Dr. Michele Russell is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist whose private practice is focused on evaluating and helping people who struggle with weight problems. She attended the California State University, Fresno, earning her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology; soon after, she earned a Master of the Arts degree in Clinical Psychology and she graduated with a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology in 2004. She attended a two-year fellowship in Neuropsychology at the University Of California San Francisco-Fresno Alzheimer’s & Memory Center. She has advanced training and experience in the behavioral management of obesity and in brain-behavior relationships, and she is a member of the American Society of Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery.

Bluma Felix graduated from Southern Illinois University in 1974 subsequently specializing in fitness training and was certified as an aerobic instructor. In 1996, she became a personal trainer with Aerobic & Fitness Association of America (AFFA) and opened her own business Lean Solutions II providing individualized fitness training to women. In 1999 she studied to become one of AFFA's first Fitness Practitioners working with regular and special populations. Since 1999 she has directed the individual and group fitness classes of the Advanced Bariatric Center’s surgical patients. She also conducts the physical fitness evaluations and oversees the fitness training of the Comprehensive Medical Weight loss program. Bluma and Dr. Felix have resided in Fresno since 1980 where they have raised three sons and two dogs and enjoy traveling.

Cheryl Engle is a Registered Dietician with eighteen years of experience specializing in obesity counseling. A member of Dietary Directions, Inc., she has been a consultant to the Advanced Bariatric Center for nine years. During that time she has taught the bariatric surgery nutrition classes, conducted individual preoperative nutritional evaluations and conducted the nutritional evaluation and guidance of the Comprehensive Medical Weight Management Program. In addition she has provided nutritional consultation to skilled nursing facilities, intermediate care facilities, adult day care programs, assisted living centers, and rehabilitation facilities. She also serves as a preceptor for the California State University Fresno Dietetic Internship program and is a member of both the Consulting Dietitians of Health Care Facilities and the Weight Management Practice Groups of the American Dietetic Association. Cheryl has served locally in numerous board positions for the Central Valley District, California Dietetic Association, including Treasurer, Secretary, Nominating Committee Chair, and Fundraising Co-Chair. In her spare time, Cheryl, her husband and two teenage daughters enjoy sports, the outdoors, traveling, and taste testing new recipes.