Welcoming our 2024/2025 Board of Directors

Allison Apfelbaum, ND | Dr. Allison Apfelbaum is a licensed naturopathic doctor who graduated from Bastyr University (Washington) in 2013. She had previously earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in Biobehavioral Health at the Pennsylvania State University. Upon graduating from the Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine program, Dr. Apfelbaum completed an accredited two year residency program in primary care family practice. She has a busy insurance-based primary care practice with special interests in endocrinology, pain management, autoimmune disease, and allergies. Dr. Apfelbaum also completed the massage intensive program and incorporates this knowledge into her physical medicine treatments.

This will be Dr. Apfelbaum's fifth year on the WANP's Board of Directors, where she currently serves on the Continuing Education Committee, the Legislative Affairs Committee, and as Chair of the Membership Committee. Dr. Apfelbaum previously served as the Board Secretary from 2021 to 2023.

Jenna Bailey, ND, FABNO | Dr. Jenna Bailey received her bachelor’s degree in Clinical Laboratory Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine from Bastyr University (2016). She completed the two-year Seattle Integrative Oncology residency program and is a Fellow of the American Board of Naturopathic Oncology. Dr. Bailey regularly gives talks on naturopathic care and natural health at the Providence Regional Cancer Partnership’s Survivorship Series in Everett, Washington, as well as nutrition presentations at Providence Integrative Cancer Care in Lacey/Olympia. With her background in laboratory sciences and special interest in hematological cancers, Dr. Bailey combines a strong technical understanding of disease with her desire to care for patients. She believes in providing every patient with foundational treatment to make sure they are getting proper sleep, nutrients, vitamins, and hydration, while also building a therapeutic relationship to treat the whole person.

This will be Dr. Bailey's first year on the WANP's Board of Directors.

Jana Nalbandian, ND | Dr. Jana Nalbandian has worked in healthcare since she was 16 years old. She was a med tech while in the military, and then for another 20 plus years (off and on). She graduated from John Bastyr College of Naturopathic Medicine in 1989 and was in private practice in Seattle for 13 years in Seattle before moving to Anchorage, Alaska, to work in a large integrative clinic for another 11 years. She practiced primary care naturopathic medicine in both locations. From 1987 to 2010, Dr. Nalbandian was core faculty, department chair of clinical sciences, and chair of the faculty senate at Bastyr University. She worked passionately within Bastyr to improve both the educational programming and the incomes of faculty members. She returned to Bastyr in 2021 as the Associate Dean of Clinical Education. Her passion is the medicine and guaranteeing the health and expansion of naturopathic medicine into the future both as a WANP Board member and as an administrator and educator at Bastyr University.

This will be Dr. Nalbandian's third year on the WANP's Board of Directors, where she currently serves on the Legislative Affairs Committee and as Chair of the Governance Committee. She previously served on the Membership Committee from 2022 to 2023.

Andrew Simon, ND | A 2013 graduate of the School of Naturopathic Medicine at Bastyr University (Washington), Dr. Andrew Simon completed a residency at Bastyr Center for Natural Health in 2013-2014. He has maintained Adjunct Professor status with Bastyr University in the Primary Care, Physical Medicine, and Mind Body Medicine Departments. Additionally, he currently teaches business courses at Bastyr. Dr. Simon and his partner co-founded Rebel Med NW, an Integrative Concierge Medical Clinic located in the heart of Ballard in Seattle. Dr. Simon specializes in a mind body medicine approach to primary care and chronic health conditions like chronic fatigue, Long Covid, and Chronic pain, and he frequently includes Biofeedback and Physical Medicine in his treatment plans. He has been voted a Seattle Met Top Doctor 5 times. Currently serving as WANP's liaison to the Power of Providers Advisory Committee of the Washington State Department of Health, Dr. Simon helps advise the Department on the vital role of naturopathic physicians in every primary care issue from Covid-19, mental health, opioid epidemic, and outreach to underserved population groups.

This will be Dr. Simon's first year on the WANP's Board of Directors.

Justin Taylor, ND | Dr. Justin Taylor has worked as a primary care physician at Summit Pacific Medical Center in Elma, Washington, for the past seven years. As a current WANP Board member and Chair of the Legislative Affairs Committee, his passion is government affairs; specifically, increasing the scope of practice and achieving pay parity for Naturopathic physicians. A 2009 graduate of the Naturopathic Medical School at the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine (SCNM), Dr. Taylor would love to continue volunteering on the WANP Board and working on the Sunrise Review of Senate Bill 5411 and preparing for the 2025 Legislative Session.

This will be Dr. Taylor's third year on the WANP's Board of Directors, where he currently serves as the Board Secretary and as Chair of the Legislative Affairs Committee.

Gregory Yasuda, ND | Dr. Greg Yasuda is a 2003 graduate of Bastyr University. As a didactic and clinical faculty member there since 2008 and the Associate Dean of Academics from 2018-2021, he has placed a strong emphasis on holism, helping students and patients capitalize on their unique strengths in navigating their journeys toward health and healing. His areas of particular interest include physical medicine, philosophy and the role of belonging as a social determinant of health as well as a means of understanding group dynamics and promoting inclusivity. He continues to work as an Associate Professor at Bastyr University and maintains a private practice at Water & Stone Wellness in Edmonds, Washington.

This will be Dr. Yasuda's first year on the WANP's Board of Directors.

Student Representative: Elise Drapeau |Bastyr University - Kenmore | ND expected 2026 | Elise is entering her third year as a naturopathic medical student at Bastyr University, and is excited to start NMS3 classes and clinic this summer. She has been passionate about Naturopathic medicine for many years, having grown up with a mother who is an herbalist. She decided to become a naturopathic physician over 10 years ago when she was finishing high school. Conventional medical school was never something she considered, because she wanted to align her work with her own philosophy of health that she chooses to live by. Elise believes she connects with other ND students on this point: for Elise and her peers, this is more than a chosen profession; it is a way of life that permeates every aspect of their identities. Her hope is to imbue this kind of empowerment to each patient by sharing ways in which the tools she has gathered can also become a part of their lives. To Elise, Naturopathic Medicine isn’t about the modalities NDs use but rather about the philosophy by which they choose to implement those modalities.

This will be Elise's first year on the WANP's Board of Directors.

**************************************

We want to express our incredible gratitude to those who are moving on from our Board, having made significant contributions to the future of our organization! Thank you - from the bottom of our hearts - to Drs. Lorinda Sorensen (Director, 2022-2024) and Suzanne Way (Director, 2022-2024); and to Dr. Melissa Lange (Student Rep, 2023-2024).

We wish all of you all the successes in the world as you move onto your next big things! 💚

**************************************