Accelerating Change: The Future of Obesity Care

Dr. Richards is a board-certified internal medicine and obesity medicine physician and serves as Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of Obesity Medicine at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Tulsa. He works closely with bariatric surgery colleagues in an interdisciplinary clinic, and his clinical work and research focus on evidence-based weight management, how genetic obesity affects treatment response, and the expanding uses of obesity therapeutics beyond weight management.

Dr. Bretzman is the North Regional Medical Director for The Emily Program and a board-certified family practitioner. After medical school at the University of Minnesota and a family practice residency at the University of Utah, she practiced full age span primary care in rural and urban settings before joining The Emily Program in 2010. She now provides direct patient care for its adult residential services in Minnesota, trains new medical providers across all levels of care, and focuses on helping adults with chronic eating disorders through recovery.

Kayley is a registered dietitian specializing in weight management and women's health with M Health Fairview's Comprehensive Weight Management and Bariatric Surgery Program. Since earning her degree in Community Medical Dietetics from Viterbo University in 2012, she has focused on nutrition counseling and program development, including nutrition education programs in the United States and Ethiopia. She uses intuitive eating principles to make nutrition approachable, realistic, and sustainable, and is working toward becoming a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor.

Heidi is a clinical nurse specialist and advanced practice provider for the Comprehensive Weight Management program at Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato, Minnesota. She has worked in metabolic and bariatric surgery since 2012 and currently serves as Senior Past President of the Integrated Health Section of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).

Dr. Funk is a certified Family Nurse Practitioner, Fellow of Obesity Medicine, and Metabolic and Menopause Specialist who founded MetabolicCareNP in 2024 to serve patients across Minnesota and Wisconsin. With more than 10 years of clinical experience, she serves as a Board Trustee of the Obesity Medicine Association and co-authored the OMA's Obesity Practice Algorithm. She also founded the National Alliance for Accountability in Healthcare, a nonprofit working to change insurance practices that illegally impact patients and drain healthcare system resources.

Dr. Loth is an Associate Professor and Vice Chair for Faculty Affairs in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Minnesota. Her research looks at how family, social, and environmental factors shape children's eating behaviors and weight-related health, with a focus on helping families and providers support healthy habits without weight stigma, including the language adults use around food and bodies. She has authored more than 150 peer-reviewed publications and received NIH funding for her research.

Lisa is Executive Director of WithAll, a national nonprofit that equips adults to help young people build healthy body image and positive relationships with food. WithAll also supports eating disorder recovery, including grants for people facing financial barriers to intensive treatment. Under her leadership, WithAll led the successful effort at the Minnesota Legislature to pass the nation's first eating disorder prevention legislation for high school coaches and athletes. A licensed attorney, she brings more than 20 years of experience in public affairs, community relations, and law.

Dr. Hella is a board-certified obesity medicine and internal medicine physician with more than 25 years of experience. At IMA Healthcare in Fargo, North Dakota, he specializes in weight loss, insulin resistance, thyroid, and related endocrine disorders. He believes "male PMOS" is a common presentation, especially in weight-loss clinics, and has proposed the term Male Androgenic Insulin Resistance Syndrome (MAIRS) to encourage further discussion and research into its effects on men's health.