Staff Biographies

Juliette G. Tahar

Juliette G. Tahar, is the founder and president of Healthy Living, Inc.

Born of French parents, Juliette's interest in natural food evolved out of a childhood in West Africa where fresh ingredients were always abundant and available. This childhood immersion in the natural world also fostered an early understanding of the connection between the self and the environment.

Juliette's childhood connection to the natural world evolved into a mature interest in the relationship between health, food and cooking. She studied at The International Macrobiotic Institute in Kiental, Switzerland, at the French Macrobiotic Center Cuisine et Sante, The George Ohsawa Macrobiotic Foundation in California and The Natural Gourmet Institute in New York City. In 1992 after a decade long study of various eating lifestyles that included vegetarian, vegan and macrobiotic philosophies, Juliette embarked on a natural foods cooking career.

From 1992 to 2003, she operated "Juliette's Delicious Meals", a natural and organic foods cooking service that provided Washington-area residents and organizations with access to natural foods through home delivery, catering and educational programs.

In 2003, Juliette decided to focus on educational services, and established Healthy Living, Inc. as a non-profit organization.

Jefferson Brechbühl

Jefferson Brechbühl is a passionate social entrepreneur with over fifteen years of resource, program and partnership development through broad management of non-profit organizations. He has also developed and operated one of DC’s first socially-responsible businesses, The People Garden Community Health Market. It has evolved into a community-oriented natural food market and catering business. Currently, Jeff works as the Grants Specialist at Family Services, Inc. He also leads ECO STUDIO a community service platform for sharing sustainable resources.

Currently, Jeff uses his business and non-profit management skills while continuing to work in community outreach, fundraising, event and volunteer management, marketing and, more recently, online social networking.

Michael Rossoff, L. Ac.

Michael Rossoff has been involved in macrobiotic and natural healing for 37 years. After studies with Michio Kushi in the '60s and '70s, he directed various macrobiotic centers in the Washington, D.C. area for 20 years. In addition to teaching and counseling, he published a macrobiotic magazine, MacroMuse, for 7 years in the 1980s. Further, he has taught in many cities in America, Canada, Europe and Israel. He continues to travel for teaching and counseling in the U.S. and Italy.

He studied acupuncture in England in the 1970s with J.R. Worsley at the College of Chinese Acupuncture and has practiced continuously since 1978. He did further studies for the entire year of 1999 at the Maryland Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Michael was the academic dean and a core teacher at Atlantic University of Chinese Medicine outside of Asheville, North Carolina for three years. He maintains a private counseling and acupuncture practice and teaches. He also regularly teaches shiatsu massage (basic & advanced) at the N.C. School of Natural Healing in Asheville.

T. Michael Jankowski, PLLC

T. Michael Jankowski is the principal in the Law Office of T. Michael Jankowski PLLC, located in Alexandria, Virginia. He is licensed to practice law in Virginia and the District of Columbia. His practice focuses on estate planning, probate, business and non-profit law. Mike has almost twenty-five years of experience as an attorney. He previously was employed as a partner and associate by several Washington DC law firms.

Jankowski is involved non-profit and community organizations. In addition to providing legal counsel to such organizations as Healthy Living, Inc., Mike currently serves as President of the Friends of the Torpedo Factory Art Center, Inc, a 501(c)(3) organization, and is General Counsel to the Alexandria Gay and Lesbian Community Association, another 501(c)(3) group. He also has volunteered for both the Whitman-Walker Clinic and the Legal Services of Northern Virginia. He lectures on estate planning issues before community groups upon request. As for business, he is a member and past president of the Arlington Business and Civic Circle.

Mike Jankowski is a 1980 magna cum laude graduate of Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. He received his Juris Doctor from the George Washington University Law Center in 1983.

Marina London, Web Site Manager

Marina London is a free-lance web designer, content manager, and social media expert. She has been helping professionals harness the power of the Internet to promote their personal brand and businesses. Marina is the author of an award winning blog www.iwebu.blogspot.com which provides web secrets to help professionals boost their business and professional practice.

London is a published writer with many articles to her credit. She has presented extensively to corporations, associations and at national and international conferences.

Fran Warring, Bookkeeper

Ms. Warring has been working as bookkeeper/accountant for over 25 years. In 1995, she became self-employed, specializing in Not-for-Profit Accounting in 1997.

Fran Warring holds an Accounting Degree with a minor in Business Management from Strayer University, where she was a Member of the National Honor Society. She also holds a George Washington University Certification in Personal Property Appraisals. She is a Member of the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers since 2001.

Bruce R. Barnes, Member at Large

As Restaurant Associate’s lead Executive Chef in the Washington DC Metro area, Bruce Barnes has overseen the opening and management of some of the most prestigious local cultural eating establishments. Currently leading the management of the culinary contract for the six dining facilities at the World Bank’s campus, he regularly designs menus, events and food stations and hosts visiting chefs to showcase cuisines from across the world and accommodate diverse religious dietary guidelines, while also highlighting local food artisans and growers. Bruce trained at the Culinary Institute of America in New York and also studied History and German at the University of Colorado.

As a member of the Healthy Living board, Bruce will serve as a guest chef, involve other chefs in our events, and as mentors to our trainees in our workforce development program. Additionally, he will help us efficiently operate our food demonstrations and management, and will serve on our Capital Campaign Committee to locate and fund the Healthy Living Community Cooking Center.

Jennifer Ware, Teaching and Cooking Assistant

Jennifer Ware was born and raised in Crescent City, a small secluded town near the Oregon border on the California coastline. Growing up, family meals were the norm and food was always a catalyst for bringing everyone together during holidays. No real emphasis was ever placed on the qualities of the food being eaten. It wasn't until she was living in Sacramento, CA that she developed an interest in what was in her food. That started the ball rolling. She began reading labels and deleting unhealthy foods from her pantry. Jennifer went back home to make over the contents of her mother's kitchen. Her new found enthusiasm for healthy foods soon spread to her sisters and eventually to a family she was living with in Anchorage, AK.