The Veggie Taste  2017 Speakers
with their Presentations

William E. Richardson M.D.
How to Reverse and Prevent Disease By Eating A Vegan Diet

William E. Richardson, M.D. is the founder of American Clinics for Preventive Medicine ( ACPM.NET).    He  is a trained medical doctor who before retiring  practiced integrative medicine, natural medicine, holistic medicine, preventive and nutritional family medicine for over 27 years. His education, training, and background have been extensive in the areas of traditional, emergency and complementary disciplines. 
 
When he was in medical school in the mid 1970’s, He knew that something was missing when he raised my hand in class one day and begun discussing vitamin C and other lifestyle, dietary, and nutritional techniques to treat disease as an alternative to just suppressing the symptoms with drugs; and got seriously ridiculed and criticized. Well, many years later it is apparent that this preventive medicine vision is on the cutting edge of the best healing medicine available.
 
Dr.Richardson  has lived a plant based vegan raw food lifestyle for over 40 years and has the vitality of someone half his age.  He has assisted thousands of patients on their journey to wellness and  a medication free life by eating a plant based diet.  
 

Kiyomi Rollins 
Is Your Lipstick Killing you

In the community where she grew up, folks affectionately referred to Kiyomi Rollins as, “the neighborhood girl who did hair” but her interest in kinky manes surpassed the average neighborhood-braider-chick’s. She recognized how important hair was to the black community—for both women and men. 
 “Hair defines us. We make important decisions based on hair. For us it’s about more than whether or not we’ll attend that social event. Our hair determines whether or not we’ll go for a swim or a workout, which means it even affects our health.” 
 “I call my business The Good Hair Shop because, in our culture there have always been very strong and negative connotations about “good” and “bad” hair. Society romanticizes certain hair textures over others and unfortunately, we internalize that from a very young age. I want my clients to understand that good hair is whatever the Creator blessed them with. In other words, it’s all good.” 
 As a Black female CEO, a community organizer, a wife and a mother of three (2 with special needs), Kiyomi wears many hats and has earned enviable success in her field but she attributes all her triumphs to her family; husband, Mark and children Lyric, Marley and Tosh. 
 Kiyomi’s focus these days is creating a legacy that she can pass down to her children and on through the generations. If what she’s accomplished so far is any indication of her future success then The Good Hair Shop is poised to be a household name in natural hair care for many years to come. 
 In Kiyomi’s own words, “The best part is, I’m not finished yet. I’m just getting started.

Chef Beee 
Food Demo
​​Beyond Aromatherapy: Using Food-Grade Essential Oils in
​RAW Food Preparation

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​Natasha Brewley, better known as Chef Beee of Essentially Chef Beee is an Essential Oil Wellness Coach + Chef. The mission of Essentially Chef Beee is to promote wellness through the use of plant-based foods and essential oils while educating individuals and communities how to make healthy food and lifestyle choices that find difficulty making these changes on their own. Chef Beee studied raw food preparation at the Living Foods Institute in Atlanta and gained her certification as a Integrative Nutrition Health Coach at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. During her training, she was exposed to many dietary theories, practical lifestyle management techniques, and innovative coaching methods with some of the world's top health and wellness experts. Chef Beee strives to help people transition to a plant-based diet by showing individuals how easy it is to prepare healthy meals by offering food preparation and demonstration classes. Chef Beee is also very passionate about sharing with others the benefits of certified  pure therapeutic grade essential oils in order to achieve balance in the body and mind. She also strives to introduce others to drugless and natural solutions to regain their health in order to experience true wellness using essential oils. You can find Chef Beee on social media including, Facebook - @iamessentiallybeee, Twitter - #iamchefbeee, and Instagram - @iamchefbeee. There you will find recipes and what Chef Beee is up to around the city of Atlanta. Visit www.ChefBeee.com for events and other offerings.

Chef Zu
 Food Demo - Black Buddha Sushi.

​Kings Apron was created in 2015 by Certified Holistic Nutritionist, Urban Agriculturalist and founder Chef Zu through community outreach work done around food sovereignty. Kings Apron's humble start began with programming plant based community feedings for less fortunate individuals at local Atlanta shelters but soon realized that Kings Apron should facilitate classes, workshops and demonstrations to better inform the community on the "how" instead of only "why." We truly believe that "giving a man fruit feeds for a day maybe even a week, but teaching a man how to farm & cook feeds for a lifetime."
 
 Kings Apron has fed 5,000+ individuals plant based meals which focuses on maximizing optimal nutrition by using whole foods. Since 2015, Kings Apron has facilitated innovated food programming for Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta Public Library Systems, Atlanta Housing Authority, Wholesome Wave Georgia, Kirkwood Boys & Girls Clubs, Georgia Food Oasis, Morehouse College, Fulton County Commissioners Office, Carver Neighborhood Market, Frank McClarin High School, Gilliam's Community Garden and many more non-profits, community based organizations and initiatives.

Shantelle Gary
 What's Bugging You

I'm Shantelle Atlanta native, mother, herbalist, animal rights activist, plant based diet advocate and cookbook author. I have been thriving on a plant based diet for over a decade and I wouldn't change it for anything. Prior to creating Letsbevegan.com I was owner/operator of a soul food restaurant where I really fell in love with cooking. 
​My vegan journey started over 14 years ago. Once I learned how cruel and unethical the meat and dairy industry was, I knew I could no longer take part in eating meat. I knew that I could never find peace within if I continued to contribute to the pain and suffering of the creatures that I share this planet with. After committing myself to living as cruelty free and healthy as possible, I realized that I had been programmed into putting crap into my body. I learned that most of us have almost no relationship with real food. Most of us don’t even realize what real food actually is. Real food grows in the ground and on trees. Real food doesn’t contain numbers or colors or long words that seem to contain every letter of the alphabet. Now that I know the truth, I understand that it is my obligation to share what I know with others. So many people miss out on the benefits of eating a vegan plant based diet because they think the food is boring and tasteless. I want to change that. I want to change the way people look at food.
​​I currently spend most of my time cooking, instructing and making herbal medicine for my family and friends as well as for my online herb shop here on Letsbevegan.com. I also travel and host a variety of cooking workshops and classes. When I'm not in the kitchen I'm kicking it with my amazing 8 year old sun Izzy, meditating, doing yoga, collecting crystals, listening to music or out in the woods foraging for wild food and herbs.


KHARI DIOP
 Composting 101

​Khari Diop is a 4th generation Georgia grower, a community garden educator, urban agriculture advocate, and local food security/sovereignty activist. Over a nearly two decade career in the green industry, he has helped to create resilient local food systems, cultivating growers of all ages and abilities, from pre-school youth to senior citizens. With an eye for design, an appreciation and reverence for the beauty of nature and a keen interest in ecology and horticulture, from soil science to botany, Khari brings abundant offerings, joyful exuberance and deep insights to the work.

Jasmine Simone
Making Healthy Living Fun

Certified Plant-Based Nutritionist, Healthy Chef, Wellness Lifestyle Community Educator
Jasmine has maintained a completely plant-based lifestyle for over 20 years. Jasmine practices and teaches principles to living a fun, balanced vegan lifestyle with lots of energy and love for herself and others. She is co-owner of the health literacy and food-line company ‘Anything Vegan’, with her sister Marji-an attorney, nutrition
advocate and dynamic motivational speaker. The powerhouse duo, affectionately known as the “Anything Vegan Girls”, are currently co- authoring their next book, releasing Fall 2017 and manufacturing and producing their vegan condiment line “Everything Sauces-for Everybody”- which comes in three great flavors.
Jasmine coined the term “Health Nationalist” which means her ultimate mission is to “Enhance quality of lives by deliberately shifting and positively impacting the cultural narrative of what it means to be healthy in communities of color, who traditionally suffer from the greatest rates of diet-related illnesses.” Jasmine has worked with Oprah’s former long-time personal Chef Art Smith’s non-profit organization, “Common Threads” teaching inner-city children who live in food deserts about different cultures from around the world, through food preparation and building kitchen skills. As a former school teacher Jasmine is very passionate about reversing the trends of childhood obesity. She believes that teaching good nutrition habits early in life creates a positive, life-long, and generational impact.
Fascinated with the socio-cultural impact of how people around the world communicate through food, she also studied Intercultural Communications and Sociology at the University of New Mexico with a B.A, graduating Cum Laude. Her intercultural communication skills have proven valuable during her personal and culinary inspired travels around the world. She has traveled to Ghana, Benin, Togo, Germany, England, Italy, Australia, Israel, Trinidad (where her family is from) & many of the Caribbean Islands. She also studied wellness and yoga in India with the renowned Dr. Pratish. Due to an intense interest in learning and teaching about the healing properties of food she also studied at The Global College of Natural Medicine in the Nutritional Consultant, Master Herbalist, and Holistic Health Practitioner
programs.
Additionally, she earned her Certification in Plant-Based Nutrition through Cornell University’s T-Collin Foundation. In 2016, she was offered a merit scholarship from Emory University’s School of Public Health-study Prevention Science and peruses her Masters degree while buidling Anything Vegan.  She plans to use this degree to implement  national and global nutritional policy changes.  Jasmine is a life-long learner who hones her natural gifts and talents through consistent study, travel, and self-improvement. Her purpose and passion in life are the same... helping people heal and have fun through food.

Sri Je'-Ruji 
​Health Secrets of the Soul:
How to be Uber Healthy in
​Mind, Body and  Affairs

Sri Je'-Ruji is a Master Meditation Teacher, Yogi, Vegan, and High Vibrational Food advocate with over 3 decades of direct teaching experience. He is an International Transformational Speaker/Leader/Coach, having taught on 5 continents and been to 35 counties.His initial teacher training was in Ethiopia, Africa at the base of the Blue Nile, and he has been to the Himalayas many times.He is the Founder and CFO(Chief Inspirational Officer) of The Real Wealth Institute. He is also the Author of the forth coming books- "Autobiography of a Black Yogi" and "Health Secrets of the Soul: How to Be Healthy, Wealthy, & Wise".
The Veggie Taste