The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) has announced the appointment of Nicola Finley, MD, to its advisory board.

Finley works for US destination spa Canyon Ranch in Tucson and is a board-certified internal medicine physician who completed a fellowship in integrative medicine at the University of Arizona.

At Canyon Ranch, she’s part of a movement to reshape how health and wellness are defined – not only encompassing physical health but also emotional, sleep, spiritual and social wellness.

Finley’s personal passion for women’s health led her to become one of the first members of the Hormonal Wellness Initiative, an initiative supported by the GWS’ sister organisation, the Global Wellness Institute.

The initiative aims to better understand how hormones can affect the quality of life and to educate medical menopause practitioners on the efficacy of non-pharmaceutical protocols.

Finley commented: “I’m humbled and honoured to be part of a global organisation focusing on all aspects of wellness and appreciate the opportunity to be of service to and enhance the lives of a broader community utilising an integrative medicine framework,”.

In addition, she has experience serving economically disadvantaged communities, having worked for over 10 years at Tucson’s El Rio Community Health Center and St. Mary’s Hospital.

This experience gives Finley a unique perspective on the health inequities in Black and brown communities, an issue that the GWS is committed to helping the wellness industry better understand and address.

“I hope to achieve health equity for all by increasing awareness and offering strategies to close the racial disparities gap in health and wellness,” she added.

Finley is also a graduate of Brown University, received her medical degree from the George Washington School of Medicine and is an adjunct faculty member at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health at the University of Arizona.

She joins an already esteemed group of health and wellness-minded leaders who serve as GWS Advisory Board members, including Anna Bjurstam, Six Senses wellness pioneer and Irene Forte, wellness director of Rocco Forte Hotels.