About
Our History Our Team
Environmental Medicine
Find a Provider
Membership
Join
Learning Center
Environmental Health Questionnaire Wildfire Smoke Patient Resources Upcoming & Recorded Webinars Find a Provider Blog
Partners

Our

History

IN 2008, AN IDEA

TAKES SHAPE...

Walter Crinnion ND, Jessica Tran ND and Lyn Patrick ND were inspired to create a specialty organization to provide clinical guidelines and expertise in environmental medicine for naturopathic physicians and allied primary care providers.

TODAY, NAEM IS A LEADING VOICE

IN ENVIRONMENTAL MEDICINE

From our inception, NAEM has evolved and grown stronger as a community of providers and educators.

 

We have some of the greatest minds in environmental medicine working together to provide members with the most advanced clinical guidelines and resources available to help them best navigate complex patient care.

As environmental medicine continues to evolve, we will continue to advance our educational programs and community fellowship.

 

TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

2008: AN IDEA TAKES SHAPE

In 2008, Walter Crinnion ND, Jessica Tran ND and Lyn Patrick ND began a discussion about the necessity of creating a specialty organization that would serve to provide clinical guidelines and specialization in environmental medicine for naturopathic physicians and allied primary care providers.

2010: NAEM BEGINS

The Naturopathic Association of Environmental Medicine was legally created as a non-profit organization and accepted by the AANP as a specialty organization.

2011: THE FIRST BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

The first Board of Directors meeting in Sept. of 2011 included: Walter Crinnion ND, Jessica Tran ND, Chris Spooner ND, Christina Youngren ND, Soram Khalsa MD, Dot Merritt MD and Lyn Patrick ND. Other past Board of Directors are Sarah Rogers ND, Marianne Marchese ND, and Doug Cutler ND.

2011: REACHING A WIDER AUDIENCE OF HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS

As our organization has evolved, it has become clear that there is a need for us to serve a wider audience of health care providers. The membership has grown steadily throughout the decade to its current 280+ members and includes international members from Canada and China.

2014: WEBINARS BY LEADING EXPERTS

NAEM begins producing webinars by speakers including Drs. Walter Crinnion, Paul Anderson, Lyn Patrick, Marianne Marchese, Joe Pizzorno, Mary Cordaro, Bonnie Nedrow, Kelly McCann, John Hibbs, Anne Marie Fine, Louise Tolzmann, Laura Chan and Bob Miller. This body of work represents the beginning of providing our members with the current and relevant updates in Environmental Medicine.

2016: FOCUS ON BEST-PRACTICES IN ENVIRONMENTAL MEDICINE

The board identifies areas of focus leading to a refinement of the Mission and Vision to focus more clearly on providing clinicians with best-practice Environmental Medicine training. The board recognized the challenge many clinicians face when integrating Environmental Medicine into day-to-day practice. Not only is the field extremely broad, it is also one of the fastest changing fields in medicine today.

2018: LAUNCH OF THE EHQ & CLINICAL GUIDELINES

Our second conference in Irvine California, Clinical Tools and Applications of Environmental Medicine. This conference launched the NAEM Toolbox: The Environmental Health Questionnaire (EHQ), the Timeline and the Clinical Guidelines.

2018: THE GRANDFATHER OF ENVIRONMENTAL MEDICINE PASSES

Dr. Bill Rea, often seen as the grandfather of Environmental Medicine, passed on August 16. Dr. Rea was a mentor to many of us and an icon in Environmental Medicine. He was often not only years, but decades ahead of his time in. recognizing the health effects of both chemicals and electromagnetic radiation. His leadership has inspired NAEM to include a focus on the huge impact EMR has on health.

2018: NAME CHANGE TO THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL MEDICINE

The NAEM Vision Statement declares that “Our goal is to help every clinician easily access and apply fundamental and advanced environmental medicine principles to restore and improve the health of their patients.” With this vision in mind, the current NAEM Board of Directors and the voting members of the organization overwhelmingly voted to rename the organization to the National Association of Environmental Medicine.

2019: UNEXPECTED LOSS OF OUR FOUNDER, DR. CRINNION

Dr. Walter Crinnion, the teacher of so many Environmental Medicine practitioners and the founding president of NAEM, unexpectedly passes away. Every so often there is a visionary who we encounter in our lives that lights the torch of illumination so brightly, we cannot look away. Dr Walter Crinnion is that man who enlightened us in the crucial role Environmental Medicine plays in the care of our patients. Walter’s vision never wavered; he led the way for thousands of healthcare practitioners to practice this medicine. While these are big shoes to fill, NAEM has pledged to do our part to keep his vision alive.

2019: PASSING THE PRESIDENT’S BATON

Dr. Lyn Patrick, after being our brave leader as President of NAEM for two full terms since 2011, passes the torch to our current president, Dr. Bonnie Nedrow. Lyn was the rock of NAEM for so many years; without her faith, commitment and foresight we would not be here today.

2020: UPDATING & EXPANDING THE CLINICAL GUIDELINES

NAEM is offering two conferences, an updated and expanded Clinical Guidelines for members and this new website. We hope to continue to serve our environmental community and expand the practice of Environmental Medicine for years to come.

2022: RECONNECTING & FUELING OUR PASSION

In 2022 we had our first in-person gathering at the Environmental Health Symposium. We gave many many hugs! It was great to get together after such a long hiatus. The connection fueled us with rekindled passion for environmental medicine and we are all looking forward to the future that awaits.

2023: TAKING NAEM TO THE NEXT LEVEL

The NAEM Board had an inspirational and energizing retreat in beautiful Julian, CA in June. We came away with a renewed focus on taking NAEM to the next level and a commitment to our membership to continue to advance our educational programs and community fellowship.

2024: THE PRESIDENT'S BATON PASSES AGAIN

Dr. Katherine Carvlin assumes the leadership of the NAEM board and committees as they update and expand the clinical guidelines and create an amazing library of resources including an updated Environmental Health Questionnaire, new patient and clinician handouts and a Wildfire Resource page.