
Board certified Pediatric Ophthalmologist & Adult Strabismus, Managing Partner Honolulu Eye Clinic, Associate Professor, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii