Samantha Simmons, MPH
President, OCIM
Ms. Simmons has served as President of the Oregon Collaborative for Integrative Medicine (OCIM) since 2008. Ms. Simmons has extensive experience and background in many facets of integrative medicine and health including program development and management, research, marketing and outreach, strategic planning and policy. Previously, Ms. Simmons was a Research Associate and Program Administrator for the NIH R25 complementary and alternative medicine education grant as well as Program Administrator in pediatrics at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). She received her MPH degree in health management and policy with an emphasis in integrative health from Portland State University as well as a BS in psychology. Ms. Simmons is slowly working towards a PhD in Health Systems and Policy from Portland State University. Ms. Simmons is a former member of the Executive Committee as well as former Chair of the Policy Working Group for the Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine and Health.
Joseph E Brimhall, DC
Chair OCIM Board of Directors, President, University of Western States
Joseph Brimhall, DC, is a graduate of Logan University in St. Louis, MO. He started his career in 1981 as a chiropractic physician in Ogden, Utah where he was in private practice for 22 years. During that time, he was twice named Utah Chiropractic Physician of the Year. Since 2003, Dr. Brimhall has served as president of University of Western States in Portland, Ore. He has extensive experience in licensure regulation and professional testing; serving 10 years on the Utah Chiropractic Physician’s licensing board. Dr. Brimhall is currently the chairman of the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), a recognized agency that accredits more than160 public and private higher education institutions in the Northwest. He is a former president of the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE), a former chairman of the CCE Commission on Accreditation, and the immediate past-president of the Councils on Chiropractic Education International (CCEI). He is a founding director of the Oregon Collaborative for Integrative Medicine (OCIM), and has served on the executive committee of the Academic Consortium for Complementary and Alternative Health Care (ACCAHC).
David Schleich, PhD
Vice Chair, OCIM Board of Directors, President, National University of Natural Medicine
Dr. David Schleich joined National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM) in 2007. Formerly, he was the president of the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine in Toronto, where he served from 1996 to 2003. As well, he held previous posts as Academic Vice-President of Niagara College, and administrative and teaching posts at St. Lawrence College, Swinburne University (Australia) and the University of Alberta. He has had an eclectic, thirty plus year career in business, education, publishing and health. He has been a teacher and professor in elementary, secondary, college and university settings. His academic credentials have been earned from the University of Western Ontario (B.A.), the University of Alberta (M.A.), Queen’s University (B.Ed.), and the University of Toronto (Ph.D.). His doctoral studies focused on medical history and on regulatory and public policy frameworks which affect medical education. During many of those years David was also the publisher/editor of Quarry Press.
Amy Coplen, RDH, MS
Associate Professor & Associate Dean of Interprofessional Education, School of Dental Hygiene Studies, Pacific University
Dr. Amy Coplen joined Pacific University in 2009. She has a passion for providing access to care to underserved populations and has coordinated the dental hygiene students’ involvement with project homeless since 2010. Amy enjoys teaching to various learning styles and incorporating active learning techniques into the classroom and has spoken nationally on these topics. Her research interests include Interprofessional Education and exploring alternative dental workforce models to reach individuals with limited access to dental care. She is the Associate Dean of Interprofessional Education at Pacific University and oversees the College of Health professions Interprofessional Case Conferences as well as their Interprofessional Competence Course. She is also the current Co-Editor in Chief of the Journal of Health and Interprofessional Practice. Amy has a passion for service in the university, profession, and the community. She won the Pacific University Faculty Achievement Award in 2017. In her free time, when she is not spending quality time with her two daughters, she enjoys volunteering on the Medical Teams International dental van and working the guest relations desk at the Portland Rescue Mission.