Arizona Wellness Medicine

Emily Parke, DO, is board certified in anesthesiology and pediatric anesthesiology, trained in medical acupuncture, and specializes in Functional Medicine. She is an Institute for Functional Medicine Certified Practitioner. Dr. Parke earned her bachelor’s degree in Cardiorespiratory Science at Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York, near her own hometown, and attended medical school at Rowan University in New Jersey. Upon graduation from medical school, she completed her anesthesia residency at the world famous, top-ranked Cleveland Clinic, where she served as Chief Resident. Her desire to tackle complex medical challenges led her to pursue a pediatric anesthesia fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, consistently one of the top three children’s hospitals in the country, where she served as Chief Fellow. After completion of her anesthesia training in 2009, she took a job practicing pediatric anesthesia in Phoenix, Arizona, doing complex pediatric anesthesia cases, as well as serving as vice chair of the Pediatric Pain Medicine Department at Phoenix Children’s Hospital from 2010-2012. In 2012, Dr. Parke completed training in Medical Acupuncture, which then led her to the cutting edge field of Functional Medicine. She then began training with the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM) shortly after. She is an IFM Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner. IFM, in collaboration with The Cleveland Clinic, opened the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine in October 2014. In addition, Dr. Parke has presented and lectured nationally on a variety of topics, which began early in her residency career and continues presently. Certifications and Training Diplomat of the American Board of Anesthesiology Adult and Pediatric Anesthesiology Helm’s Medical Acupuncture Training for Physicians Institute for Functional Medicine Certified Practitioner Kresser Institute for Functional and Evolutionary Medicine

Betsy Kantor, MD, is board certified in both Anesthesiology and Pediatrics, and is an Institute for Functional Medicine Certified Practitioner. She is also trained in Nutrigenomic Analysis, Environmental Medicine, Cogence Immunonolgy, and Root Cause Protocol mineral balancing. Dr. Kantor earned her Bachelors Degree from the University of California Santa Cruz in 1979. After a few years of exploring the world, she attended the University of Kansas Medical School in her hometown of Kansas City. Upon graduation from Medical School, she completed her residency training at the University of California Davis Medical Center, first in Pediatrics including a final year in Pediatric Pulmonary/critical care, and then Anesthesiology. After completing Anesthesia training in 1993, she joined, the University of California, Davis Department of Anesthesia as an Assistant Clinical Professor. In that position, she practiced both pediatric and adult anesthesia, and was involved in teaching and mentoring Residents in Anesthesia, and medical students. In 2003, she took a private practice job in Anesthesia in Phoenix, AZ, again practicing both adult and pediatric anesthesia. Dr. Kantor has been a lifelong sports and fitness enthusiast. She played varsity tennis in high school. She has been an avid endurance runner throughout the years, qualifying for and participating in the 2012 Boston Marathon. She then moved on to triathlon, and is a five time Arizona Ironman distance finisher. Her interest in sports nutrition and health led her to formal training in these disciplines, culminating in pursuing the Institute of Functional Medicine curriculum.

Danielle Bechert, MD, is board certified in family medicine and is an IFM Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner. Dr. Bechert received her undergraduate degree in Biology from Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. It was there that she met her husband, Chad. She then graduated with honors from the Indiana University School of Medicine. It was during medical school that Dr. Bechert began to realize her strong passion for health prevention and healing through lifestyle choices. She decided the broad post graduate residency experience of family medicine would allow her to best pursue that passion. Dr. Bechert provided primary care in a large family medicine group but was disappointed by the hurried way in which healthcare was delivered. Although she was passionate about health and healing, the system wasn’t set up to truly help people find the root cause of their illness. Dr. Bechert began to evaluate her purpose and direction. She pursued education in complementary and alternative medicine, finding a wealth of scientifically backed therapies with great potential to aid in healing. She became a certified yoga teacher through Prairie Yoga School in Chicago, which led her to learn more about mind-body medicine and ultimately Functional Medicine. In 2015, Dr. Bechert and her family relocated to Scottsdale, where she completed the certification pathway through the Institute for Functional Medicine. She was able to actively apply the principles of Functional Medicine to herself and see the benefit. It was at this time Dr. Bechert met Dr. Parke. This timely meeting was just before Dr. Bechert’s oldest daughter suddenly became very ill and was found to have Celiac Disease. Dr. Bechert experienced first hand, through working with Dr. Parke, the need for the personalized approach of Functional Medicine. Her daughter’s healing required patience and more than a gluten-free diet. The persistent application of the principles of Functional Medicine helped her daughter regain her health. Dr. Bechert knows how painful it is to have a sick child, but now knows the joy of seeing that child healthy again. This experience has deepened her desire to help others with the useful tools of Functional Medicine. Dr. Bechert still enjoys the practice of yoga and many other fitness activities. She can most often be found in the kitchen with her three daughters who all enjoy cooking. Dr. Bechert thrives on listening to enriching podcasts or audio books in the car as she shuffles her girls to school and extra-curricular activities. She is motivated to keep herself, her husband, and their daughters healthy so they can live fully and help others do the same.

Dr. Michelle Jeffries is a triple board-certified physician in dermatology, pediatric dermatology and integrative medicine. She has a master’s degree in psychology and is an Institute for Functional Medicine Certified Practitioner. She is also a B.E.S.T. (Bio-energetic Synchronization Technique) & Spiritual B.E.S.T. practitioner and is currently in the process of becoming a certified Mindfulness Meditation Teacher. Dr. Jeffries began college as a pre-med student as she seemed to always have an innate curiosity of how the human body worked and knew she was going to become a physician at a very young age. However, during her early college years she had two people very close to her pass suddenly and she shifted her focus from pre-med to psychology. She graduated from the Honors College Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology at Arizona State University and then went on to pursue her Master of Arts degree in Psychology. Although she loved psychology, before she was to complete a PhD program she realized her passion for medicine never dissipated and that she had to redirect her career path towards medicine. She researched the training options available for physicians and found that she resonated most closely with osteopathic medicine’s philosophies that focus on the body’s innate ability to heal and views the body as a whole and she wanted this to be part of her medical training from day one of medical school. Dr. Jeffries completed her osteopathic medical school training at Midwestern University – Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2005 and was Vice-President of her medical school class and voted both D.O. Student of the Year and Inspirational Student of the Year among many other accolades in medical school. She went on to complete her Dermatology residency training which included dermatology training at Mayo Clinic. She received the honorable Daniel Koprince, D.O. Educational Award for Best Resident Presentation along with several other awards and scholarships for her presentations. Dr. Jeffries was Chief Resident from 2009-2010 and completed a prestigious fellowship and subspecialty board-certification in Pediatric Dermatology at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. After her dermatology training, Dr. Jeffries continued to be a leader in dermatology locally and nationally and was the Secretary/Treasurer of both the Phoenix Dermatologic Society and Arizona Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery Society, peer reviewer of the Pediatric Dermatology journal and served on committees for the Society for Pediatric Dermatology. However, she found out early in her dermatology career that she had some health issues that she didn’t have answers to despite her extensive medical training. She sought out answers with traditional medicine, but she wasn’t able to find a resolution to her health issues. She began to look for answers outside of traditional medicine and this led her to discover the field of Integrative Medicine and Functional Medicine. She was fascinated to learn all of the ways that Integrative Medicine blends together traditional medicine with alternative medicine, nutrition, herbs, supplements, natural medicine and many other modalities. It does not favor one modality or perspective over the other, but blends them together in a personalized way to find the best solution to address health issues from a holistic perspective. Integrative & Functional Medicine helped heal her health issue and she knew her next steps on her professional journey was to bring the integrative and functional medicine approach to her dermatology practice. She completed her two year fellowship and board-certification in Integrative Medicine in 2015 and became an Institute for Functional Medicine Practitioner in 2017. Dr. Jeffries journey continues as she expands into realms of the connections between our mind, body and spirit and skincare. She is a B.E.S.T. & Spiritual B.E.S.T. practitioner which is a hands-on technique promoting wellness that brings together mind/body healing which is a perfect fit to her background in psychology, osteopathic medicine, dermatology, and integrative and functional medicine. She is also in training to become a certified mindfulness and meditation teacher to further enhance the holistic wellness of her patients. Dr. Jeffries’ unique training and background has led her to a comprehensive and holistic “inside AND out” approach to skin health called The SkinClock MethodTM. This all-inclusive skin health method blends the principles of holistic beauty with the natural health cycles of your body, universal laws of nature, ancient teachings, modern dermatology, functional nutrition, and spiritual consciousness for truly holistic skincare.

Timothy Lane, PA-C is a board-certified Physician Associate. He is also an Institute for Functional Medicine – “Applying Functional Medicine in a Clinical Practice” graduate and is in the Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner track. He received his Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry with a Minor in Spanish, graduating top of his class, from Arizona State University and earned his Masters of Physician Assistant Studies, Summa Cum Laude, from Northern Arizona University. He began his career as a PA in Functional Primary Care/Family Medicine working with IFM-CP Scott Jensen MD in Queen Creek Arizona where he gained experience treating various acute and chronic conditions including: dysbiosis, SIBO/IMO, food intolerances, methylation issues, nutrient insufficiencies, hormone imbalances, autoimmune conditions, and cardiometabolic dysfunction to name a few. He then started his family in Gilbert, AZ and began working in Integrative Pain Management and Sports Medicine offering a regenerative, non-surgical, opioid-free approach to musculoskeletal conditions while continuing to educate patients on proper nutrition, sleep, stress management, and the importance of a complete mind-body-spirit approach to wellness. Tim is an avid consumer of information and lifelong learner. He is often found with a book in his hand or a podcast/audio book in his ear. His thirst for knowledge keeps him on the cutting edge of the latest research, tools, and tactics for human optimization. When he’s not learning or applying what he has learned both in his own life and those of his patients, Tim enjoys an active lifestyle which includes camping, hiking, working out, tennis, cooking, yoga, traveling with his wife and 2 kids and experimenting with random new interests such as capoeira, jiu jitsu, pickleball, learning a new language or instrument to name a few.

Kimberly Elias is a Certified Medical Assistant, IV Certified and our Clinical Manager here at Arizona Wellness Medicine. She graduated from IIA College in Tucson, AZ as a Medical Assistant in 2009. She quickly jumpstarted her career working at a family practice clinic, learning back and front of office skills. In 2011, she relocated to Phoenix, AZ and started working with a hand surgeon group, where she continued her growth in pain management. Here she worked with Dr. Emily Parke, and eventually moved on to a career with Arizona Wellness Medicine. In 2015, she joined our team and has continued to grow with the practice. With her 8+ years of experience in the medical field, as well as her 17 years in customer service, Kim continues to provide top tier service in patient care. Aside from her career, her family is her motivating force. She has three beautiful boys that she treasures, a supportive husband, and loves spending her free time with her family.

Juan is an International Medical Graduate who joined our team July 2022. Originally from the tropical and beautiful town of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, Juan always had a curiosity for science and Medicine. He went to the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez where he graduated with a double major in Biology and Industrial Microbiology in 2017. After earning his degrees, Juan was accepted into Medical School at the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara (UAG) in Jalisco, Mexico to fulfill his longstanding dream of becoming a physician in to lend “an ear and a hand” to those in need. It was in one of his clinical rotations where he came to know what Functional Medicine and “felt the difference in care, as well as how tailored this Medicine is in finding the actual cause of a patient’s symptoms rather than treating individual symptoms.” Upon completing his rotations, Juan received his Medical Doctorate degree in June of 2022. Since graduation, Juan has been studying and preparing himself to complete the US Medical Licensing exams. Hoping to have the privilege of providing quality care to all patient’s after completing a Medical Residency program; even possibly joining the Doctors and PA’s here in the clinic at some point in the future. In the interim, he is proudly a part of the team at Arizona Wellness Medicine as a medical staff member helping in all areas of the office.

Sydney is a certified medical assistant and IV certified here at Arizona Wellness Medicine. She graduated from Carrington College in Mesa Arizona, from their medical assisting program in November of 2018. Sydney externed at a primary care office learning all aspects of front and back office. She then went on to work with AZ’s top cardiothoracic surgeons and endocrinologists expanding her skills to do in depth testing and patient care. She joined us in 2020, and has loved being part of the team. Sydney loves helping our patients receive the best care as well as the best customer service. Sydney is also a mom and loves to be with her family. She also loves and continuing to educate herself in the medical field.

Jacqui Lombari (MS, CNS, LDN) is a Board-Certified Nutrition Specialist® and is on track to become a Board-Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner. She obtained her Master’s degree in Human Nutrition & Functional Medicine from the University of Western States and completed the Functional Nutrition Residency Program at Dr. Kara Fitzgerald’s clinic. Her passion lies in addressing the root cause of chronic disease through diet and lifestyle. This passion originated from her previous experience working in the emergency department, where many of her patients had complex stories, were lost, and poorly understood within the conventional medicine setting. Following that, she participated in a Spanish Immersion Program in Guatemala for future healthcare workers. While the experience was life-changing, she contracted a parasite along the way and embarked on a personal journey to address SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth). It was during this time that Jacqui discovered functional medicine and the transformative power of nutrition. Currently, Jacqui works in multiple clinical settings, guiding patients through their health journeys by focusing on personalized nutrition plans that support healing. Her experience encompasses a wide variety of therapeutic diet plans, including but not limited to LOW FODMAP, ketogenic diet, Wahls Protocol, low histamine diet, and low sulfur diet. Additionally, she has a passion for sports nutrition stemming from her love of trail running and ultramarathon training in Arizona. Above all, Jacqui is an empathetic listener who understands the nuances of nutrition.