Meet Our Team
Elisse Evans, ND
Founder
Dr. Evans is passionate about working with people who are looking to achieve real health results, naturally. She grew up in Bakersfield, CA, moved to Santa Barbara to attend Westmont College where she earned a Bachelor's Degree in Chemistry. Dr. Evans first learned about naturopathic medicine after having her own personal success story. After graduating from Westmont College, she went on to earn a degree in Naturopathic Medicine from Bastyr University in Kenmore, Washington. While at Bastyr University she worked as a teaching assistant for the Advanced Gynecology and Anatomy courses.
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Her areas of focus are men and women's health and natural fertility, gastrointestinal disorders, fatigue, autoimmune disorders, IV therapy, thyroid management, Wilson's Syndrome, and hormonal health. Dr. Evans believes it is important to understand and treat the whole person. Each person will receive a personalized treatment to enhance their healing process.
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Dr. Evans is the only certified doctor for Wilson's Temperature Syndrome on the central coast. To learn more about Wilson's Temperature Syndrome click here.
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When not at Origins Integrative Medicine she enjoys spending time with her husband and her fun loving french bulldog. Hiking, playing volleyball, cooking, skiing, and cycling are some of her favorite hobbies.
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Dr. Evans is a proud member of:
The American Association of Naturopathic Medicine
California Naturopathic Doctors Association
The Association for the Advancement of Restorative Medicine
The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine
Michelle Cárdenas, ND
Dr. Cárdenas grew up in Santa Barbara, California, surrounded by nature in her family’s Mission Canyon home. She attended the University of California at Santa Cruz, where she graduated in 2004 with a Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology.
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Dr. Cárdenas returned to Santa Barbara after graduating from UCSC to help her parents run their family music business (SOhO Restaurant and Music Club) before resuming her studies in Oregon at Portland Community College and Portland State University. There, she took her pre-med requirements in anticipation of attending naturopathic school at the National University of Natural Medicine (formerly National College of Natural Medicine), from which she graduated in 2013. After completing her National Board examinations, she again returned to Santa Barbara to begin her practice as a Naturopathic Doctor.
After setting up a solo practice and seeing patients for a number of years in Goleta, Montecito, and Bakersfield, Dr. Cárdenas got the opportunity to join Pathways to Natural Health, where she practiced for 4 1/2 years. Most recently, to continue her growth as a doctor and to pursue the collaborative work environment she’s always sought, Dr. Cárdenas transitioned to working alongside Dr. Elisse Evans at Origins Integrative Medicine. Dr. Cárdenas continues to help her patients attain optimal, sustainable health, believing strongly that the body’s innate healing mechanisms should be reinforced and not suppressed.
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Dr. Cárdenas welcomed her first child, Río Alexander Cárdenas, into the world with her husband Eric in 2019. They spend their time absorbing the many lessons brought on by parenthood while enjoying music, good food, the outdoors, the ocean, friends, family, and snuggling with their cat, Badger.
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Liora Mor, ND
*Telehealth and Zoom visits only
Dr. Liora Mor is a licensed Naturopathic Doctor who specializes in functional gastroenterology, women’s health/hormones, thyroid disorders and metabolic disorders, including sustainable weight management, and environmental/chronic illness.
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Dr. Liora has made it her life’s mission to help people regain control over, and improve their health by getting to the root of what is causing their symptoms. Dr. Liora offers personalized care using advanced tests for digestive disorders, as well as hormone and metabolic panels, to help identify hidden factors inhibiting patients from achieving their health goals. She has a compassionate and realistic approach to healthcare, helping patients make necessary lifestyle changes that promote their body’s ability to heal and restore.
When she is not seeing patients she is hiking, running, reading, listening to podcasts, or traveling.
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Education:
Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine, SCNM, Arizona
Two-Year Naturopathic Residency focused on Women’s Health, Hormones and Gastroenterology, Santa Barbara, CA
Certified Personal Trainer and Behavior Change Specialist, NASM
Bachelor of Science in Biology, Ursinus College, Pennsylvania
Ciara Lumaj, ND
Dr. Ciara Lumaj developed an interest in natural medicine through her mother's influence and her parents upbringing in Albania, where natural remedies were highly valued. Inspired by her mother's approach to health, she pursued a naturopathic doctorate from Bastyr University in Seattle, Washington. Her focus shifted to oncology when her mother was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer during her medical studies. This personal experience exposed Dr. Lumaj to the complexities of cancer treatment and its impact on both patients and caregivers.
During her time at Bastyr, Dr. Lumaj gained valuable experience in integrative oncology through various rotations and encountered numerous challenging cancer cases. She now offers support, guidance, and education to individuals diagnosed with cancer, aiming to alleviate the burden associated with the disease and address side-effects from treatment. Additionally, she has a keen interest in treating women's health issues such as endometriosis, PCOS, and menopause, as well as digestive health.
Dr. Lumaj employs various modalities including botanical medicine, hydrotherapy, therapeutic nutrition, lifestyle adjustments, counseling, and laboratory testing to address these conditions. Dr. Lumaj believes the key to health success is using all the tools medicine provides - knowing what they are, understanding how to use them, and determining which are the best fit for you.
Jaime HeeR,
Functional Nutrition Practitioner
Jaime works closely with her clients to create an individualized nutrition and gut healing protocol so that you can look and feel amazing, naturally! She understands the power that food, movement and lifestyle modifications have for optimizing digestion, remedying nutritional deficiencies and bringing balance to sleep, mood, energy, skin and hormones.
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Jaime was born and raised in San Diego. She achieved her Bachelor of Science in Child Development from San Diego State University and then moved to Santa Barbara where she lives with her husband and cats. Jaime loves spending her leisure time hiking, cooking, and socializing with friends. You can often find her soaking up the beautiful SB weather on the Playa Azul Cafe patio.
Before joining the OIM team, Jaime owned Armada Wine & Beer Merchant in downtown Santa Barbara. Following her career in the wine industry, she switched paths to study functional nutrition at Nutritional Therapy Association as well as gastrointestinal healing & hormone balance at Restorative Wellness Solutions.
She would be thrilled to help you gain a deeper understanding of how to utilize nutrition to optimize your weight, digestion, skin & gut health!
Sati Ng,
Office Manager & Naturopathic Assistant
Sati grew up in the Greater Boston area where she was introduced to the healing benefits of movement through dance which she has continued to enjoy throughout her life.
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She attended New York University where she studied Anthropology and Spanish with a minor in Nutrition. Post graduation, Sati worked for a tech startup and began teaching western yoga. After a handful of influential life events, she set off traveling and living in various communities around the world. She focused on building a deeper connection with herself and what it means to be healthy in today’s society.
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Throughout her explorations, she has studied & obtained certifications in multiple modalities including Yoga, Thai Massage, Biomagnetic Pair Therapy, Cranioscral Therapy, Lomi Lomi bodywork, osteopathic foundations, nonviolent communication, food as medicine, and permaculture.
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When Sati is not ensuring that operations are running smoothly at Origins Integrative, you can find her creating with her hands, exploring local hiking trails, cooking auto-immune friendly foods, dancing, learning, snuggling her pup Theo, and doing absolutely nothing.