Mindy joined the Brain Fitness faculty team in Spring 2021.  She has many years of experience at other institutions of higher education.  Her graduate degrees are in School Psychology, and she has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.  Mindy believes that education can transform lives, not just the life of the learner but also the lives of those who may be influenced by the learner.  She enjoys discussing how to live a healthier life and to serve others.   

Mary has been teaching Brain Fitness since 2008.   She has a MS degree in Exercise Science and an MA in Educational Technology.   She is responsible for most of the lessons and the website.  She usually does the Wednesday evening Zoom and enjoys the challenge of whittling the lesson to a short 30 minutes.   She is a good contact for technology related questions. 

Yael has been teaching different age groups under all capacities for the past 30 years. She has been an instructor for Brain Fitness for the past four years. She holds a Master's degree in Clinical Psychology, which allows her to  use this training to link the  Brain Fitness lessons to  understanding the emotional wellbeing of her students along with the development of the Brain. 

Bridget has a master’s degree of Public Health and a bachelor’s degree in Exercise and Nutrition Sciences. She has many years of experience working in the fields of health promotion, disease prevention, healthy aging and nutrition. Bridget has been an Instructor with SDCCE for 5 years, teaching Nutrition and Healthy Living courses. 

Anjali Patel, RD

Anjali Patel is a Registered Dietitian (RD) specializing in public health, research and community nutrition.  Born and raised in Ottawa, Canada, and after graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Life Sciences, Anjali moved to a small town in Kumamoto, Japan where she taught English and spent her free time on grassroots internationalization projects centered on food and culture. It was during this work her passion for community nutrition was born. She returned to school to pursue her RD and Master of Public Health, and on the side worked in nutrition research, nutrition communications and public health programs and strategy. In 2011, Anjali moved to the United States and worked with the restaurant industry on environmental change and consumer behavior change research funded by the Center for Disease Control and the National Institute of Health.

Anjali is a food and nutrition educator who hopes to inspire and support individuals and communities with knowledge, tips and tools in healthy cooking and eating behaviors for their overall wellbeing.  She believes that food holds much more power than nourishment to the body — it’s identity, belonging and what connects us.

Anjali enjoys skiing, swimming and traveling. When she is not working, you can find her with her family somewhere around the world trying different foods or in her kitchen playing with food.

Minoo Pakgohar, Ph.D.

Minoo joined the brain fitness team in Spring of 2023.  She has a PhD in Gerontology with over 15 years of higher education teaching and developing curriculum. She also holds a master’s degree in midwifery.  She has a strong passion to work with older adults, and loves teaching. 

She volunteered as a case manager in long term care setting for three years while assistant professor at university. As a part of civic engagement activity, she volunteers to present in retirement communities.

She and her husband have a daughter(29).  She enjoys baking, gardening, and volunteering in the community.

Sharon Gregory

Sharon Gregory has a bachelors in Food and Nutrition from San Diego State University and is CPR certified. She has 15 years of experience working for SDCCD Emeritus Program teaching Body Dynamics, Health Education and nutrition cooking classes at a variety of off campus locations.

At an early age, Sharon became a caregiver for her grandparents,  keeping them active with physical exercise and brain stimulation. Now Sharon shares that information with her current students discussing fall prevention, healthy bones, better balance, and overall nutrition for optimal health!

She is a volunteer for CERT (Certified Emergency Response Team) in Poway and is actively helping with emergency preparedness, drive-thru-food distribution events, vaccination efforts, and assisting with picking up groceries and medication for those who can't go out.

Sharon and her husband have 3 grown children that are also into exercising and staying fit. Her hobbies include traveling, gardening, hiking, biking, working out at the gym, and spending time with her family, friends and her dog Cabo.