John Finnell, ND

Dr. Finnell is a passionate lifelong learner who has dedicated his life to scholarship traditional world medicines, public health, and environmental sustainability. Dr. Finnell is a naturopathic physician, acupuncturist, epidemiologist, and environmental engineer, with experience as an educator, practitioner, and researcher. These fields merge mind, body, spirit, and planet, expanding Whole Person Health to Whole Planet Health.

Dr. Finnell completed a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry at Austin College in Sherman, Texas, after which he completed an MS in Environmental Engineering and Sustainable Infrastructure at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. In his first career, Dr. Finnell was a contractor for Region 6 of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where he conducted RCRA and CERCLA inspections and was a first responder for the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster. After experiencing first-hand the magnitude and scale of our environment’s impact on health, Dr. Finnell changed course and completed degrees in Naturopathic and Chinese Medicine at Bastyr University, in Kenmore, Washington, a Master of Public Health at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, and a PhD in Epidemiology at the University of Texas School of Public Health, San Antonio Regional Campus, in San Antonio, Texas.

Dr. Finnell is currently the Whole Health Clinical Director for the Central Texas VA, in Austin, Texas, prior to which he was the Whole Health Flagship Program Manager for the South Texas VA, in San Antonio, Texas. Prior to his work at the VA, Dr. Finnell served as the Director of Doctoral Programs and Research at AOMA Graduate School of Integrative Medicine in Austin, Texas. He also fulfilled volunteer leadership roles as the President and Past-President of the Texas Association of Naturopathic Doctors and as a Board Member for the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians, and in various roles for the Integrative, Complementary, and Traditional Health Practices (ICTHP) Section of the American Public Health Association. 

Dr. Finnell was the recipient of NIH training and funding through the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), which supported pre- and post-doctoral research fellowships, as well as an administrative supplement with AOMA Graduate School of Integrative Medicine and the University of Texas Health Science Center as San Antonio. Dr. Finnell currently holds a research appointment at the Central and South Texas VAs and as Associate Clinical Scientist at Bastyr University in Kenmore, Washington, his alma matter. Dr. Finnell is on the Advisory Board of the RAND Center for Collaborative Research in Complementary and Integrative Health (RAND REACH Center). 

Dr. Finnell always planned to return to Texas to bring naturopathic medicine back home. He was born in Odessa, TX, near the home of Henry J. Schlichting, Jr., a firebrand naturopath who tirelessly advocated for the naturopathic profession. Dr. Finnell grew up near the birthplace of Herbert Shelton, a luminary in fasting and nature cure therapies. Dr. Finnell lives in Austin, Texas, near the Todd-McClean Library in the Stark Center at the University of Texas at Austin, which is home to one of the largest English-language naturopathic collections in the world.

Dr. Finnell considers the Foundations of Naturopathic Medicine as a cornerstone of naturopathic medical philosophy, theory, and practice. He is honored to work with the esteemed authors, editors, and contributors to this comprehensive work. He is also passionate about the natural medicine that Central Texas’ hot summers and cold springs provide.

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