About us
The people behind the system.
Gateway is built by a team that sees oral health, gut health, and daily life as connected parts of the same human story.
Leadership & clinical perspective
Meet the Gateway team.
We bring distinct backgrounds to one shared point of view: good health questions require context, care, and a willingness to look beyond isolated symptoms.
Dr. Elmira Gederi Shojai
DDS
Founder
Dr. Elmira Shojai brings more than 18 years of hands-on clinical experience in functional dentistry and oral microbiome science. A University of the Pacific graduate, she spent over a decade in active California practice before leading Gateway to Health, where she oversees a nationwide network of licensed dentists providing personalized consultations informed by oral microbiome testing. She is also an Executive Producer of the eight-part Gateway to Health docu-series.
Dr. Pedram Shojai
OMD
Founder
Dr. Pedram Shojai is a Doctor of Oriental Medicine, an early practitioner of integrative medicine, filmmaker, and New York Times bestselling author of The Urban Monk. His career has centered on asking better questions about why people fall ill. At Gateway, he directs gut-health programs and brings a systems-level perspective to the connection between the mouth, the gut, and everyday health.
Salivary diagnostics & oral-systemic care
Meet our oral health experts.
Our oral health team integrates salivary diagnostics and collaborative oral-systemic care to support a more connected health conversation.
Lora Hooper
BSDH, RDH, EFDA
Oral Health Expert
Salivary diagnostics, precision prevention, and integrative oral-systemic care.
Anne Rice
CDP
Oral Health Expert · Bale/Doneen Method Preceptor
Oral-systemic health, brain health, dementia prevention, and practical risk awareness.
Michelle Mahlke
RDH
Oral Health Expert
Oral-systemic connection, salivary diagnostics, and patient empowerment.
Guidance & practical support
Meet our health coaching team.
Our credentialed health coaches help people turn information into realistic next steps, with a whole-person perspective on the habits that shape daily health.
Courtney Reynolds
MPH, FMCHC, NBC-HWC
Director of Health Coaching
Gut health, mindfulness, root-cause healing, and sustainable behavior change.
Keri Sitrick
PCC, NBC-HWC, FMCHC
Health Coach
Evidence-based behavior change, stress resilience, and functional-medicine coaching.
Caroline Wilson
M.Ed, FMCHC
Health Coach
Breathwork, nervous-system awareness, and whole-person health habits.
Sheetal Kapani
FMCHC, NBC-HWC
Health Coach
Gut-health support, energy, mood, digestion, and sustainable daily habits.
Alexandria Larsen
FMCHC, NBC-HWC
Health Coach
Nutrition, nervous-system health, and realistic whole-person lifestyle change.
Sheida Johnson
FMCHC, NBC-HWC, B.S.
Health Coach
Gut health, functional nutrition, and practical wellness guidance.
Kristin Schupp
NBC-HWC
Health Coach
Dietetics-informed nutrition, lifestyle support, and women’s functional health.
Elaine Hyman
FMCHT, UKIHCA-RHC
Health Coach
Root-cause health coaching and personalized everyday lifestyle change.
Kimberly Beaugrand
RN(BScN), FMCHC, FDN-P
Health Coach
Gut-focused functional diagnostic nutrition and root-cause wellness.
Kathleen Donhardt
Certified Eating Psychology & Mind Body Nutrition Coach
Health Coach
Eating psychology, mind-body nutrition, and resilient lifestyle habits.
Deanna Clauson
NBC-HWC, FMCHC
Health Coach
Gut health, HeartMath, and turning complex information into practical next steps.
Sarah Besocke
MA, INHC
Health Coach
Gut health, sleep, food-as-medicine, and clear guidance around health information.
The Gateway point of view
The mouth is never just the mouth.
We believe health questions are more useful when they begin with a more complete picture, and when people have a clear way to choose their next step.
Find your starting point