Nelson Campbell
Founder of PlantPure Communities
President of PlantPure Communities
On the heels of writing and directing the 2015 documentary film PlantPure Nation, Nelson Campbell founded the nonprofit organization PlantPure Communities (PPC) in early 2016. Released in theaters in over 100 cities, the PlantPure Nation film (now on YouTube and Amazon Prime) examines the political and economic factors that suppress information about the benefits of plant-based nutrition, and makes connections to public policy, medical practice, food deserts, and farming.
As the President of PPC, Nelson continues to drive the strategic direction of the organization. His vision includes grassroots strategies for empowering people in local communities to share the plant-based nutrition message, including in our many under-resourced communities, and for addressing climate change and other environmental problems through a change in our food choices.
Nelson also founded the PlantPure, Inc. foods business. This business supports PPC’s strategies with its commitment to provide food products into under-resourced communities through non-retail channels at discounted prices.
Prior to his involvement with PlantPure Nation, Nelson worked for 25 years as a socially conscious business entrepreneur. He graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, and a Master’s Degree in Economics.
Louis V. Danna
Treasurer of PlantPure Communities
Chair of the Board of Directors
Member of the Board of Directors
Louis V. Danna, a native of Houston Texas, has over 40 years of experience in corporate finance, accounting, and business management, which began in 1971 when he joined the Houston office of Price Waterhouse & Co. upon graduation from Louisiana State University with a BS in Accounting, and became a Certified Public Accountant in 1973.
After leaving Price Waterhouse in 1976, Louis spent seven years in the family business started by his grandfather in 1930 and continued by his father in 1949, before starting his own business in 1983 which soon became the largest customer of the family business. He sold his business in 1988 to Chrysler Corporation and moved his family to New Orleans where he joined his father-in-law and two brothers-in-law in their family business that started in 1960. In 2004, when the family business in New Orleans was sold, Louis moved back to Houston as the CFO of a financial services business for which he was one of the founding capital investors in 2001. Louis engineered the sale of that company two years later and the following 10 years provided business advisory services to closely held businesses as a contract/interim CFO, one of his clients being his son Bryan. In 2016 he became a partner with his son in the commercial real estate development business Bryan founded in 2005, and Louis continues in that partnership today.
Louis remarried in 2016 (being widowed in 1993), and together with his wife Jana they have five married children and eight grandchildren. Louis and Jana converted to a whole food plant- based lifestyle in early 2018, and with the health benefits realized, Louis and his wife have since embarked on long distance hikes (100 miles or more) in the USA, Spain, Portugal, and Italy with more planned in the coming years. As co-leaders of the PlantPure Communities Pod “Harmony N Houston”, Louis and Jana are very active in their local community and are passionate about being a catalyst for change to a plant-based lifestyle for those that are battling life threatening health conditions and for those who are open to such change to extend their lifespans and to avoid threatening health conditions.
Dr. Benjamin Ha
Member of the Board of Directors
Dr. Benjamin Ha is a Family Physician with Kaiser Permanente in Bakersfield, California. As an Assistant Area Medical Director for the Kern County Service Area for ten years, he led local efforts to improve clinical quality of care, chronic disease management, and health education for members. After discovering the power of whole food, plant-based nutrition to transform lives, he transitioned back to full-time clinical practice to spend more time working directly with patients.
In 2013, Dr. Ha co-authored an article published in The Permanente Journal entitled “Nutritional Update for Physicians: Plant-based Diets,” and was a featured speaker and panelist at the First and Second Annual International Plant-Based Nutrition conference. He regularly volunteers his time to lecture about plant-based nutrition to community organizations and universities, and is a frequent guest on local television. Dr. Ha also leads a free monthly workshop to promote a whole food, plant-based diet as a powerful prescription for optimal health and wellness.
Dr. Ha is a North Carolina native and proud graduate of Duke University and the East Carolina University School of Medicine. He completed his Family Medicine residency at Long Beach Memorial before joining Kaiser Permanente in 2003. He lives in Bakersfield with his wife Nina and their two children, Ashley and Ben Jr.
Jana Mullins
Member of the Board of Directors
Jana Mullins is the Director of Outreach and Community Engagement at Brookwood Community, a nationally and internationally recognized residential, educational, and entrepreneurial non-profit organization serving adults with disabilities in Brookshire, TX.
Prior to her employment with Brookwood Community in 2013, Jana was a Program Officer with Rockwell Fund, Inc., a grant making foundation in Houston, TX, for over 14 years. The foundation supports numerous nonprofit organizations in the areas of Health and Education. Jana has served over 20 years in the nonprofit sector and holds a B.S. in Business from Barry University in Miami, FL, and an M.A. in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica, CA. In 2008, in connection with her master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology, Jana published her first book titled Open Hands, Lessons on Giving and Receiving, which received a Champions of Literacy Award.
Jana and her husband live in Houston Texas. Together they have 5 grown children and 8 grandchildren. They enjoy spending time with their family and grandchildren and are passionate about living a healthy, active life through their commitment to a whole food, plant-based lifestyle, and enjoying long distance hiking, sometimes encompassing 100 miles or more throughout the U.S. and abroad.
Dr. Diego Ponieman
Member of the Board of Directors
Dr. Diego Ponieman is the Chief Medical Officer at SOMOS Community Care, a network of nearly 3,000 diverse community based primary care physicians, specialists, and service providers serving NYC communities. As immigrant physicians who have experienced first-hand the challenges of their patients, the SOMOS vision is to create a network of independent but collaborative community physicians and providers to best serve the needs of patients. Dr. Ponieman is responsible for SOMOS Community Care clinical projects, which are focused on reducing avoidable hospitalizations through proactive, coordinated care and evidence-based interventions with Medicaid members who are at risk for or are experiencing chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and asthma. Dr. Ponieman uses nutrition and lifestyle changes as a strong therapeutic intervention. He is working with SOMOS Community Care and underserved communities through local clinics in order to empower patients to take control of their health through whole plant food Oasis Jumpstarts, and to transform food deserts into healthier neighborhoods.
Dr. Ponieman was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he completed Medical School at the University of Buenos Aires. He completed his Internship and Residency at Albert Einstein/Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. He later completed an Academic Fellowship in General Internal medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine where he remains a faculty member. He also sees patients as a Primary Care Physician at his private practice Metropolis Medical in upper Manhattan.
Dr. Ponieman has received many awards, including:
Clinical Excellence in Biopsychosocial Integration. Montefiore Medical Center Department of Family Medicine and Community Health.
Daniel C. Leicht, M.D. Award for Social Medicine Project for Outstanding Achievement. RPSM. Montefiore Medical Center. Bronx N.Y.
Outstanding Achievement in Teaching Medical Students. Leo M. Davidoff Society of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University.