In the wake of Wellness Center Director Karen Avila resigning from her post in Everett due to questions about her credentials, a video from some years ago has surfaced where she says she is a doctor – a pediatrician to be specific.
The video has been since taken down from the website, but it had shown Avila talking about health and nutrition. The segment is titled, “‘Improved Health Through Nutrition With Dr. Karen Avila.”
The tag line on the video says the host Jackie Bell talks to Nutrition and Wellness Coach Dr. Karen Avila of HealthyKaren.com about steps you can take in changing your diet.
Avila clearly claims she is a doctor not only in the title of the show, but also within the show.
She makes a claim that she had received a master’s degree in nutrition from Tufts University – a degree which has now been found to be a false claim. Then she said in the video she decided to attend Boston University Medical School for another challenge – becoming a pediatrician.
Officials at Boston University said they have no record of Avila attending their medical school.
“Our registrar checked and we don’t have any record of a degree for Karen under either of her married or maiden name, so it looks like she did not attend BU,” said Renee Lapal, of the BU media relations team.
Last week, amidst questions about her licensure, Avila had said her Registered Dietician (RD) license had lapsed in August 2018 when she failed to do the continuing education to keep that license. Upon further review by City officials though, the RD license she presented had apparently been forged, likely on a home computer.
The Independent made an inquiry with Tufts University about the Master’s Degree, and an exhaustive search turned up no record of Avila having attained any such degree.
She resigned last Tuesday afternoon.
City officials were not aware of the video where she claims to be a doctor until after she resigned.