Known as the “Global Medicine Hunter,” Meg Jordan, PhD, RN, has combined careers in journalism, nursing, behavioral health, and medical anthropology to become one of the most recognized voices in health communication. As a medical anthropologist, with special expertise in integrative and behavioral medicine, she has done fieldwork in South America, Mexico, and Asia, with both botanical and ritual medicine. As a clinician, she served as the director of Integrative Practice at the Health Medicine Institute, developing healing circles for disparate disciplines to determine appropriate care protocols for patients with chronic illness.

As an award-winning journalist, Meg has brought a keen sense of investigative reporting to health issues in every media platform—newspapers, magazines, radio. and television. She was former health commentator for KTVU-FOX, and did special reports for the “Today Show” and CNN. As CEO of Global Health Media, she produces integrative health reports for television, syndicated radio, newspapers, magazines, and Internet. Meg hosts a weekly national newscast on Canada’s number one network, Global TV, along with her own radio program, and is editor-in-chief and founder of American Fitness Magazine, a leading trade publication distributed to health clubs. Several TV specials have featured her work as the Global Medicine Hunter®, as she searched far and wide for healing remedies, confirming the best of traditional practices with modern science. Her columns have appeared in leading magazines, national newspapers, and The Hindu in India for many years. 

Pursuing a story on women’s health, Meg interviewed Dr. Eleanor Gadon in 1993, founder of CIIS’ Women’s Spirituality program, and she soon found herself enrolled at the Institute.  As the first graduate of the program (MA, WSE/PAR ’96), Meg served as a CIIS trustee for seven years and was a former alumni association president. She is currently teaching a Global Health and Communications Practicum in the Integrative Health Studies program, and has served on the Integral Health Studies Advisory Board since its inception. She also teaches at the Institute of Holistic Health Studies at San Francisco State University, and has guest lectured at UCLA and University of British Columbia. 

Author of several books, her forthcoming Adventures of a Global Medicine Hunter chronicles her work studying the healing arts of native people. The Fitness Instinct (Rodale 1999) was based on her master’s research at CIIS on women’s health and motivation. Her book Fitness: Theory & Practice is a leading college text for exercise professionals. 

A sought-after keynote speaker and seminar leader for health, wellness, holistic practices, and cultural trends, Meg has worked with AT&T, Lucent, Ivivi, Destiny Health, Proctor & Gamble, American Heart Association, and several hospitals, communities, and public agencies.

A skilled “early adopter,” she has been an online consultant for iVillage, Deepak Chopra’s MyPotential media company, and has presented new media platforms and video podcasts in health for major portals. As an ICU/CCU registered nurse, she managed cardiac rehabilitation units in Los Angeles-based hospitals, and was program director of the first hospital-based wellness center in 1981. She served as an elected trustee for ValleyCare Health System, has helped spearhead a community-wise wellness initiative for a $30 million expansion. Her innovative solutions to building alliances for greater community health have earned her a special consulting role with private corporations and public agencies alike.  

Winner of the coveted Healthy American Fitness Leader Award for her 15-year contribution in health and fitness reporting, she served on the first Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports in California. Working with then Chairman Arnold Schwarzenegger, she chaired an effort to establish a grassroots network in fitness and sports throughout California, and her research in health attitudes and empowerment is used by companies in their consumer marketing campaigns. 

Her formal education includes: BS Journalism from University of Illinois, a BS Nursing from Metropolitan State College in Denver, and an MA in Philosophy and Religion, emphasis in Women’s Spirituality from California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, and a PhD in clinical medical anthropology and behavioral medicine studies from The Union Institute & University in Cincinnati in 2001. Studying the healing circle as an emergent culture within 21st century medicine, Meg has done groundbreaking research in integrative, East-West healing modalities for chronic diseases, and other conditions requiring lifestyle change. Her research takes her to England for homeopathy studies, India for ayurvedics, Oaxaca, Mexico to study indigenous healing, and Ecuador for evolutionary methodology.

Integrative Health Studies