Advisor bios – True Sage

True Sage advisors

Dr. Brian Alman

CEO & Founder of True Sage

Dr. Brian Alman is the CEO & Founder of True Sage. A passionate facilitator with a Ph.D. in psychology, and author of 14 books, he is one of the world’s leading authorities in wellness and personal growth. Using knowledge of the conscious, subconscious, and Unconscious, he has significantly contributed to psychology, medicine, education, clinical research, wellness, parenting, business, and sports.

He was nicknamed “The Doctor of Last Resort” at Kaiser Permanente — the world’s largest nonprofit healthcare provider. By discovering and facilitating the unconscious, inner potential of each person, he has helped hundreds of thousands of people and contributed to making the world a better place. With his inventions, books, training workshops, one-on-one mobile technologies, and online programs, Dr. Alman is now helping people help themselves more than ever before in the fields of weight loss, stress reduction, healing, and healthcare.

Vincent Felitti, M.D.

Clinical Advisor
Principle Investigator
CDC/Kaiser ACE Study

Dr. Vincent J. Felitti, with over 50 years of experience in Internal Medicine, has made significant contributions in understanding childhood trauma, Hemochromatosis, and obesity. A Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California since 1982 and a Johns Hopkins Medical School alumnus, he served as a captain in the U.S. Army medical corps and held positions at Johns Hopkins and the University of Maryland Hospital. Dr. Felitti co-led the groundbreaking Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study, revealing the impact of childhood trauma on adult health. Founder of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Kaiser Permanente in San Diego, he’s also been involved with the Institute of Medicine, the American Psychiatric Association, and authored over 150 peer-reviewed articles. Recognized for his work, he received awards like the Distinguished Worldwide Humanitarian Award and the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award.

Katrina Montinola

Chief Technical Officer
True Sage

Katrina Montinola is an experienced technology executive and advisor with over 25 years of experience building and leading engineering teams in Silicon Valley. She offers deep expertise in software development strategies, recruiting top technical talent, managing onshore and offshore teams, and cultivating inclusive company cultures.

In addition to her extensive software engineering experience, Katrina is an AI specialist with certifications in Advanced Machine Learning Algorithms, Supervised Learning for Regression and Classification, Unsupervised Learning, Recommender Systems, and Natural Language Processing using Probabilistic, Sequence and Attention Models from DeepLearning.ai. She has also completed AI hackathons focused on 3D models, autonomous agents, zero-shot classification, multi-modal models, and other cutting-edge technologies. She also writes software for AI startup Strategic Thinking Systems.

Margaret Abeles

Chief of Staff
True Sage

Margaret Abeles is a strategy and marketing leader who creates winning strategies, streamlines operations and provides impactful consumer insights. Her experience includes companies of all sizes in many geographies and industries and she has held senior-level positions at companies such as Disney and Schwab, as well as mid-sized companies and early stage ventures.

Margaret’s experience includes: Chief of Staff/Advisor to the Leadership Team — act as trusted advisor; deployed to departments and projects that need intensive focus; coach to individuals, executives and departments. End-End-Strategic Planning — creates strategic planning approach, plan and playbook; develops insights about customers and competition. Organizational Development — devises ways to increase efficiency and effectiveness of teams; mentors and coaches employees; advises on change management initiatives. Her specialties are: chief of staff functions, strategy development, marketing and sales planning, customer insights, organizational and leadership development. Margaret holds an MBA from UCLA.

Donald Jones

Business Advisor
Chief Digital Officer STRI
Cardiff Ocean Group, LLC

Donald Jones is a globally recognized leader in digital medicine, digital therapies, technology enabled health services and virtual-first healthcare delivery. As a senior executive he built two of the largest, nationwide healthcare service companies in the US. He is a sought out as a speaker, advisor and board member. Over the last 40 years he has worked with over 65 companies in pharmaceutical, medical device, wearable, smart apparel, material science and healthcare. He is a founder and Operating Partner of Takeda Digital Ventures (TDV) and sits as an independent director on boards of VC and PE backed companies. Don has advised the boards and executive suites of many of the largest pharmaceutical and medical device companies including Dexcom, Resmed, Cepheid, Sanofi, Teva, Astra Zeneca, Genentech, Otsuka, Novo Nordisk and the Verily/Sanofi joint venture, Onduo. He is a Senior Advisor with both McKinsey & Co. and the GLG Institute. Jones serves as Chief Digital Officer of the Scripps Research Translational Institute (SRTI), collaborating with the renowned Eric Topol, MD, where they co-founded Scripps Digital Medicine, the world’s first digital health clinical trial center, a Master’s Program in Digital Medicine and the non-profit West Health Institute, raising over $130 million for its launch. In early 2020, Don founded IMPACT, the Virtual First Healthcare Provider Collaboration, in partnership with the Digital Medicine Society (DiME).

Marty Cooper

Business Advisor
Mobile Phone Inventor

Martin Cooper (born December 26, 1928, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.) American engineer who led the team that in 1972–73 built the first mobile cell phone and made the first cell phone call. He is widely regarded as the father of the cellular phone. Cooper graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chicago with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering (1950). He joined the U.S. Navy and served during the Korean War. After the war, he joined the Teletype Corporation, and in 1954 he began working at Motorola. He earned a master’s in electrical engineering from IIT (1957). At Motorola, Cooper worked on many projects involving wireless communications, such as the first radio-controlled traffic-light system, which he patented in 1960, and the first handheld police radios, which were introduced in 1967. He later served as a vice president and director of research and development (1978–83) for the company.

Phil Baker

Technology Advisor
Product Development
Author

Phil Baker is an esteemed technology advisor, product development expert, and award-winning author with a vast experience spanning several decades in various facets of product development, including invention, design, engineering, marketing, manufacturing, and distribution. He has played a pivotal role in bringing over 80 consumer electronics products to market, encompassing computers, wearables, mobile devices, home appliances, and more. As an executive in high-tech firms like Seiko, Epson, and Think Outside, Baker holds over 30 patents. He’s also the founder of Techsperts Inc., a company dedicated to assisting businesses in developing consumer electronics efficiently and cost-effectively. In addition to his prolific career, Baker is known for his contributions as a journalist and author, writing books like “From Concept to Consumer” and “To Feel the Music,” co-authored with Neil Young, and has been a columnist for the San Diego Transcript.

Arlene Harris

Business Advisor Telecommunications Entrepreneur Founder, GreatCall

Along with husband and partner Marty Cooper, inventor of the first cellular portable phone, Arlene Harris has helped and launched several businesses since starting idea incubator Dyna, LLC in 1986. Arlene has more than 35 years experience as an entrepreneur, board member, advisor, inventor, and investor in a number of successful companies in wireless-related businesses. She founded GreatCall and in 2006 launched its simple and personalized cell phone experience Jitterbug in partnership with Samsung. The Jitterbug offering has earned top honors, being named in the New York Times 10 Brilliant Ideas of 2006 as well as Reader’s Digest Top 100 Products. GreatCall also won the wireless industry’s coveted Andrew Seybold Choice Award for ‘Best New Company’ in 2007 and was also honored with the ASA award for Best Small Business in 2008 for the unique Jitterbug cellular service offering.

Salima Ruffin

Business Advisor
CEO of Creations World
Concierge

Creations was founded over 30 years ago by Salima Ruffin. Born in Kenya and educated in Switzerland and Germany, Salima was one of the first women ever elected to the elite Les Clefs d’Or as well as one of San Diego’s first true concierge, serving at the revered Westgate Hotel for over 13 years. Three decades later, the services of Salima and her discerning team of global experts are sought out by 5-star hotels, high-end properties, celebrities, and corporate clients who demand the very best.

Rick Hecht

Clinical Advisor
Kaiser Permanente
Humana

Healthcare executive with more than twenty-five years of innovative and strategic leadership across multiple departments, including sales and business development, client management and retention, product development and go-to-market strategy, customer service, clinical operations, and consulting. A proven track record of building and leading exceptional, high-performing teams. Clinical and operational expertise in behavioral health and wellbeing, with an emphasis on workforce mental health and Employee Assistance Programs. Extensive industry and market knowledge.

Bruce Cryer

Strategic Advisor
Adjunct Faculty,
Stanford University
Founder, Renaissance Human
Former CEO, HeartMath

Bruce Cryer is a speaker, author, coach, and consultant known for his work in leadership, wellness, and personal development. He was a key figure in the development of HeartMath, a program and technology that focuses on emotional intelligence, stress management, and heart-brain coherence. HeartMath is widely recognized for its research on the connection between the heart and emotions, and Bruce Cryer played a significant role in promoting and expanding this initiative.

Josh Adler

Chief of Business Development
Senior Vice President at
One Belay Health Solutions
Tulane University

Josh Adler is the CEO and founder of One Belay Health Solutions, a company focused on providing innovative healthcare solutions and technologies. One Belay Health Solutions aims to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare delivery by offering tools and services that address the needs of both providers and patients. The company emphasizes the integration of technology to streamline healthcare processes, enhance patient care, and reduce administrative burdens for healthcare professionals. Josh Adler’s background likely includes experience in healthcare management, technology, and business development, enabling him to lead the company in addressing challenges within the healthcare industry. Through One Belay, Adler is committed to fostering a more connected and efficient healthcare ecosystem.