Meet Our Team | History | Mission Statement

Meet Our Team

From a career start doing radio promotions for Clear Channel in Boulder, to hob-nobbing it with Department of Defense bigwigs as Associate Publisher of an IT/simulation publication in DC, Shanon finally found her true calling and passion when she began her work for Healing Lifestyles & Spas magazine in August of 2002. She combined her PR, marketing, sales and publishing skills gained through her previous life in radio and the DOD and brought it all together to eventually become Publisher of Healing Lifestyles & Spas. The 7 + years of working for the magazine has led Shanon down a road of rediscovery, transformation, healing, mindfulness and all things inspiring. Intertwined with working very hard, her career path has afforded some spectacular adventures and experiences. When not at her desk, you can find Shanon jumping off sail boats on the Aegean with Shiva Rea, on a luscious spa tour through British Columbia, or rafting down rivers in Costa Rica sleeping with the monkeys at eco-lodges along the way. The spa life is never far away—while at her desk, you can find her slathered with her daily homemade face mask, or caked in a hair mask concoction of coconut and sesame oil... that is if she's not practicing transdermal marma meditation learned through her Ayurvedic studies. Shanon's purpose put simply: to live inspired and to share the HL&S mantra: Live Mindfully, Eat Joyfully, Travel Consciously.

Melissa Williams, Editorial Director
Melissa began her interest in health and wellness (and writing) at a young age, receiving her Bachelor’s Degree in Communications with a Minor in Exercise & Health Science from the University of California–Santa Barbara. (She also met her husband at UCSB, studying Spanish, although she can’t speak a lick of the beautiful language.) Melissa joined Healing Lifestyles & Spas in 2000, and has served as the Editor-in-Chief for the last 8. Being the editor of a spa publication affords some amazing experiences including a Tahitian spa wedding with her husband, a cruise for crocodiles in Australia, and a blissful mountain getaway in Southern Colorado. She is also a freelance writer and has contributed to a variety of wellness publications, including Yoga Journal, Cooking Light, Shape, Natural Solutions, and Delicious Living. When she’s not frequenting spas (or writing about them), she can be found teaching yoga to pregnant women and new mamas, or writing about motherhood for Mindful-Mama.com. Melissa resides just outside Boulder, Colorado, with her husband, Steven, daughter Sena, and two dogs.

Jason Bazilian, DAOM, MTOM, L. Ac., Complementary and Alternative Medicine Advisor
Jason Bazilian is a Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine – the first to earn a doctoral degree in this field in the United States from the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine in association with Oregon Health & Science University in Portland. Prior to his doctoral degree, he received his Master’s degree in Traditional Oriental Medicine (MTOM), summa cum laude, from the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in San Diego, and attended the University of Florida for his undergraduate degree.
Dr. Bazilian is state licensed in CA, NY, and CT, and is a nationally certified diplomate (NCCAOM) in Acupuncture and also Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine. He is a certified specialist in Traditional Chinese Medical women’s health (OB/Gyn), having completed a 2-year post-graduate course of intensive study in Boulder, Colorado. Dr. Bazilian completed two months of post-graduate training/internship at the foremost integrated Chinese/Western medical hospital in Changsha (Hunnan Province of China). He spent another two months in China completing advanced doctoral training at the W.H.O. international training facility in Nanjing, where he focused on the integrative medical treatment approaches for pain conditions.
Dr. Bazilian works with athletes, women and men, and children treating a broad spectrum of conditions at their private practice, Bazilian’s Health Clinic in San Diego, alongside his partner and wife, Wendy Bazilian, who has her doctorate in public health and nutrition. Individually and along with his wife, Dr. Bazilian regularly offers specialty workshops, lectures and writes on a variety of health topics in the field of complementary and integrative medicine and public health. He has been associated with the Golden Door fitness resort and spa for the past 7+ years providing patient-focused-care and treatment to guests.


Wendy Bazilian, DrPH, RD, Nutrition Editor
As a writer, researcher, educator, and food enthusiast Dr. Wendy Bazilian brings experience in nutrition science, public health and counseling to her work. Dr. Wendy received her doctoral degree in Public Health and Nutrition from Loma Linda University and received the highest university academic honor, the Chancellor’s Award. She graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. She received her Master’s degree summa cum laude at the University of California, San Diego in Latin American Studies focusing on public health and nutrition in Brazil.
Dr. Wendy, as she is referred to affectionately by her many clients in her private practice, is a Registered Dietitian and American College of Sports Medicine-certified Health and Fitness Specialist. She is co-owner of Bazilian’s Health Clinic in San Diego with her husband and partner, Dr. Jason Bazilian. Dr. Wendy is a Nutrition Consultant to the spa industry, and heads the nutrition program at the renowned Golden Door spa and fitness resort in Escondido, California for the past 7 years. As a leader in the fields of nutrition and fitness, she is currently involved in a variety of practical, writing, lecturing, and research endeavors focusing on weight management, sports nutrition, women’s health, longevity, nutrition and skin health, and exercise nutrition. She serves on national clinical and professional committees that help move the science of nutrition and sound application of nutritional and supplement guidelines and regulation forward for the public.
Dr. Bazilian has written for and been featured in numerous magazines like Martha Stewart Living, Allure, Town & Country, Natural Health, and Healing Lifestyles & Spas, as well as television programs including NBC’s Today Show, Regis and Kelly, ABC’s Good Morning America Health, Fox Business’ Money for Breakfast, NBC’s Telemundo, Univision and a variety of others. As a professional writer on nutrition, public health, and exercise, she has published 200 articles for corporate and other media. She is the Nutrition Editor for Healing Lifestyles & Spas Magazine and the author of The SuperFoodsRx Diet: Lose Weight with the Power of SuperNutrients (Rodale).

Deirdre Shevlin Bell, Health Editor
Dierdre Shevlin Bell has almost 15 years’ experience in health and wellness publishing. She has worked on publications for both consumers and professionals, including as managing editor of Alternative Medicine magazine, senior editor of Pilates Style magazine, and managing editor of Natural Medicine Journal. She is passionate about broadening public awareness of matters related to natural health. Deirdre holds a Bachelor of Science in linguistics from Georgetown University.

Debra Bokur, Travel & Wellness Editor
Debra Bokur has spent over two decades traveling the world as a writer, filmmaker, and journalist, exploring the roots of healing traditions in cultures from Iceland and the South Pacific, to Europe and the Middle East. She’s particularly fascinated with how centuries-old cultural practices have found their way into modern spa settings, and with how populations from diverse areas and backgrounds approach the concept of balance, health, and wellbeing. Bokur contributes regularly to a variety of media outlets, including Global Traveler Magazine and Wine Country Network’s national radio program. She’s also a contributing author to Spreading the Word: Editors on Poetry (The Bench Press, 2001). Based in the Rocky Mountains, she spends her spare time experimenting in the kitchen, and hiking with her husband and two dogs.

Margie Goldsmith, Adventure Spa Writer
NYC-based Margie Goldsmith has hiked, biked, paddled, climbed, swum, run, and spa-ed at 115 countries on six continents and written about them all. She has run marathons (including in the Arctic), done Olympic-distance triathlons (including in Cuba), climbed to Advanced Base Camp on the North Face of Everest, trekked in Bhutan, ridden an elephant in Thailand, a camel in Dubai, and galloped on horseback in Mongolia.  A contributing writer to Elite Traveler, she also has a column in Women’s Running and writes for O the Oprah Magazine, National Geographic Traveler, Robb Report, MORE, ISLANDS, Art & Antiques, The Washington Post, and others. Berkley Press published her novel, Screw Up, and her essays appear in Travelers Tales, The Walker Within, and In Search of Adventure: A Wild Travel Anthology. She won the 2009 and 2008 ASJA (American Society of Journalists and Authors) Writers Contest, the NATJA Award, (North American Travel Journalism Association) (NATJA) and twice, the Travel Classics Writers Award.

Laura Kayata, Marketing Designer
An award-winning graphic designer, illustrator and advertising / marketing consultant, Laura has been in the beauty, skincare and advertising field since her late teens, when she began a 10-year modeling career with the prestigious Eileen Ford Agency in New York. After living abroad and working in London, Milan, Paris and Zurich, she returned to the U.S. and received a Liberal Arts / Art History degree from Mt. Vernon College in Washington, DC. After a brief stint in the garment and accessories industry, she returned to her first love, design and advertising, in 1998 as a Vice President of Marketing / Advertising for a skin-care and wellness company. She started her own company in 2006, and her work has been published in Texas Monthly, Healing Lifestyle & Spas, New Beauty, Spa, and American Spa magazines. She is a mom (and step-mom) to 3 grown kids and she lives in a restored Texas Historic Landmark home in McKinney Texas with her husband (Jim), 2 cats and an Australian Shepherd. She purchased a smart car when they were first imported into the U.S., and says, “its like the tiniest car in Texas.” If she any had spare time, she would love to read murder mysteries, watch Forensic Files, and travel to more spas.

JoElle Lyons, Skincare Expert
JoElle Lyons started her skincare profession working under a well known Plastic & Cosmetic Surgeon in Chicago, Illinois. As a Medical Esthetician, she specializes in Laser Hair Removal, IPL Photo Facials, Clinical Facials, Chemical Peels, Adult Active Acne, Microdermabrasion, and Prescriptive Therapy. She is a popular lecturer and national educator in the skincare industry. JoElle’s past experiences include varied jobs such as Medical Esthetician, Skincare Director, Sales Manager, National Educator/Trainer, Director of Spa Division and Account Executive. 
JoElle is new to the D.C./Maryland area and already a top esthetician at the renown Hela Spa!

Elizabeth Marglin, Beauty Editor
Elizabeth Marglin has been drawn to beauty since becoming a model at age 16. After growing disenchanted with the superficiality of the profession, her interest in beauty was rekindled decades later when she became the beauty editor at Natural Solutions magazine. Finding out about the toxins in skincare was both horrifying and illuminating, and ever since Elizabeth has been dedicated to helping women beautify mindfully. An ardent yogi since her teens, Elizabeth thinks of beauty as a practice, similar to yoga, that evolves from intention and conscious choices. Exercise, meditation, a clean diet, and a playful curiosity form the foundation for beauty. As an antidote to burnout, she seeks out eco-spas and treatments whenever time and finances allow. The chance they offer to rejuvenate from the inside out, she reasons, justifies what some would call an extravagance.

Tanya Triber, Mindful Living Editor
A native of northern New Mexico, Tanya was bitten by the travel bug early in life, traveling abroad for the first time as a high school graduate, and then living abroad for a semester during college. A creative writing major with a love of poetry, food, travel and wellness, Tanya began her freelance career as a contributor to Healing Lifestyles & Spas and quickly became enchanted with all aspects of spa life. Over the last decade, her work has appeared in Northwest Palate, DiningOut, Yoga Journal, and Natural Home. She is a licensed massage therapist, certified yoga instructor and devoted mama. When she is not busy researching, writing, or parenting, she might be found baking cookies, cursing at her sewing machine, or trying her hand at a new herbal concoction for her family’s good health. She lives in lovely Asheville, North Carolina with her husband, Charles, and their daughters, Ella and Shiloh.

Jazmine Vizcarra, Web Manager
Jazmine Vizcarra is a Washington DC native, born and raised in the neighborhoods of Georgetown. Throughout the years  she has had innumerable jobs, from gutting fish on a slime line in a salmon cannery in Alaska to being a technical writer for Anteon, writing proposals for the construction of war ships for the Navy. She worked part time for Aveda in Georgetown while hostessing at D.C's trendy Café Milano, waiting on celebrities and politicians. She has also held the title of a Procurement Officer for Disaster Relief at the World Health Organization (WHO) and has worked as an ESL Instructor teaching Hispanic migrant students in elementary school. Her last position was at a vacation villa rental agency as both an agent and webmaster. Here, she acquired her web related skills while designing and building a new website, along with a MYSQL database for her company.

Miriam Weidner, Social Media Manager
Miriam has directed all aspects of print and online media, and has published and launched award-winning magazines and newsletters. Her expertise in Web 2.0 research, strategy, and execution derives both from transforming print products into integrated online experiences and as Account Director for Collective Intellect, the leader in the social media analytics space. She relishes leveraging the constantly evolving media landscape to provide targeted and sustainable brand building opportunities. She takes special delight in creating partnerships that deliver success for both parties. Miriam’s client list has ranged from tiny natural product start-ups to LOHAS lynchpins like Whole Foods, Vitamin World, and the Chopra Center. She’s also worked with mass-market giants such as General Mills, Chrysler, Levi Strauss, Sony, Janus Funds, and Beam Global. Miriam is recent graduate of the executive program for Sustainability Management at the Presidio School in San Francisco and holds a B.A in English from Duke University.