Richard S Materson, M.D. is Clinical Full Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Baylor College of medicine and UT Medical School at Houston.. He retired from Memorial Hermann Healthcare System in July 2005 where he had served as Corporate Medical Vice -President. His responsibilities included Wellness, Mind-Body Medicine, Integrated Medicine, Post Acute Care and the Spiritual Leadership Institute. He was Sr. VP and Medical Director of the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington, DC from 1990-1997. He is a former President of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Founder and 1st President of the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Education and Research Foundation (PMR-ERF). He has been honored as a Schachtel Lecturer, the Walter Zeiter Lecturer, and has received a Distinguished Public Service Award from the AAPM&R. He has served many organizations as officer or Board member including ten years at he Institute for Religion and Health where he was previous Board Chair. He was a member of and Chairman of the Residency Review Committee for PM&R and has had teaching appointments at multiple institutions. He has over 250 invited lectures and presentations and is an author of multiple books, chapters and papers. His major clinical interest has been axiology in the treatment of chronic pain and the intersection of spirituality and medical science.

Lex Gillan has been a practitioner of yoga and meditation for nearly 40 years. He has studied with world-class teachers - including Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Ram Dass, Stephen Levine, Father Thomas Keating, Andy Gold and James Ezelle, M.D. - since the 1960's. Mr. Gillan has been a full-time instructor since 1974 when he founded The Yoga Institute in Houston, Texas, one of the oldest yoga studio businesses in the country. Since its inception, he has taught more than 20,000 yoga classes, 70 ten day retreats and 300 meditation workshops. Mr. Gillan also teaches the Yoga Teacher Training and National Certification Course, is a founder and Trustee of Rose Mountain Retreat Center outside Las Vegas, New Mexico and is on the Adjunct Faculty at the Institute for Religion and Health in the Texas Medical Center in Houston. He is degreed in Business Administration from Stephen F. Austin University (Texas) and spent five years as a commercial banker in Houston in the 60's.

Melanie Barr Fitzpatrick joins the Institute with a new masters degree in social work and 13 years of experience at the University of Houston. During the three years pursuing this degree, she completed professional internships at the United Way of Greater Houston in Community Investment and Project Blueprint and at the Montrose Counseling Center in youth services. From 1997 to 2006, she served as an admissions counselor and academic advisor with The Honors College at The University of Houston. Her responsibilities at The Honors College included coordinating major events (including recruitment banquets, freshmen retreats, and college presentations) as well as offering experienced academic advising, driven by her priorities to build community, support student development and growth, assist students with life altering decisions, and serve as an open and supportive presence on the university¹s main campus.