Meet the Founders
DR. LAURA KOSTRZEWSKI, ND
Dr. Laura Kostrzewski was born and raised in San Diego, California. The daughter of a pediatrician, she was exposed to a lifestyle promoting health and wellness from a young age. Although Dr. Kostrzewski never intended to pursue a career in medicine, she always prioritized an active and healthy lifestyle. She completed her undergraduate degree at California Polytechnic State University, earning a BS in animal science with minors in Spanish and Psychology. She then earned her Multiple Subject Teaching Credential and taught fifth grade in the central coast of California for two years. After being extremely involved in her grandfather’s journey with Parkinson’s disease and end-of-life care, Dr. Kostrzewski decided to move back to San Diego and enroll at Bastyr University California.
Dr. Kostrzewski received her doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine from Bastyr University California in June of 2019, and then went on to complete her residency at Bastyr. Before AVENA Wellness, DR. K started her own private practice, focusing on management of neurodegenerative conditions, and continued teaching at Bastyr as adjunct faculty, until founding Avena Health.
Dr. Kostrzewski focused her clinical training in GI health, hormone optimization, and neurodegenerative conditions. She loves working with people of all ages, in all stages of life. She is a certified Apollo Practitioner, trained in the Dr. Bredesen reversing cognitive decline program (ReCODE). She has completed extensive training in hormone replacement therapy as well. Her background in teaching helps her effectively educate her patients to empower them in their health journeys.
Dr. Kostrzewski’s journey through two pregnancies has inspired new passion for women’s health, particularly in the realm of hormonal health and fertility. She likes to spend her time with her husband and two wonderful daughters, playing, exploring, and eating good food.
DR. TERE MEMUN, ND
Dr. Memun is a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine and Co-founder and owner of Avena Natural Health. She moved from Mexico City to San Diego, CA at the age of ten. She completed her undergraduate degree at Northeastern University in Boston, MA, earning a BS in business administration with minors in Psychology. She then went on to complete her medical training at Bastyr University in San Diego, CA, where she received her doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine. Dr. Memun’s passion is to educate and empower patients to optimize health using individualized treatments to target underlying causes of imbalance. She has a particular interest in autoimmune conditions, gastrointestinal disorders, skin conditions, and healthy aging. Dr. Memun has advanced training in IV therapy and platelet rich plasma therapy (PRP), including PRP joint injections, PRP hair restoration, and PRP microneedling facials.
Her journey into naturopathic medicine began with her own struggles with digestive and hormonal complaints as a teenager. After seeking countless conventional doctors amd treatments, she realized something was missing. Frustration led to empowerment as she took control of her own health through education and lifestyle changes. This transformational experience sparked her dedication to the principles and practices of holistic and individualized medicine, which had played a pivotal role in her own healing journey.
Outside of the clinic, Dr. Memun is passionate about traveling, family, and working out. Her favorite pastime is watching football with her family and spending time with her two Pomeranians.
Our Healthcare Team
DR. ANA NICOLE BARFOROUGH
Dr. Ana Nicole is a licensed and board-certified Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine. She received her Doctorate of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine (DACM), as well as a Master of Science degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine (MSTCM) from Pacific College of Health and Science in San Diego, California.
Dr. Ana’s treatment style is rooted in the principles of Japanese Meridian therapy (JMT), an ancient Acupuncture technique renowned for its gentle, yet effective approach to healing, while focusing on the root cause of disease and facilitating balance within the body. Dr. Ana aims to not only alleviate symptoms, but also address imbalances on a deeper energetic level to promote overall well being and longevity. In addition to her knowledge in JMT, Dr. Ana is also trained in complementary modalities such as moxibustion, cupping therapy, medical microneedling, facial acupuncture, and prescribing Chinese herbal medicine, providing a comprehensive approach to wellness for all her patients.
She is passionate about working with patients who are seeking to address health concerns related to digestive health, fertility, hormonal health, mental - emotional wellness, pain management, and patients who are looking for natural ways to age gracefully. Dr. Ana strives to empower her patients in every stage of their health journey by making them feel supported, heard, and understood throughout the process. She is a dedicated practitioner and through her holistic approach, always aims to bring intention to each of her treatments.
TIFFANY SEARS
Born and raised in San Diego, Tiffany earned her BS in Biology from Loyola Marymount University and furthered her education to become a certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner. Specializing in women’s hormone health, perimenopause, fertility, and gut health, Tiffany uses functional lab testing to uncover the root cause of symptoms and create personalized healing plans. Outside of work, Tiffany loves spending time with her nine-year-old daughter and her vizsla dog “Hank,” as well as enjoying beach days, traveling, reading, and working out.
SARAH TUNNEY
Sarah Tunney is a licensed midwife, clinical researcher, mother and former historian. She has been involved in maternal, infant and reproductive health advocacy for nearly 30 years, and has spent the last ten years as a professional birth worker. She trained primarily in low-resource settings outside the US and as a community midwife for the Amish in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. She returned to Southern California in 2023, and began her private practice based in Solana Beach.
Sarah moved to Strasbourg, PA, in 2022 to learn advanced skills from a veteran midwife who specializes in breech and twin births. The Amish families of this community experience high rates of rare genetic anomalies, metabolic disorders and congenital heart defects. As this Amish community does not engage with pediatricians unless conditions are life-threatening, they instead rely on their community midwives' skills to safely birth at home and provide all subsequent newborn care and evaluations. As a result, their midwives are extremely practiced not only in birth emergency skills but also in thorough newborn assessments, which identify babies requiring specialty care who would otherwise go untreated.
Prior to her time with the Amish, Sarah was an apprentice to a traditional midwife (partera), in Tijuana, Mexico, assisting her as she established a free clinic and birth center for pregnant migrants and asylum seekers. While there Sarah joined the board of Refugee Health Alliance, a nonprofit organization providing financial and logistical support to the clinic and birth center, and was a Medical Parole (MPP) coordinator for families seeking asylum.
Sarah has worked or done primary maternal and infant health research in Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Tunisia, Lebanon, Mexico and Guatemala, and has also spent time in the UK and Iceland learning from other midwives. She is currently a member of the Quality Maternal & Newborn Collaborative Research Alliance affiliated with Yale University, a group of providers from all sectors of maternal and newborn healthcare working to improve care, experiences and outcomes for families through better and more collaborative research efforts. She is also an active member of the California Association of Licensed Midwives (CALM).
Sarah received her Bachelor of Arts from Yale University in Near Eastern Languages & Literatures, Arabic Language & Literature, and her MA/PhD (ABD) in Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies from New York University. She was an historian and taught Middle East and Islamic studies until 2010. Her primary fields of research interest were social and intellectual histories of childhood, birth, maternal/infant health, gender and sexuality, and the body. During that time she remained active within the field of reproductive and maternal and infant health, and eventually chose to leave academia to pursue her calling as a midwife. She began as a doula in Connecticut and NYC for five years and completed her midwifery education at National Midwifery Institute based in Vermont.
Sarah is committed to ensuring equal access for all to safe, physiologic birth, quality maternal and newborn care and reproductive health resources, and to collaborative models of care within birth systems.
CANDICE WRIGHT
With over a decade of experience in the wellness space, Candice enjoys helping each client with their individual skin health. As a Holistic Esthetician and Integrative Health Coach she treats the skin from the inside out addressing the gut as well as specialize in corrective skin care with non-toxic ingredients. Candice enjoys helping you achieve all your skincare goals and loves sending clients out the door refreshed, relaxed and reset with glowing skin and tinted SPF.
Candice looks forward to getting to know each client and sharing her knowledge about non-toxic products as well as educating clients from her own health journey in what has helped her live a more nourished life so that you can do the same. Wherever you are on your skincare and health journey she is here to support you. Trained and certified with a functional medicine doctor that has created a line made with certified organic ingredients she looks forward to relaxing you in the treatment room.
The skin is our largest organ and Candice has a less is more approach keeping things as simple as possible so that you actually do it and use it while getting incredible results.