ANACT Professional

Richard LaMarita is a twenty-five year chef-instructor for the world-renowned plant-based culinary program at the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York City. Among his famed vegetarian and vegan cooking, he specializes in Indian, Italian, and Ayurvedic cuisine. He is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City, having completed the Culinary Arts and Culinary Management Program in 2004. He also studied with Vedic and Ayurvedic master Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. For thirty-five years, Richard has been a practitioner and teacher of Ayurveda, and he has led seminars throughout the US, Europe, and Asia, including topics such as the Ayurvedic diet, cooking, yoga, and meditation.

Dr. Bhaswati Bhattacharya is a Harvard-educated, licensed, board-certified MD physician trained in family medicine and preventive medicine. She is currently a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York and a Fulbright Specialist in global public health. She has a PhD in pharmacology-neuroscience and in Ayurveda as well as a master’s degree in public health. Her research focuses on integrating the wisdom and science of Ayurveda into health care. Her book, Everyday Ayurveda, is a national bestseller published by Penguin Random House.

Graham M. Schweig, PhD is Professor of Religion and Director of Studies in Religion at Christopher Newport University, as well as Distinguished Teaching and Research Faculty at The Center for Dharma Studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. He earned his doctorate in comparative religion from Harvard University, and his specializations are Hindu traditions and Vaishnava bhakti; the philosophy and history of Yoga; and love mysticisms. Among his numerous published works is Bhagavad Gītā: The Beloved Lord's Secret Love Song, published by Harper Collins (2010). Several other books are forthcoming from Yale, Columbia, and Oxford university presses. He has been a dedicated yoga practitioner for over fifty years.

Catherine L. Schweig has been a student of ancient Bhakti Sanskrit texts since 1986. In the 1990s she dedicated herself to mantra recitation under an Indian master in Orissa and learned asanas and pranayama from Swami Nirmalananda. In 2003 Catherine studied the sattvic diet with Gabriel Cousens in Arizona. She co-founded the Secret Yoga Institute with her husband in 2006. Together they create and present teaching materials for Yoga Teacher Training programs and universities. Catherine also compiled the first collection of poems by contemporary women of the Bhakti yoga tradition. She happily applied yogic and Ayurvedic principles in raising her sons.

Nidhi Pandya is an Ayurvedic practitioner and carries generational Ayurvedic wisdom from her grandfather, an Ayurvedic healer from India. Besides being immersed in Ayurveda since birth, Nidhi has classical Ayurveda training from the scriptures. A TEDx speaker, teacher, writer, and practitioner, Nidhi wears many hats. The Chopra Center, Shakti School, Mindbodygreen, One Commune, Google, Inde Wild, and Ranavat are some of the places you’ll see her work. Her work is also featured in top publications such as the Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, Times of India, etc. She is the creator of The Inner Climate™, a revolutionary approach to wellness. Nidhi is currently working on two books and lives in NYC.

Ellen Scordato is a partner in Stonesong, a literary agency specializing in illustrated nonfiction, particularly lifestyle and culinary titles. Her 35 years of experience in book publishing includes positions at St. Martin’s Press, Charles Scribner’s Sons, and Random House. She and Alison Fargis purchased Stonesong from its founder in 2002. As head of production and as an agent at Stonesong, she puts together teams to produce cookbooks for brand-name clients and authors, hiring and supervising writers, recipe developers, recipe editors, nutritionists, line editors, indexers and more, as well as representing select authors, primarily in the areas of health and wellness. She taught as an adjunct faculty member in English Language Studies at the New School for more than a decade and continues to teach as guest faculty at venues large and small.

Lisa Berry devoted twenty years of her career to food service. She has worked in every kind of establishment all over the country, from sports pubs in south Florida to fine dining in Colorado. She has filled every role in all aspects of the business from hostess to head chef, including managing chain restaurants, owning and operating restaurants, private chef work, and event catering. She specialized in cooking vegetarian, vegan, and raw vegan cuisines, and consulted with vegetarian restaurants on systemization and general operational improvements. Lisa is proud to have taught for ANACT for many years.

Heather Rice has studied, practiced, and taught Ayurveda and yoga for more than two decades. She has over 1,000 hours of training in Ayurveda through the American Institute of Vedic Studies and Bhagavat Life under the guidance of Dr. David Frawley, Ed Zadlo, D.Ay, and Divya Alter. In addition to her extensive knowledge within yoga and Ayurveda, she has an entrepreneurial spirit and is the owner of Amrita Yoga & Wellness in Philadelphia, PA. Heather’s passion for holding space and caring for others branches beyond the holistic health industry. She brings with her over 25 years experience in the hospitality industry as a fine dining server, where she has been an integral part of many esteemed restaurant teams along the east coast of the US.

Greta McNebb is the Head of Catering and Events for Divya’s Kitchen. She brings over 17 years of experience, including 7 years as the Lead Event Planner and Catering Director for Bartleby and Sage. She is a graduate of and instructor for Bhagavat Life’s Ayurveda Nutrition and Culinary Training, which has supported her execution of over 500 events, such as weddings, galas, and corporate and wellness gatherings. Currently Greta is extremely passionate about food and service and loves sharing her knowledge.

Micah Morton is a food stylist, recipe developer, and lifestyle junkie who lives in Brooklyn, NY with her family. Originally a professionally trained modern dancer, Micah attended the prestigious Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences in Santa Monica, CA before studying anthropology at Bryn Mawr College. Post college, Micah lived in Europe performing as a dancer in world tours. She eventually realized that the multicultural home that she was raised in, full of food and celebration, was really the springboard for her real passion to cook. Her current career as a stylist is a blend of art and technique. "Working in cafés and bakeries I began to realize that I didn't have the desire to churn out tons of something. I wanted to do a few things really perfectly. In a restaurant setting you learn a lot about speed, but making beautiful food is oftentimes less important. Styling is this amazing space where you can take the food, and you can think about light, color, and composition and really create something for the camera that works.”

Jennifer Caroff is a private chef and culinary instructor in the San Francisco Bay Area and recently began Soul Sweets(™), which is her line of artisan, whole food, plant-based, feel-good desserts. Prior to her food career, Jennifer pursued studies in yoga, dance, and bodywork. She completed a masters degree in Somatic Psychology from California Institute of Integral Studies and also received licensing as a Marriage and Family Therapist. Jennifer is a certified Natural Chef through Bauman College in Berkeley, CA and completed the ANACT Foundations Course in 2022. She is a certified Raw Dessert Chef and Health Coach through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. Her years of embodiment practices energize her diverse work—with clients, menu design, recipe development, and kitchen prowess.

Shikha Sharma is a professional photographer and a trained chef from the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. Growing up she learnt all about Indian spices by keenly observing her mother cook homemade food every single day. After working as a marketing professional in the corporate world for several years, her longing to reconnect with her roots brought her to become one of the first chefs and guest instructors for Bhagavat Life’s ANACT course, where she taught Indian bread making to several students. She studied holistic nutrition at Nutritional Therapy Association while establishing herself as a personal brand photographer in the holistic community. She’s on a mission to help bridge the gap between feeling healthy internally to feeling confident externally by means of photography and mind-body connection.