Introducing our 2021/2022 Board of Directors

9 July 2021
This election cycle, we had 7 open seats on our Board of Directors and we received 6 Candidate Profiles. Because the number of candidates was less than the number of open seats this year, our bylaws allow us to seat our Board "by acclamation", thereby foregoing an election process. These 6 incredible doctors will join Board President Kelsey Klausmeyer and Drs. Allison Apfelbaum, Eva Sofia, Joshua Rubinstein, Renee McKinney, and our student rep to help forge the future of the WANP in the coming years. This new Board officially gets to work on September 1, 2021.
Andrea Emde, ND, DC
Dr. Andrea Emde is a dual licensed physician who holds both a Naturopathic Doctor degree from Bastyr University and a Doctor of Chiropractic degree from University of Western States, where she graduated summa cum laude. Her current practice is in Kirkland, WA, and focuses on musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, thyroid, and hormone balancing. This is her second stint on WANP's Board of Directors, as she had previously served as the student rep during her final years at Bastyr.
Prior to naturopathic medical school, Dr. Andrea earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology with a major in Anthropology at Washington State University (GO COUGS!). While at WSU she was a D-1 athlete on the Varsity Women's Swim Team and a part of an Anthropological research project which focused on preventive health measures in foreign countries.
Dr. Andrea is a PNW native and in her spare time, you can find her hitting the slopes in the winter, the beach in the summer, and the trails in between.
She currently serves on the board of the Kirkland Downtown Association, Kirkland Ambassadors, and on the Governmental Affairs committee of the Washington Association of Naturopathic Physicians. Dr. Andrea is also a member of the Washington State Chiropractic Association.
Brooke Azie-Rentz, ND
A 2005 graduate of Bastyr University, Dr. Brooke Azie-Rentz returns for her 4th year on the WANP Board of Directors. She has spent the last 15 years practicing in a primary care setting in Redmond, WA, with a focus on women’s health, bio-identical hormone therapy, and endocrinology. Over the past 5 years, she has been helping to develop a comprehensive residency program in conjunction with the Institute for Natural Medicine (INM) to help graduating Naturopathic Physicians with post graduate education and mentorship.
She currently serves on WANP's Governmental Affairs Committee and plans to continue there. She would also like to continue working on expanding residency opportunities and jobs for naturopathic physicians. She is a member of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP).
Mandy Gulla, ND, LMP
A 2010 graduate of Bastyr University, Dr. Mandy Gulla's Friday Harbor, WA, practice focuses on primary care, functional medicine, IV therapy, infectious disease, and reproductive medicine. Dr. Gulla's interest in whole person healing began with the mind-and-body connection and transformative power found in art. As an undergraduate, she focused on visual, performance and healing arts, expanding her knowledge of literature, painting, developmental movement patterning, dance and yoga at The Evergreen State College.
Dr. Gulla earned a doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine, a certificate in Midwifery, and a certificate in Massage Therapy at Bastyr University. She went on to complete a CNME accredited residency at the Center for Natural and Integrative Medicine in Orlando, FL, under the direct solo mentorship of Dr. Kirti Kalidas MD, ND, where she focused on Integrative Internal Medicine and Infectious Disease.
Dr. Gulla teaches medical students in her private practice and as Adjunct Faculty at Bastyr University, where she teaches Advanced IV Therapy. Dr. Gulla currently serves on WANP's Continuing Education Committee and plans to continue there. She is also interested in creating a public relations committee for the WANP.
Sarah Acosta Smith, ND
Dr. Acosta Smith graduated from Bastyr University in 2006 and completed a two year residency at the Bastyr Center for Natural Health. She served as an adjunct and core faculty member at Bastyr until 2017, when she moved with her family to Okanogan County and joined FHC to start their naturopathic medicine program. Dr. Acosta Smith is a naturopathic primary care physician and sees patients of all ages with special focus on women's health, pediatrics and chronic disease. Dr. Acosta Smith works primarily in FHC’s South Clinics and she serves as the Clinic Director there.
Dr. Acosta Smith is particularly passionate about helping to create job and residency opportunities for naturopathic physicians. She is also a member of the Naturopathic Academy of Primary Care Physicians (NAPCP).
Teresa Richter, ND
A 2011 graduate of Bastyr University, Dr. Teresa Richter returns for her 5th year on WANP's Board of Directors. She focuses on primary care, women and men’s health, LGBTQ+ health, endocrine conditions, auto-immune conditions, nutrient therapy, injection therapy, and more in her Kirkland, WA, based clinic. She has 1 associate employee and mentors students through the preceptorship program.
Dr. Richter currently serves as the Vice President of the Board and as the Chair of the Continuing Education Committee. She also serves on every single committee and task force of the WANP. She continues dedicating her time to the WANP because she has found her service to the WANP to be one of the most rewarding ways to give back to our profession.
Outside of the WANP, she serves as a volunteer doctor with Girl Scouts of America on overnight camping trips each year. She also recently was part of the volunteer vaccination effort at Kusler’s Compounding Pharmacy to help administer the COVID vaccine. She is also a member of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP) and of the Endocrinology Association of Naturopathic Physicians (EndoANP).
Sarah Garrett, ND
Dr. Sarah Garrett completed her Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine at Bastyr University in 2012. She practices primary care medicine at her clinic in Bellingham, WA, with a particular interest and additional training in women's health, female hormone balancing and replacement therapy, gastrointestinal health, biotherapeutic drainage, detoxification, environmental medicine, diabetes,
HIV care, biofeedback, and hydrotherapy....to name a few.
Dr. Garrett joined the WANP's Continuing Education Committee earlier this year because she is passionate about elevating the entire profession through access to high quality education focused on fundamentals of primary care. She recognizes the on-going need for well-trained primary care physicians, and she knows that our communities are actively seeking preventive wellness and optimal health. She believes this is the realm in which Naturopathic medicine truly shines: not only are naturopathic physicians extremely competent in the role of primary care physician, but they are also the best option in this role.
She specifically asked to join WANP's Board of Directors because she believes that "we have an opportunity in healthcare based on years of momentum of people looking for change in medicine. We have an opportunity to be that change and maximize on that hope and to not squander it. I would love to be a part of Naturopathic Medicine realizing that potential." She currently serves on WANP's Continuing Education Committee and plans to continue there. She also has an interest in grassroots organizing and in issue of equity and access to care.
Please join us in welcoming Drs. Gulla, Garrett, and Acosta Smith and welcoming back Drs. Richter, Emde, and Azie-Rentz. Please also join us in expressing gratitude for the service of Drs. Jamie Doughty (2 years), Ben Hawthorne (2 years), Kara Menzer (4 years), and Sage Wheeler (2 years), whose terms will end on August 31.