Board of Directors

President
Jim Ventresca, DOM is a member of the Ayurvedic Accreditation Commission. Dr. Ventresca served as a site visit team leader and subject matter expert for the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from 1995 to 2001. A 1984 graduate and past faculty member of the New England School of Acupuncture and among the members of the first group of acupuncturists in the United States to achieve the status of board-certified Diplomate of Acupuncture, he was one of the first acupuncturists licensed in the state of Massachusetts and holds  a license in New Mexico as a Doctor of Oriental Medicine. In addition to practicing in busy clinical settings and teaching acupuncture and Oriental Medicine since 1984, Dr. Ventresca served as academic dean and full professor of acupuncture and Oriental Medicine at Southwest Acupuncture College. Dr. Ventresca is a co-founder of a publicly funded HIV/AIDS substance abuse treatment center and spent three years as the medical director for integrative medicine at HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Dr. Ventresca currently teaches acupuncture to healthcare professionals, as the director and principal instructor for AcuPracticeSeminars.com.

Treasurer
Pratima Kumar Musburger, JD, MPH, is an attorney and public health practitioner. Pratima has spent her career focused on addressing health inequities in underserved communities in both the United States and abroad. While her career path has focused on public health, she believes that her understanding of health and well-being have been strongly shaped by her study of both yoga and Ayurveda. She currently works for a California-based nonprofit organization, bringing systems and sectors together to advance health equity, and teaches yoga in the Ashtanga yoga tradition.

Sivarama ‘Prasad’ Vinjamury, MD(Ayu), MAOM, MPH, is currently working as a Professor of Research at SCU, Whittier, California and is the Director of Capstone research. He also provides clinical services at the Students Health and Counseling Center at CSUF. He has been a principle investigator of studies on Fibromyalgia, Hypertension and Insomnia. Recently, he has been awarded a mini-grant to investigate the effects of acupuncture on chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy in breast cancer patients.

Advisory Council

Marilyn Allen’s journey into the healing arts of Traditional Medicine began over 35 years ago. She currently serves as part of the Allied Professional Insurance Company Board of Directors and teaches Career Development, Practice Management and Laws and Ethics courses in Acupuncture training programs. She is a registered lobbyist in the state of Arizona and is involved in legislative advocacy for Traditional Medicine.

In 2005, she was appointed as the delegate to the World Health Organization for Traditional Medicine. Marilyn is also involved with the Traditional Medicine Reference Group for Ayurveda Medicine, the Quality of Care and Patient Safety TAG, and the International Standards Organization, which gave her the opportunity to help create standards for herbs, herbal formulas, needle manufacturing and updated terminology.

Suhas Kshirsagar, BAMS, MD(Ayu), is a classically trained Ayurvedic Physician with over 30 years of clinical experience. He is a best-selling author, and motivational speaker and an acclaimed educator in the fields of Ayurveda and integrative medicine. He has traveled around the globe popularizing Ayurveda, yoga, meditation, and natural medicine. Dr. Suhas is a sought-after educator in the field of Ayurveda and has started numerous schools and designed curriculums for various universities. He has been featured in many popular podcasts, radio, and television shows. He is an adviser to the Chopra Center and is the director of Ayurvedic Healing Inc.

Alakananda Ma (Olivia Hudis), MBBS, is a graduate of St, Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical College, London University, and a NAMA professional member. She has been practicing and teaching Ayurveda since 1988. She has served for many years on NAMA’s Standards Committee and has been instrumental in creating national educational standards for Ayurveda. As principal of Alandi Ayurveda Gurukula, she teaches and develops curriculum for Alandi’s four-year full-time program. She is dedicated to ensuring credible, high-quality, accredited Ayurvedic education in the U.S.

Malli Rao Varanasi, MS (Industrial Engineering)  is a Manufacturing Executive. After graduating from the University of Minnesota, Malli worked in a large Automotive Parts Manufacturing company in various capacities. He retired as Corporate VP of Manufacturing after a decade in that position.  

After retirement, he worked with the Community Foundations in Atlanta and Orange County California to serve various Nonprofit Charitable organizations in the communities. Actively engaged with the United Way Orange County and its Community Programs. 

Currently he is in the pursuit of understanding Advaita Vedanta and Practice.

Fred Smith is Professor Emeritus of Sanskrit & Classical Indian Religions at the University of Iowa, now living in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He studied and lived in India for nearly 20 years. He has published widely on Indian philosophy and ritual, devotional philosophy and practice, Ayurveda and other Indian medical practice, on the Mahabharata, and much more. He has experienced the benefits of Ayurveda and is enthusiastic about serving on the AAC.

Review Commissioners

Administration

Executive Director
Lisa Cavallaro, PsyD, C-IAYT, is a licensed psychologist and holds a doctorate degree in clinical psychology. Lisa specializes in health psychology and behavioral medicine and is the former program director of a multidisciplinary wellness program within a regional medical center. In addition to her 25 years of private practice, she has taught masters and doctoral graduate courses in psychology and facilitated many educational and support groups.

She previously served as an accreditation specialist with the International Association of Yoga Therapists.

Dr. Cavallaro is also credentialed as a certified yoga therapist (C-IAYT) through the International Association of Yoga Therapists and is a faculty member at the Kripalu School of Integrative Yoga Therapy.

Assistant Director
Maeve Mangine brings over 15 years of experience in communications, marketing, administration, and management, primarily in the education and wellness fields. After many years in teaching and administrative positions in secondary schools, she has spent the past decade managing and consulting for yoga and wellness retreat centers. Maeve is dedicated to supporting mission-driven businesses and nonprofit organizations. A Kripalu-trained Ayurvedic yoga teacher (RYT-500), she also enjoys teaching, learning, traveling and spending time in nature.