SPEAKERS
The experts you'll hear from
Four clinicians who work with women in midlife every day — and who will take your questions from the stage.
Menopause care looks different depending on where you start. The clinicians speaking at Second Spring start in different places — surgery and pelvic health, functional medicine, pharmacy, naturopathy — and each has time on stage to explain how they think about it, and time to take your questions. By 1:00 PM you'll have a much clearer sense of which door is yours.
Every speaker here works with women in midlife every day. They approach it differently — some through hormones, some through the pelvic floor, some through nutrition and the nervous system — and hearing them back to back is a faster way to find what fits you than trying one at a time.
Mila McManus, MD
Functional Medicine Doctor · The Woodlands Institute for Health and Wellness
MD
Board-certified, family medicine
Bioidentical hormone therapy, 2004
Founder of The Woodlands Institute for Health and Wellness, where she has treated patients across the Houston area for more than twenty years. She graduated at the top of her class from UT Houston Medical School in 2000 and is board-certified in family medicine.
After conventional approaches failed to resolve her own health problems and those of her patients, she moved toward treating underlying causes rather than managing symptoms — earning certification in bioidentical hormone therapy in 2004 and building a practice around it. She is the author of Highway to Health: A Nutritional Roadmap.
THE PRACTICE
The Woodlands Institute for Health and Wellness — a functional and integrative medicine practice she founded in 2004, now with a team of four providers. They treat patients in person and by telehealth across Texas, working from hormone and nutrition testing toward individualised plans rather than treating symptoms one at a time.
SPEAKING
Beyond Menopause: Uncovering Root Causes of Disease
9:10 – 9:40
Jamie Knotts
NAMS Certified Menopause Practitioner · Owner, OsteoStrong Houston · River Oaks & Spring Branch
Bone health
Founder of Second Spring
25+ years in the operating room
Owner of OsteoStrong's two Houston centers, where members work on bone density, strength, and balance through osteogenic loading. After more than 25 years in the operating room, he saw what bone loss costs women in the decades after menopause, and built his work around preventing it.
Second Spring exists because the same question kept coming up at the centers. Members were doing the work on their bones, but nobody had told them what else was changing, or who in Houston to ask. He built the event he wished already existed.
THE PRACTICE
OsteoStrong — osteogenic loading sessions built around skeletal loading, plus red light therapy, compression therapy, BioCharger sessions, and HydroMassages. Sessions take about fifteen minutes, once a week, one-on-one with a coach. Three Greater Houston centers in River Oaks, Spring Branch, and The Woodlands, two owned by Jamie Knotts.
Tracy Southwick, ND (Trad.), HHP
Traditional Naturopath · Founder, Heights of Health · Houston Heights
ND (Traditional)
Holistic health practitioner
Nearly three decades in practice
Founder of Heights of Health, a holistic clinic in the Historic Heights with seven practitioners on staff, open since 2007.
Her path into natural medicine started with her own health crisis in the 1990s. She went on to earn a doctorate in naturopathy from Trinity College of Natural Health, ran a natural health store and radio show in the Texas Hill Country, and served as staff naturopath at an integrative medical clinic. In 2020 she founded the Mind Body Spirit Release Academy, an accredited school where she and her staff have trained hundreds of practitioners internationally.
THE CLINIC
Heights of Health — a naturopathic and holistic clinic on Yale Street in the Historic Heights, open since 2007 with seven practitioners on staff. They work on hormone balance, sleep, energy, digestion, and emotional wellbeing using functional medicine lab testing and their own Mind Body Spirit Release method. Also exhibiting at the summit.
Bryana Burken, PharmD, RPh
Doctor of Pharmacy · Physicians Preference Pharmacy · Katy
PharmD
Registered pharmacist
Published oncology research
A doctor of pharmacy and the physician liaison at Physicians Preference Pharmacy in Katy, a PCAB-accredited compounding pharmacy that prepares bioidentical hormone therapy to each prescriber's specifications.
She took an unusual route into the field — a UC Davis kinesiology graduate who competed internationally as a professional golfer before turning to pharmacy in 2012. While earning her PharmD at Harding University she focused on oncology research, specifically how genetic mutations influence treatment in female breast cancer patients, work published across three journals.
THE PHARMACY
Physicians Preference Pharmacy — a PCAB-accredited compounding pharmacy in Katy that prepares hormone therapy to each prescriber's specifications and ships across Texas. Compounding pharmacists work alongside your prescriber, and are often the most knowledgeable people in the room on how a given therapy is absorbed and dosed.
PT Bratton
Comedian · PT Bratton Comedy
Kennedy Center & White House
Air Force veteran
After more than a decade in the Air Force, PT Bratton found a new mission: helping people laugh through what they're living through. His standup is built on relatable storytelling and sharp wit rather than shock, and he works clean.
He has performed at the Kennedy Center and the White House, appeared on NBC, CBS, The CW, and the History Channel, and entertained service members around the world through the USO, Armed Forces Entertainment, and the Bob & Dolores Hope Foundation. His debut special, You're Welcome for My Service, is streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and SiriusXM.
THE COMPANY
PT Bratton Comedy — producing faithfully funny comedy experiences across the country, using humor as a tool for connection, perspective, and joy.
Sara Wingate, MPAS, PA-C
Physician Assistant · Thrive Medicine Clinic · Houston Heights
MPAS, PA-C
12 years in clinical practice
Primary care and dermatology
Physician assistant at Thrive Medicine Clinic, where she specializes in wellness, longevity, and functional medicine. She takes a root-cause approach to patient care, focused on preventing disease and optimizing health rather than simply treating symptoms.
She spent nearly a decade as a primary care physician assistant, supporting patients through chronic conditions and preventive care, before moving into medical and cosmetic dermatology, where she performed skin evaluations, biopsies, and skin cancer treatment. She holds a Master of Physician Assistant Studies from Nova Southeastern University.
THE PRACTICE
Thrive Medicine Clinic — a concierge metabolic health practice in Houston Heights combining advanced lab work, in-depth diagnostics, and one-on-one physician access. Services include bioidentical hormone therapy for women, thyroid support, metabolic optimization, and medical weight management, with ongoing biomarker tracking and telehealth across Texas. Also sponsoring and exhibiting at the summit.
SPEAKING
Menopause: Your Health Checkpoint for the Next 30 Years
12:00 – 12:15
Christi Pramudji Dawe, MD
Board-Certified Urogynecologist · LifeSculpt by ChristiMD · West Houston & Galleria
MD
Menopause Society Certified Practitioner
Board-certified urogynecology
A board-certified urogynecologist and surgeon, and a Certified Menopause Practitioner through The Menopause Society. She serves as President of Medical Staff at Houston Methodist West Hospital.
She founded LifeSculpt by ChristiMD, a physician-led practice with locations in West Houston and the Galleria, treating pelvic floor disorders, urinary incontinence, and pelvic organ prolapse alongside menopause and hormone care. She is the author of The BioVitality Blueprint and a Women's Choice Award Best Doctor.
Nina Dereska, MD
URPS Board Certified Urogynecologist · LifeSculpt by ChristiMD · West Houston
MD
ACSM certified personal trainer
URPS board-certified urogynecology
Mayo Clinic fellowship
A fellowship-trained, board-certified urogynecologist and reconstructive pelvic surgeon who completed her fellowship at Mayo Clinic Scottsdale and has practiced in both private and academic settings. She treats pelvic organ prolapse, stress and urge incontinence, recurrent UTIs, pelvic pain, and postpartum pelvic floor dysfunction, with an emphasis on minimally invasive and robotic surgery.
She is also a certified personal trainer through the American College of Sports Medicine, and reached pro status in Figure-division bodybuilding in 2021. Much of her work with menopausal women centers on strength and mobility training and what it does for bone health, weight management, and longevity. She joined LifeSculpt by ChristiMD in 2025.
THE PRACTICE
LifeSculpt by ChristiMD — a physician-led practice with locations in West Houston and the Galleria, treating pelvic floor disorders, urinary incontinence, and pelvic organ prolapse alongside menopause and hormone care. One of the few Houston practices where urogynecology and menopause expertise sit under the same roof.