Influential Woman · Medical
Tanya Altmann
Nutrition, Longevity
Health, Safety, Child Product Consultant, Dr. Tanya Altmann Consulting
Calabasas, CA
Her Story
About Tanya
Dr. Tanya Altmann is a pediatrician with over 25 years of experience who founded Calabasas Pediatrics Wellness Center in Calabasas, California. She is a UCLA-trained pediatrician who earned her bachelor's degree in math and biochemistry from Claremont McKenna College and her medical degree from Sackler School of Medicine. Dr. Altmann holds special certificates in integrative pediatrics, nutrition, and longevity, and she is recognized as one of the few integrated longevity pediatricians in the country. In addition to her clinical work, she founded Dr. Tanya Altman consulting company, where she advises child product companies. She serves as a fellow and spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics and as a medical advisor for Make-A-Wish. Dr. Altmann is also the author of seven parenting books and works with organizations including UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital and Children's Hospital Los Angeles. She attributes her success to her passion for helping children and families achieve health and success, drawing inspiration from the personalized care of house calls she observed growing up in a family of physicians.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Tanya
01What do you attribute your success to?
I just love helping kids and families be healthy and successful. I grew up with 15 doctors in my family but I was the first female physician. Back then the whole healthcare industry was so different with house calls and spending hours with families. That's what I'm trying to get physicians back to doing, not worrying about insurance and reimbursement but thinking outside the box to help patients.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice was from Soledad O'Brien who said you need a team and you're gonna pay through the nose for it but taking care of your kids and making sure they are on track is just as important as your career so you have to figure out how to balance and navigate all of it.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I think you can do whatever you are interested in whatever you want to do. It may take hard work it might take medication it might take sacrifices but I don't think anything is off-limits. You just have to put your mind to it and work hard and you can get to whatever it is that you want to do in terms of helping others in this world.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
In healthcare the insurance companies are really making it so doctors can't spend enough time with families. We need to get back to physicians being able to really care for families without having an insurance company looking over their shoulders. Medical school is so expensive so doctors are coming out with half a million dollars in loans and in pediatrics you just don't make enough to pay that off. We're seeing a collapse of the insurance-based healthcare and more doctors are leaving it and going off on their own. Opportunities include research developing every single day like infant gut microbiome research and consulting for companies to make changes like better car seats and over-the-counter testing.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Honesty and hard work and dedication. I basically treat every child that comes through my office like I would my own kids. I truly just want to help everybody make a difference and feel better and prevent so many unfortunate illnesses and diseases that we're seeing nowadays.
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