Interview by Sheldon Baker
Tabatha Parker, ND is a naturopathic doctor and leader in the integrative health community. She is known for her global contribution and commitment to equity. She was the founding co-secretary general of the World Naturopathic Federation and worked with the World Health Organization on the WHO Benchmarks for Training in Naturopathy.
Dr. Parker has received a variety of awards and honorary degrees, including the 2015 Physician of the Year from the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP), an honorary second naturopathic degree from the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine (CCNM) and the highest naturopathy honor in Spain, “Magistra Natura” for her work advancing the naturopathic profession globally. In 2011, Dr. Parker was named a Visionary of the Year, alongside other visionaries, by UTNE Reader. As past executive director of the Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine (AIHM), a global community of holistic and integrative health professionals, she held key roles for nearly a decade, including executive director, director of education, associate fellowship director, and director of global and member relations. This work included Parker co-chairing one of the largest integrative health and medicine conferences, AIHM People, Planet, Purpose, Global Practitioners United in Health and Healing. She was also a key organizer of the International Congress of Integrative Health & Medicine held in Stuttgart, Germany, in 2016, which launched multiple global collaborations and policy work initiatives in TCIM.
As an international speaker and educator, Dr. Parker is an inspiring keynote speaker at many conferences and has taught in many settings, including the National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM) and Bastyr University, San Diego. As co-founder of Natural Doctors International (NDI), Dr. Parker led the first international naturopathic service-relief organization for naturopathic physicians and other CIH providers for over a decade. Her clinical work in Nicaragua focused on women’s empowerment and cervical cancer screening. She developed the first naturopathic clinic in Nicaragua, as well as naturopathic global health courses and interprofessional internships. As the medical director of NDI, she operated the international clinic, which saw over 20,000 patients during its operation, hosted over 500 international medical brigade participants, and donated over 750,000 dollars in vitamins, supplements, and medical supplies to communities on the Island of Ometepe in Rivas, Nicaragua. She served as a USA Embassy warden for her region and, in that role, aided USA expats in crises. Her work at NDI led to an MOU with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), and she worked closely with the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health and the Institute of Natural Medicine and Complementary Therapies (IMNTC) to implement the WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2014 -2023. In June of 2017, she attended the historic Regional PAHO Meeting of the Americas, Universal Health Care and the Contribution of Traditional and Complementary Medicine, where leaders from the Americas and Caribbean region, as well as from Australia, Spain and China came together to discuss how to successfully integrate traditional, complementary and integrative medicine into national health systems and its importance to universal healthcare. She serves as the USA liaison on the TCIM Americas Network, which formed at that seminal meeting, and was also a collaborator on the PAHO working group for Universal Health in the 21st Century. Dr. Parker co-chaired the NUNM Global Health Master’s program, the first global health master’s offered at a naturopathic medical school. Dr. Parker has been an international faculty member at a variety of higher ed institutions and organizations, including Bastyr University, San Diego, as well as the world-renowned AIHM Fellowship. 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 (UCSD) program, Addressing the Health Needs of the Underserved. Currently, Dr. Parker is a founding board member of the TCIH Coalition, a Geneva based NGO which launched the global campaign–The People’s Declaration for Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Healthcare. She served on the steering committee of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health for years, beside her MD colleagues, as the only non-conventional healthcare representative. She currently serves in volunteer roles on the Texas Association of Naturopathic Doctors (TXAND) board of directors as the treasurer, on the executive committee of the Integrative, Complementary and Traditional Health Practices (ICTHP) Section of the American Public Health Association (APHA), and as a member of the Global health committee of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians. Dr. Parker’s most recent academic co-publication, Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Healthcare: Global Stakeholder Perspective on WHO’s Current and Future Strategy, was published in the British Medical Journal, global health edition in 2023. Parker is an activist for the integrative health and medicine global health community and believes holistic healthcare is a human right, fighting for full access for all patients to traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine. (Adv Mind Body Med. 2025;39(3):32-36.)
Sheldon Baker is an InnoVision contributing editor. His freelance editorial content can also be found in several lifestyle publications, and as CEO of Baker Dillon Group LLC, he has created numerous brand marketing communications and public relations campaigns for health and wellness organizations. Contact him at [email protected].
Advances in Mind-Body Medicine (Advances): You have an extensive and distinguished health background. Please talk about how your injury started you on the path to a career as a health professional.
Tabatha Parker, ND: I’m a naturopathic doctor whose path into natural medicine initially began when I a attended a short course at the IPSB massage school in Santa Monica, CA. I had dabbled in natural health at that point, but it wasn’t until later—after moving to Steamboat Springs to pursue my passion for snowboarding—that a serious injury became the true catalyst for my healing journey.
The accident left me with a herniated disc, and navigating the conventional healthcare system afterward was disheartening. At just 22, I was told I’d have to live with chronic pain. I received three epidural steroid injections, was prescribed opioids, and was eventually scheduled for surgery. The procedure was mishandled, and I ended up hospitalized for several weeks. Then I was told I was “too young” to be operated on again—and that nothing more could be done. For someone who loved being active—snowboarding, rafting, mountain biking—it felt like the life I had built was suddenly off-limits.
That moment of abandonment by the healthcare system pushed me to explore other options. I began working with a chiropractor and a personal trainer, and within three weeks, I was pain-free. It was a revelation. Until then, I had wanted someone to simply fix me—whether with pills, surgery, or injections. But I came to realize that I had to be part of my own healing. I was the most important factor.
That experience also introduced me to a different kind of care—where two very different practitioners worked together, delivering the most effective and empowering treatment I had ever received. It opened my eyes to the power of interprofessional healing teams and inspired me to explore careers in health.
Though I deeply admired my chiropractor, I wanted to become a primary care doctor. A college roommate told me about her husband, who had become a naturopathic doctor. This was before the Internet, so I had to request information by mail. A friend and I drove from Colorado to visit Bastyr University in Washington and the National College of Naturopathic Medicine (now NUNM) in Oregon. The moment I stepped onto the NCNM campus, I knew I had found my calling and my community.
After graduating, I joined two medical missions—one in Peru and one in Nicaragua. These experiences deepened my commitment to social justice and international medicine. Although I had done most of my clinical training in underserved community clinics in Portland, seeing the stark disparities in global healthcare access changed my life.
Inspired to take action, I co-founded Natural Doctors International (NDI)—a kind of “Doctors Without Borders” for naturopathic medicine. What was supposed to be a one-month trip to help set up a clinic in Nicaragua turned into nearly a decade of living and working there.
Advances: You very much consider yourself a health educator, not only in the USA, but globally.
Dr. Parker: Yes, I spent about a decade in Nicaragua. That was a different type of education. I was working on educating the community around health and direct care. I came back and devoted time to teaching at Bastyr University, San Diego. I taught at the National College of Naturopathic Medicine and helped develop a global health master’s program. I went on to work at the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine where I was the education director, associate fellowship director and eventually the executive director. The primary focus of the organization was education. We developed the first truly interprofessional fellowship in integrative health and medicine—bringing together a diverse range of healthcare providers, including MDs, DOs, nurses, chiropractors, naturopathic doctors, and acupuncturists. For over a decade, I dedicated myself to training health professionals to become agents of change within the healthcare system. And while we’ve made progress, the need remains—we must continue educating clinicians in holistic, patient-centered approaches to care.
Advances: With so much global travel, what stands out in your various roles, and what do you feel has been your biggest accomplishment within the global community.
Dr. Parker: When we began working in Nicaragua, almost no one from the U.S. was offering naturopathic medicine in a developing country. While there were service and learning opportunities, most involved volunteers on Christian missions providing health services in underserved areas. When we launched our work at NDI, we were told that naturopathic medicine would never work in a developing country context. We questioned how we could deliver acute naturopathic care abroad, especially since we were told that naturopathic medicine was more suited for chronic conditions.
Nearly everyone we approached for seed funding also said it wouldn’t work. But that simply wasn’t true. Naturopathic medicine is a robust form of primary care, and the success of our clinic in Nicaragua proved that. I, along with others who were just beginning to do global service, helped blaze a trail for those who came after us. We created a path for NDs, acupuncturists, and chiropractors to provide care in underserved communities.
At the time, large organizations like Doctors Without Borders and Northwest Medical Teams—the largest service-learning organization of its kind in the Pacific Northwest—excluded naturopathic doctors. The beginnings of global naturopathic medicine emerged from a small group of passionate NDs who said, “We need a pathway to do this work legally in the countries we want to serve—and without it being tied to religion.” Much of the free medical care in low-resource countries was being delivered by teams on missionary trips. Many of us had seen these teams in action—or had even been part of such trips—but we wanted to create an alternative: a way to serve in our full capacity without being tied to religious affiliation.
Another key commitment was to not swoop in with a colonialist mindset, declaring how care should be delivered. We were intentional about gaining the appropriate permissions and working directly with community input. For nearly a year, we worked diligently to secure approval from the Ministry of Health and the Government of Nicaragua to practice medicine and be formally integrated into their health system.
Advances: That’s certainly a great accomplishment.
Dr. Parker: Thank you. It helped pave the way for many organizations and individuals who were inspired to do similar work and have since carried it forward.
Another key aspect was living and working directly in the communities where our clinics were based. NDI was in a Campesino farming community, where nearly all of our patients were subsistence farmers in some capacity, even if they had other forms of work. Families grew their own food and lived close to the land. We collaborated closely with local community health workers and women entrepreneurs who partnered with us to provide housing for the medical teams that came through. It was a deeply meaningful experience to work side by side with the community—listening to their needs and co-creating the kind of healthcare they truly wanted.
Advances: You believe holistic healthcare is a human right, fighting for full access for all patients, be it traditional, complementary, or integrative medicine. Talk more about your personal global and domestic views regarding healthcare.
Dr. Parker: From my time in Nicaragua, I gained profound insight into how conventional medical systems function in low-resource settings—even though it wasn’t in the U.S.
In many such countries, access to medicine is limited to a list of essential drugs. For example, we had beta blockers available to manage hypertension, and Captopril was reserved for emergency use—typically crushed and placed under a patient’s tongue. These were the standard methods used at the hospital where we worked in rural Nicaragua.
There were so many opportunities to witness the power of naturopathic tools in real time. We often heard patients say things like, “I’ve taken Metronidazole every year since I was 10, and it’s not working anymore. I want something different.” In that context, we were able to watch naturopathic medicine come alive in a way that felt very different from my experiences in the U.S.
What that taught me is that people ultimately have the right to choose their own path. They deserve to know they have options. Sometimes it’s conventional medicine, sometimes it’s naturopathic care—or often, it’s a blend of both. At the end of the day, patients will make their own choices. They might say one thing in the clinic, but they’ll do what aligns with their beliefs and lived experience.
Here in the U.S., we’re now seeing the effects of a siloed healthcare system overly reliant on polypharmacy. Despite pouring billions into healthcare, our population is getting sicker. That’s not to dismiss our strengths—if I had a heart attack, there’s no place I’d rather be than in the U.S. But when it comes to empowering people to take ownership of their health and caring for the whole person, our system is falling short.
Patients are often referred to five different specialists for five different conditions, yet no one is looking at the whole picture. This fragmented model isn’t working. It’s not working for the system, and it’s certainly not working for patients. People are exhausted. No one wants to see a separate doctor for every minor issue and still feel unseen or uncared for.
Advances: I’ve experienced doctor roulette. I think a lot of people have.
Dr. Parker: Everyone in my family—and I myself—have experienced the frustration of our current healthcare system. I’m a champion of all forms of medicine, but I believe the integration of diverse approaches is the key. The answer lies in providing access to all these healing modalities and allowing people to choose what works best for them.
When I reflect on my professional work, I’m especially proud of my role in co-founding the World Naturopathic Federation (WNF) alongside Dr. Jon Wardle, a naturopathic doctor from Australia. That organization has grown to represent national and global naturopathic associations and has unified the profession in a way that simply didn’t exist two decades ago.
Through the work of the WNF and other global collaborators, naturopathic medicine now has a voice in important international policy spaces. One example is the World Health Organization (WHO), which recently approved its third Traditional Medicine Strategy. The first two strategies laid out a clear mandate: countries should work to integrate traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine into their national health systems. By “traditional,” WHO refers to ancestral and Indigenous forms of healing—such as Native American medicine in the U.S.—as well as other longstanding systems.
The aim is to bring these healing practices into mainstream healthcare structures, and many countries are making significant progress. There are excellent examples of integrative models already in action.
Take India, for example. In addition to the Ministry of Health, they have a separate Ministry of AYUSH, which oversees Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy. This dual structure reflects a broader and more holistic view of health—one that prioritizes prevention and balance alongside the strengths of Western biomedicine.
There’s no need for one approach to dominate; rather, there’s a growing recognition that multiple systems of healing can—and should—coexist. I truly believe this integration is the future of medicine and health.
Advances: Recently, you developed a letter—currently in progress—targeted to President Trump and Secretary Kennedy, suggesting two urgent actions: the establishment of a national Office of Wellness as an independent agency positioned alongside the Department of Health and Human Services to serve as a cornerstone for integrative and holistic healthcare; and second, a comprehensive review of the financial and regulatory structures that reinforce conventional medicine at the expense of holistic and integrative health. Are you comfortable responding to that?
Dr. Parker: Yes. Regarding the first recommendation—the establishment of a National Office of Wellness—this is absolutely critical, especially in light of the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement that RFK is advancing. We need to initiate a national dialogue around health and wellness that simply hasn’t existed at this level before.
This means bringing legislation to states like Texas, where I live, that addresses fundamental issues such as the nutritional quality of school meals, how we educate our medical professionals, and the elimination of toxic ingredients in food—things that many European countries banned decades ago. It’s the beginning of a real and necessary conversation about what health should look like in this country.
The reality is, there are powerful institutions and systems that benefit from the status quo. Creating long-term, sustainable change—one that outlasts a single administration—requires an independent agency that can steward this transformation beyond election cycles. This isn’t just my vision; it’s a growing call echoed by leaders around the world, including the World Health Organization.
WHO has long encouraged countries to develop national strategies and dedicated offices to advance traditional, complementary, and integrative health. Over the past 20 years, there’s been a clear global trend—many countries have taken meaningful action at the government level. The U.S., however, stands out in stark contrast. We have no national body or point person for integrative health. While the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) exists within the NIH, its focus is limited to research—and most of that funding flows to large conventional academic institutions, not to the holistic health universities or clinical systems actively engaged in this work.
Other countries, like India—with its Ministry of AYUSH—have demonstrated a strong commitment to traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine (TCIM) at the highest level of government. Establishing a standalone ministry ensures a permanent voice and seat at the table. The reality is that conventional medicine and integrative medicine—now often referred to as “whole health” in the U.S.—operate from fundamentally different frameworks. Expecting HHS to fully shift its culture to embrace integrative approaches is unrealistic. Without a dedicated, independent agency, any progress will eventually be eroded, and the system will revert to its default bias against holistic approaches.
I understand this may run counter to some philosophies around reducing the size of government or eliminating departments. But for integrative health to truly survive—and thrive—at the federal level, it must have its own protected space. Nearly every other nation in the Americas has some form of government body focused on TCIM. The United States remains a glaring exception. That must change.
What I’m proposing—what many of us are calling for—is an agency at the same level as HHS, one that brings together thought leaders and long-time advocates of the integrative health movement. There are many high-profile voices in the media today helping to amplify this conversation, but they’re standing on the shoulders of thousands of clinicians, researchers, and educators who’ve been working on health creation for decades—often without recognition or support.
We need a permanent home for this dialogue—a space where we can truly reimagine the healthcare system. And we need to be realistic: this is not a four-year project. This is generational work. Given the alarming rates of obesity, chronic illness, and mental health disorders—especially among children—we urgently need bold, creative, and collaborative solutions. Integrating the best of conventional Western medicine with complementary, integrative, and naturopathic approaches isn’t just a possibility—it’s a necessity for the future of our nation’s health.
Advances: Considering how advanced we are, medically speaking, you would think we’d be farther along than we are.
Dr. Parker: Yes, you would think. But honestly, if you follow the money, there’s still too much financial incentive for many stakeholders to keep the system exactly as it is. That’s why meaningful change will require sustained effort and time—it’s going to take all of us working together to build a system that truly benefits everyone.
Take, for example, a recent conversation around SB314 in Texas, which proposed removing toxic ingredients—like artificial dyes—from school lunches. During that discussion, it was shared that major food producers acknowledged they’re already manufacturing cleaner versions of the same products for European markets. The issue isn’t ability—it’s policy. They know how to make healthier food; they’ve been doing it for Europe for years. They just need time and incentive to shift production for the U.S., because we don’t currently require the same standards.
That’s a powerful metaphor for what’s happening in healthcare. Like the food system, we have the tools and the knowledge—we just haven’t made the structural commitment to shift. But with collaboration and a clear long-term vision, we can move toward a system where the U.S. is ranked among the healthiest nations in the world—maybe even right after Finland. Right now, I believe we’re around 70th. That’s unacceptable. We need everyone engaged in this transformation.
Advances: Working together will be challenging.
Dr. Parker: We need to educate more healthcare professionals in a new, holistic approach—but right now, we simply don’t have enough trained providers to make that happen at scale. In the U.S., we need far more integrative medicine doctors, holistic nurses, and professionals across the spectrum—from physician assistants to clinical psychologists—who understand and apply whole-person care.
At the same time, we must engage the professionals who have been doing this the longest: the complementary and integrative health fields—such as naturopathic doctors, chiropractors, and acupuncturists—as well as practitioners of traditional medicine, including Native American healing systems. These providers shouldn’t just be invited to the table—they need to hold meaningful roles in shaping policy, practice, and education. Conventional medicine can no longer dominate the conversation or define the standard alone.
I believe this shift is not only possible—it’s already happening. People are demanding it. When we talk about patient-centered care, what individuals truly want is to be at the center of a team that’s working to optimize their health—not just treat disease once it’s advanced. Our system is still built around a reactive, sick-care model. To change that, we need a large-scale transformation in how we educate health professionals and structure our care teams. Only then can we truly deliver effective, integrated care.
Advances: Women’s health has been an important issue for you in the U.S. and globally.
Dr. Parker: The majority of my women’s health work was in Nicaragua. We started a women’s health clinic and launched the first PAP program in the area where I was based. We worked with the entire community to get the word out about what we were doing. We educated women and girls on the island, and we also ran an assistance program where we had a psychologist and a team that helped survivors of domestic and sexual violence. We worked with families and accompanied families who wanted to prosecute offenders. That often took years. That’s where my clinical work in women’s health focused.
Advances: You referred to Natural Doctors International, which you co-founded. Can you talk more about that organization?
Dr. Parker: I was involved with Natural Doctors International for about 15 years, delivering naturopathic and integrative healthcare. We operated three community clinics and also partnered with the local hospital in Nicaragua. In addition to our work there, we ran several projects in other countries as well.
Our model was unique: we had full-time doctors living on the ground who ran the clinic year-round, and we brought in visiting medical students and practitioners for 10-day service-learning brigades. We also hosted interns who spent three to five months working alongside our team. During that time, we delivered the equivalent of about $750,000 in free medicine—most of it consisting of natural medicines, herbs, and supplements brought in by our teams.
Sadly, like many small NGOs, we were unable to sustain operations after the COVID-19 pandemic and eventually had to close. But the impact of the work—and the community we built—continues to live on in many ways.
Advances: Today, what motivates you?
Dr. Parker: What motivates me? That’s a great question. At the core, I’m driven by the desire to help people access something that should be a basic human right: the right to healthcare—and, more importantly, the autonomy to choose the kind of healthcare that’s right for themselves and their families.
In the U.S., we’re fortunate in many ways. We have access to opportunities and resources that much of the world does not. But even here, people are often denied the right to informed choice when it comes to their health. That’s what fuels my work—ensuring people have access to care that aligns with who they are as whole beings: mind, body, and spirit, in connection with community and the planet.
I deeply believe that natural medicine offers one of the least invasive and most supportive pathways to healing. It’s about more than treating symptoms—it’s about helping people live their most optimal, vibrant lives. And that’s not just for those in the U.S.—many people around the world are suffering from preventable and treatable chronic illnesses. Often, the barrier is simply a lack of education or access to basic health information.
We’re still stuck in a medical model where, incredibly, some doctors still claim that nutrition has no impact on disease. I’ve experienced this myself, even in my own care or that of my family—being told that “nothing nutritional will help.” That’s just not true. We have decades of solid research proving otherwise.
There are always things we can do to support healing, and we have to start shifting the system toward empowerment. People deserve access to knowledge, and they deserve to make informed decisions about their own health. I believe in people—when you give them real information, many will say, “I didn’t know that, but now that I do, I can make a change.” And while it doesn’t happen every time, it happens enough to keep me going. That’s what motivates me.
Advances: Can you name a person who may have had a tremendous impact on you in your career? Maybe it’s as a mentor or a health leader.
Dr. Parker: The person who has inspired me the most in my life is my mother. She taught me that anything is possible if you put your heart and energy into it—and work your butt off. She’s shown me that no matter the obstacles—whether health, family, or life circumstances—there is always a path forward. Her strength, determination, and belief in possibility have shaped everything I do. I feel incredibly blessed to have her as a mom. She instilled in me the drive to become whatever I set my mind to, and that’s carried me through every stage of my career.
Advances: Is there something important that we didn’t cover that we should?
Dr. Parker: Stepping into the role as the first woman editor for InnoVision Health Media and Advances in Mind-Body Medicine means a great deal to me. It feels like a full-circle moment in my journey—and an opportunity to help shape the future of this field.
Advances: What goals have you set for yourself in that role? What do you hope to accomplish?
Dr. Parker: I want to help bring the publication to the next level. There are just so many amazing researchers and practitioners globally who are doing tremendous work. This is the time to think about where medicine is going and what the alternative could be. Complementary, integrative, and whole health, whatever you want to call it, because it’s constantly changing. How can we be at the forefront and help get the research in front of the community that can transform clinicians and practices and the systems we’re currently in to be more person-centered, holistic, and preventative?
I’m truly honored to work with the entire InnoVision team—including iconic leaders in our field like Dr. Andrew Campbell, Dr. Joe Pizzorno, and Dick Benson. To be part of this collective effort under the InnoVision umbrella is both humbling and energizing. Together, I believe we can elevate the conversation and help shape the future of medicine.