Celebrating 80 Female Eating Disorder Experts & Advocates
In honor of International Women's Day, BALANCE eating disorder treatment center wanted to celebrate what is just a small portion of the many inspiring faces, voices and minds within the eating disorder community.
Below are 80 women who have, and continue to make, groundbreaking change in both how eating disorders are treated and how they are understood by society at large.
Who do you want to celebrate and honor within our community this International Women's Day? Share with us on social media!
We have to shout out our own Founder & Executive Director, Melainie Rogers MS, RDN, CDN, CEDRD!
Melainie Rogers is a Certified Eating Disorder Registered Dietitian (CEDRD) and Supervisor and is dedicated to supporting others in their quest to achieve long-term recovery. She is the Founder and Executive Director of BALANCE eating disorder treatment center™ and melainie rogers nutrition, llc.
Melainie developed her passion for treating clients with eating disorders while working at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Obesity Research Center in New York City. Her understanding of the research behind obesity gave her a unique perspective on eating behaviors and binge eating disorder specifically. In 2002, Melainie developed the largest private group nutrition practice specializing in eating disorders in New York City. As she saw a need for more services for eating disorders, she established BALANCE eating disorder treatment center™ in 2009.
Stacey is a native of Denver, Colorado. She holds a BA in Theatre Arts and a BA in French from the University of Northern Colorado. She has taught theatre and music to children and teens at various arts centers in Colorado, Seattle, Paris (France) and New York City. Stacey founded Realize Your Beauty, Inc. in 2010, combining her love of theatre arts with her passion for social change and education. She is a longtime volunteer for the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) and is a trained facilitator for NEDA’s Body Project. She is a member of Endangered Bodies NYC, IAEDP Denver Chapter (International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals), AED (Academy for Eating Disorders), Colorado Nonprofit Association and the American Camp Association.
Christy Harrison, MPH, RD, CDN is a registered dietitian nutritionist and certified intuitive eating counselor based in Brooklyn, NY. She offers online courses and private intuitive eating coaching to help people all over the world make peace with food and their bodies. Since 2013 Christy has hosted Food Psych, a podcast exploring people's relationships with food and paths to body acceptance. It is now one of iTunes’ top 100 health podcasts, reaching tens of thousands of listeners worldwide each week.
Christy is strongly committed to the Health at Every Size® movement and serves as a Member-at-Large on the board of the Association for Size Diversity and Health. She has spoken about Health at Every Size, intuitive eating, and the non-diet approach at numerous conferences and events, including the 2017 Multi-Service Eating Disorders Association (MEDA) conference, the EDRDPro Symposium, the RD Entrepreneur Symposium, and many others.
Dr. Karen Rosewater is the Secretary of iaedp. She is a graduate of Yale University and the Yale University School of Medicine. She completed her residency in pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital- Harvard Medical School, and a fellowship in adolescent medicine at Boston Children’s and Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and received a Master’s in Public Health from George Washington University. Since finishing her fellowship, Dr. Rosewaster has been working as a physician in a private practice, AYAM (Adolescent-Young Adult Medicine) in New York City where she cares for pre-teens, teenagers and young adults providing primary care and specialized care, including the treatment of eating disorders.
Jennifer Rollin is a therapist in private practice in Rockville, Maryland, who specializes in working with adolescents and adults with eating disorders, body image issues, anxiety, and depression. She is on The Junior Board of Directors for The National Eating Disorders Association. She was invited to serve on the conference committee for The National Eating Disorders Association's 2018 Conference.
Jennifer is an expert writer for The Huffington Post and Psychology Today. Her professional blog was named one of the top eating disorder blogs in the world. Her articles have reached thousands of people through websites, magazines, and books, including, Eating Disorders in America: A Reference Handbook, EatingDisorderHope.com, Anxiety.org, and NationalEatingDisorders.org, and Social Work Today Magazine.
Kelsey Miller graduated from Boston University with a BS in Film & Television. She began her career in the film production industry before transitioning to full-time writing. Soon after joining the staff ofRefinery29, she created The Anti-Diet Project, one of the website's most popular franchises. Her memoir BIG GIRL chronicles Kelsey's journey into self-loathing and disordered eating-and out of it.
The founders of the non-profit Project HEAL, Liana Rosenman and Kristina Saffran, met while undergoing treatment for anorexia nervosa at just 13-years-old. The two girls helped each other to reach full recovery, and decided to help others achieve it as well.
In the spring of 2008, both at the age of 15, they founded Project HEAL to raise money for others suffering with eating disorders who want to recover but are unable to afford treatment. Unfortunately, insurance coverage for eating disorders is severely lacking, leaving many unable to get the help they need.
When Body Image Activist Taryn Brumfitt posted an unconventional before-and-after photo in 2013 it was seen by more than 100 million people worldwide and sparked an international media frenzy. EMBRACE follows Taryn’s crusade as she explores the global issue of body loathing, inspiring us to change the way we feel about ourselves and think about our bodies.
Greta Gleissner is a New York based psychotherapist and author specializing in eating disorders. Greta’s other specialties include substance abuse and addictions, mood disorders, and parent-child relationship issues. In her practice, Greta uses an eclectic approach, utilizing a combination of CBT, DBT, Family Systems, and Psychodynamic interventions. In recovery herself, her first book, Something Spectacular: The True Story of a Rockette’s Battle with Bulimia is a raw, personal chronicle of the devastating effects bulimia exacts upon her personal and professional life during her time as a Radio City Rockette. Greta dedicates her life to the eating disorder field and uses her experience as a platform to help others, both personally and professionally.
In 2013, Greta Gleissner founded Eating Disorder Recovery Specialists (EDRS), the first nationwide, in home eating disorder recovery support program. With Greta’s vision and leadership, EDRS continues to expand with over 85 clinicians in more than 27 states.
After surviving an eating disorder, Gloria Lucas is helping women of color love their bodies.Gloria is the founder and director of Nalgona Positivity Pride, a xicana-indigenous body-positive project that focuses on eating disorders awareness and cultural affirmation. She is a frequent lecturer across the country covering topics such as the connection of historical trauma and disordered eating. Gloria’s work has been featured at the Huffington Post, Univision, Bitch Magazine, and The Body is not an Apology. She lives in Los Angeles, CA where she is an active entrepreneur and eating disorders support group organizer.
Dana Suchow is a speaker, activist, and event producer in NYC.
Since overcoming Bulimia/Binge Eating Disorder and Compulsive Exercising that resulted in permanent injuries, Dana “Hotpants” Suchow has become a champion for women’s issues, body neutrality, and eating disorder awareness. Dana started Do The Hotpants as a fashion blog, but once she realized fashion’s unattainable beauty standards were fueling her eating disorder and self hatred, Dana switched gears. In 2014 she made it her mission empower and uplift women and girls struggling with bad body image through storytelling and workshops. Dana now curates and hosts women’s networking and empowerment events that support all self-identifying women.
Fiona Sutherland is an Accredited Practising Dietitian & Nutritionist with a diverse working background including international clinical work, private practice, sports nutrition, corporate consultancy, research & working extensively in Dietetic training. She is also the Co-Director of Body Positive Australia.
Fiona is one of Australia’s leading specialists in Mindful Eating and the NonDiet Approach & supports eating in an individually tailored way that supports every person’s unique needs, in alignment with the HAES. Fiona co-facilitates workshops all over Australia training other Dietitians in the NonDiet Approach with Fiona Willer from Health Not Diets. Together, they aim to support Dietitians in the mindfulness and client-centred therapies. Fiona is a professional member of The Center for Mindful Eating, the internationally recognised expert group on Mindful Eating.
Crystal is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist based in San Diego, CA. After struggling with an eating disorder herself and yearning for peace, healing, and to find the nurturing power of food, she found her interest in health and nutrition. Halfway through her college studies, she began the pursuit of become a dietitian, while simultaneously working toward healing herself physically and emotionally from her eating disorder.
With a specific focus on eating disorders and maternal/child health, Crystal has had several years of experience working with a diverse patient population. As a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, Crystal practices a holistic approach to healing from eating disorders through gentle nutrition. Crystal works with clients to help them reestablish a peaceful relationship with food and their bodies through the process of eating disorder recovery.
Beth has been working in the eating disorders field for 34 years. She has been the Executive Director of MEDA for 15 years. MEDA is dedicated to heal, educate and empower our community to support the people, famalies and other community members impacted by eating disorders. She is nationally recognized for her clinical work with eating disorders and has spoken at conferences around the country.
Carolyn literally had a dream in the 1980's about an eating disorder program she had created in a beautiful mountain setting. In 1996, ten years later, Carolyn's dream became a reality when she walked onto property near Malibu, California known as Monte Nido. Carolyn recognized the property and the house from her dream and knew she was destined to turn it into the first licensed, eating disorder residential program in a home setting.
Carolyn was also the first to openly hire recovered therapists, have staff and clients eat meals together like a family, and provide a unique level system where clients shopped and cooked for themselves prior to discharge. In early 2017, Carolyn opened The Carolyn Costin Institute, which offers Eating Disorder Coach Training, a Mentor program, Continuing Education for clinicians as well as other specialized training.
Dr. Janean Anderson is a licensed psychologist, podcast host, and author who writes about eating disorder recovery. She is also certified by the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals (IAEDP) as a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist (CEDS). She is recovered from anorexia herself and believes full recovery is possible for all people. Her podcast, The Eating Disorder Recovery Podcast, discusses the latest information about eating disorder recovery including how to recover from disordered eating, make peace with food, improve body image, and heal your relationship with yourself. The podcast showcases top leaders in the field and reaches people in over 50 countries worldwide, averaging tens of thousands of downloads. Her podcast is available here.
After her own experience recovering from an eating disorder, Jennifer gives back to others by aiding them on their recovery journey through the power of yoga. She is a registered yoga teacher and works with individuals 1 x 1 in person and virtually and is the yoga therapist at the Monte Nido Eating Disorder Center of Philadelphia. She is also the Co-Founder of The Body Kindness Project, which is dedicated to creating compassionate and safe spaces in the form of workshops and retreats for individuals to come together and explore how to create a kind relationship with their bodies.
Check out her video series with BALANCE founder Melainie Rogers on Pregnancy, Motherhood & Eating Disorders.
Claire Mysko is an internationally recognized leader in eating disorders advocacy and education and the incredible CEO of The National Eating Disorders Association.
She is the author of Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat? The Essential Guide to Loving Your Body Before and After Baby and You're Amazing! A No-Pressure Guide to Being Your Best Self, which received an Amelia Bloomer Award for outstanding feminist books for young readers.
Claire has appeared as an expert on 20/20, Good Morning America, CNN, and in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Glamour, and Teen Vogue among others.
Dr. Attia was formerly the director of the inpatient eating disorders program at The New York State Psychiatric Institute, Dr. Attia has more recently focused on research involving the psychobiology and treatment of anorexia nervosa. Since 1999, she has received uninterrupted funding for her research from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).
Dr. Attia has received a Young Investigator Award from The National Alliance for Research in Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD), a Pfizer/Society for Women’s Health Research Faculty Development Award in Women’s Health, and a Career Development Award from NIMH. Dr. Attia is a member of the eating disorders work-group for DSM-5. She is also a member of The Eating Disorders Research Society and has been elected Fellow of the Academy for Eating Disorders.
NOT PLANT BASED was founded by Laura Dennison and is co-authored by Eve Simmons, both of whom have suffered with eating disorders. They share their stories to help others who have also suffered, or are continuing to, with troubled eating. They hope their website inspires those like themselves who have wasted too much time harbouring an unhealthy relationship with their bodies, their fitness and their food and to try to help them to love all those things again; or possibly for the first time in their lives.
Megan Bruneau is a psychotherapist and executive coach who specializes in helping people change their relationships to themselves. Her work has been featured in Forbes, The Huffington Post, MindBodyGreen, Thought Catalog, Bustle, Psych Central, Psychology Today, BravoTV, The New York Post, The List, Verily Magazine, Brit + Co, Gaia, Entrepreneur, Elephant Journal, The Aloha Way, and more. Her articles have amassed more that 15 million views.
Megan is also the host of The Failure Factor, a podcast that gathers “failure” stories from successful entrepreneurs. Each episode explores what the entrepreneur learned, how they maintained resilience, and why “failure” was formative to their career development. She recently launched a video series with BALANCE founder Melainie Rogers on The Truth About Dieting!
Tammy has been practicing as a registered, licensed dietitian/nutritionist for over thirty-two years, of which the last 27 have been specialized in the field of eating disorders. Her experience includes inpatient treatment programs and opening and managing several outpatient nutrition programs for clients with eating disorders in both Alabama and Florida; however, most of her experience has been in private practice until joining Castlewood Treatment Centers in 2015. She was recently promoted to Vice President of Clinical Nutrition Services, working closely with the Clinical Leadership Team to ensure that the nutrition programming blends both evidence-based science and cutting edge practice. Tammy was the first registered dietitian to become certified with the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals (iaedp) in 1993, and served on the Certification Committee for nine years, stepping into the role of Director from 2013-2017. During her tenure, the Commission on Dietetic Registration approved the CEDRD Certification for RDs in the field of eating disorders. Due to her work in this field, Tammy received the Excellence in Practice in Eating Disorders award from Behavioral Health Nutrition practice group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in 2016. Tammy enjoys translating evidence-based science into practical and insightful messages for clients to begin healing their relationship with food and body and for clinicians to incorporate into their own practices.
Jenna Tregarthen is passionate about designing technologies that not only increase access to care but also improve quality of care. As a Clinical Psychology PhD Candidate, Jenna’s expertise is relapse prevention and behavior change. Jenna teaches Design for Health Service Innovation and Entrepreneurship courses at Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
The Recovery Record system has attracted over 10,000 eating disorder treatment professionals and 450,000 people living with eating disorders.
Dr. Wendy Oliver-Pyatt is the founder of Oliver-Pyatt Centers, which specializes in the treatment of eating disorders. Prior to founding Oliver-Pyatt Centers, she founded Center for Hope of the Sierras and Eating Recovery and Wellness Center of Nevada.
She co-authored the Academy for Eating Disorder’s Guidelines for Obesity Prevention Programs. Her book, Fed Up! The Breakthrough Ten Step No Diet Fitness Plan, written to prevent dieting and disordered eating, has been featured in a variety of national publications, including Family Circle, Psychology Today, Women’s Health and Fitness, and Town and Country, and has been reviewed in the AED Forum, published by the Academy for Eating Disorders. Dr. Oliver-Pyatt is a Fellow of the Academy for Eating Disorder (served as the Advocacy Co-Chair), is an active member of the National Eating Disorders Association, and serves on the Board of Directors of the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals and the Binge Eating Disorder Association.
Jessica Flint is the founder and director of Recovery Warriors, a rapidly growing resource hub for all things related to eating disorder recovery. Having successfully recovered from a 7 year battle with bulimia and 17 year battle with binge eating, Jessica is passionate about designing technologies and meaningful resources that increase access to care and support and most importantly help her fellow warriors live with connection, commitment, compassion and courage.
Sondra Kronberg is the Founder/Executive Director of Eating Disorder Treatment Collaborative, F.E.E.D. IOP (Family and Friends Eating Events and Direction) and P.E.A.CE. (Professional Eating & Coaching Events) programs of New York and owner/director of Nutrition Counseling Specialists & Eating Wellness Programs. Sondra is a nutrition therapist with 30 years of experience and a recognized leader in the field of eating disorders and body wellness.
She is a licensed clinical nutritionist, certified eating disorder specialist, consultant and treatment advisor. Nutrition and Eating Consultant to the Carolyn Costin Institute and founding member and media spokesperson of the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA).
Dr. Lesley Williams is a certified eating disorder specialist, family medicine physician, and positive body image advocate. She co-owns Liberation Center, an eating disorder treatment facility, in Phoenix, Arizona. Dr. Williams is dedicated to ensuring that all women and men who struggle with eating and body image issues receive the help that they need to overcome and live happy, healthy lives.
Dr. Williams regularly educates other healthcare professionals about the diversity and dangers of eating disorders. She has made several media appearances as an eating disorder expert and regularly speaks at national conferences. Her most recent body image advocacy project is writing the children’s book, Free to Be Me. It encourages young girls and boys to love their bodies, no matter what size, and is scheduled to be released later this year.
Jennie Kramer, MSW, LCSW, is co-author of Overcoming Binge Eating for DUMMIES (Wiley/2013), and founder and executive director of Metro Behavioral Health Associates (MBHA) Eating Disorder Treatment Centers located in New York City and Scarsdale, New York. MBHA offers comprehensive outpatient treatment for all forms of eating disorders along the spectrum including including an IOP for adults and for adolescents for all forms of disordered eating.
Jennie served as the director of the Renfrew Centers for Eating Disorders in both New York and New Jersey for five years and has been treating all forms of eating disorders for many years. Prior to entering this field, she also served as chief operating officer for Dr. Robert Atkins and was a management consultant to the healthcare industry with a special emphasis on integrative medicine.
Caroline Rothstein is a New York City-based writer, poet, performer, and educator. She has been touring internationally performing spoken word poetry and facilitating workshops at colleges, schools, and performance venues for over a decade. Her work has appeared in Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, BuzzFeed, NYLON, Narratively, The Forward, Kveller, and elsewhere. Caroline and her work have been featured widely including in The New Yorker, MTV News, Chicago Tribune, CBS Evening News, BuzzFeed News, The Huffington Post, Mic, and Newsweek, and was called a “very inspiring woman” by Lady Gaga.
She previously hosted and produced the YouTube series “Body Empowerment,” and was President of the Board of Directors for Mental Fitness, Inc. Her award-winning one-woman play “faith” about her experience with and recovery from an eating disorder debuted as part of the Culture Project’s Women Center Stage 2012 Festival.
Anita Johnston, Ph.D. is the Director of the Anorexia & Bulimia Center of Hawaii which she co-founded in 1982 and is the Clinical Director and the Founder of the ‘Ai Pono Intensive Out-Patient Eating Disorders Programs in Honolulu and 'Ai Pono Maui, a residential treatment facility in Maui. She is also Senior Clinical Consultant to EATFED intensive outpatient program in Sydney Australia.
Dr. Johnston developed Hawaii’s first inpatient eating disorders treatment program at Kahi Mohala Hospital in 1986 and is an expert in treating a wide range of eating disorders. She is also the author of Eating in the Light of the Moon: How Women Can Transform Their Relationships with Food Through Myth, Metaphor, and Storytelling which has been published in six languages.
Colleen is a licensed clinical psychologist, practicing in Virginia Beach. She works in a group practice, and is a staff psychologist at the College of William and Mary. She is recovered from an eating disorder, and this experience sparked her passion for spreading knowledge and awareness that full recovery is possible. She is now an eating disorders specialist, and has worked at various treatment facilities including University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro Center for Eating Disorder Care, and The Center for Eating Disorders at Sheppard Pratt. She is an advocate for feminism, body positivity, health at every size, and FULL recovery. She writes about body image and eating disorders for morelove.org, Project Heal, and The Mighty.
Rebecca Scritchfield is a well-being coach, registered dietitian nutritionist, certified health and fitness specialist and author of the book, Body Kindness: Transform your health from the inside out and never say diet again (Workman Publishing), which Publisher’s Weekly calls “a rousing guide to better health.” Through her weight-neutral mindfulness-based counseling practice, she helps people create a better life with workable goals that fit individual interests.
She is the co-founder of Dietitians for Body Confidence, www.RD4BC.com, a website and free bi-monthly e-mail dedicated to shared learning among dietitians and future RDNs to improve body image in people they serve.
Rebecca has influenced millions through her writing, Body Kindness podcast, and appearances in over 100 media outlets including NBC Nightly News, CNN, the Today show, the Washington Post, O Magazine, Health, Shape, and many others. She lives in Washington, D.C., where she was recently recognized as one of ten “Supermom” entrepreneurs in the Nation’s Capital.
Chevese Turner founded the Binge Eating Disorder Association (BEDA) in June 2008 recognizing the need for an organization to advocate on behalf of individuals affected by binge eating disorder (BED) and the providers who treat them. Turner’s well-rounded career in the health care, pharmaceutical, political and non-profit arenas, as well as her many leadership roles within these fields, prepared her to launch BEDA, the only organization specifically suited to support individuals and treatment professionals managing BED.
Sumner is a registered dietitian and eating disorder specialist who has been working as an outpatient counselor with clients on all levels of the disordered eating spectrum for nearly 10 years.
EDRDpro was created in 2017 by Sumner and is a web-based community of Registered Dietitians (RD’s) and other like-minded professionals who work from a non-diet, Health at Every Size® approach.
Evelyn Tribole, MS, RD is an award-winning registered dietitian who has written nine books including the bestsellers Healthy Homestyle Cooking and Intuitive Eating (co-author). Her newest book is the Intuitive Eating Workbook:Ten Principles for Nourishing a Healthy Relationship with Food.
She enjoys public speaking and training health professionals on how to help their clients cultivate a healthy relationship with food, mind, and body through the process of Intuitive Eating, a concept she co-pioneered in 1995. To date there are over 600 Certified Intuitive Eating Counselors in 17 countries and over 80 studies showing benefits of Intuitive Eating.
Marci is a Food and Body Imager Healer®. She has dedicated her career to counseling, supervising, and teaching in the field of eating disorders. She is a Certified Eating Disorder Registered Dietitian and Supervisor, certified Intuitive Eating Counselor and Certified ACSM personal trainer. In addition to her group private practice and three adjunct teaching positions, Marci launched an online eating disorders training for dietitians in 2015 and co-directs a specialized eating disorder internship at Simmons College. She volunteers for a number of national eating disorder organizations including the iaedp certification committee and is serving as an eating disorder resource professional for The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Cynthia M. Bulik, Ph.D., FAED, is Distinguished Professor of Eating Disorders in the Department of Psychiatry in the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she is also Professor of Nutrition in the Gillings School of Global Public Health, and founding director of the UNC Center of Excellence for Eating Disorders. Dr. Bulik is also professor in the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden. She is passionate about translating science for the public.
A clinical psychologist by training, Dr. Bulik has been conducting research and treating individuals with eating disorders since 1982. Her research includes treatment, laboratory, epidemiological, twin and molecular genetic studies of eating disorders and body weight regulation. She has active research collaborations throughout the United States and in over twenty countries around the world.
The Chain is a New York-based, not-for-profit peer support and mentorship program for women in the fashion and entertainment industries who are struggling with or recovering from an eating disorder.
The Chain was founded in December 2017 by Christina Grasso and Ruthie Friedlander, both in recovery from anorexia, after they encountered a need for a support network that addresses the challenges in eating disorder recovery unique to the fashion and entertainment industries.
Angie Viets is an an eating disorders specialist who has dedicated her career to helping her clients recover. Her passion for the field was born out of her own recovery. She believes whole-heartedly that full recovery is possible and feels privileged to share in the process of mending the lives of those who suffer from this illness. Through writing, she hopes to expand her reach, offering inspiration and hope to those suffering in silence.
Dr. Gaudiani is the Founder and Medical Director of the Gaudiani Clinic. In 2008, she helped start the ACUTE Center for Eating Disorders at Denver Health in its current form, as the nation’s top medical stabilization center for adults with eating disorders too medically compromised to receive care in a mental health setting. After seven great years there, she left as its Medical Director to pursue her vision of outpatient care, founding the Gaudiani Clinic. During her years at ACUTE, Dr. Gaudiani became a nationally recognized internist for her work on the medical complications of eating disorders.
Judith Brisman is one of the pioneers in the field of eating disorders. She opened the first center in the US dedicated to the treatment of bulimia, the Bulimia Treatment Associates. Over time, BTA was renamed the Eating Disorder Resource Center as the treatment program expanded to include work with anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder and other body image disorders. Dr. Brisman was founding director and director of training at EDRC for over 35 years.
Dr. Brisman is well-respected in the eating-disorder community for her ongoing contributions to the field. She is co-author of Surviving an Eating Disorder, which was the first book of its kind to offer effective solutions and support for family and friends of those with eating disorders.
Dr. Alexis Conason is a licensed psychologist in private practice in New York City. In addition to her clinical practice, Dr. Conason is also a Research Associate at the New York Obesity Nutrition Research Center at Mt. Sinai-St. Luke’s Hospital in affiliation with Columbia University. Her most recent research investigates substance use and psychopathology following bariatric weight loss surgery. She serves as the Research Chair for the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals- New York Chapter (IAEDP-NY), is on the editorial board of Frontiers in Eating Behavior, and serves as a peer reviewer for a number of medical and scientific journals including Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases (SOARD) and Obesity Surgery.
Valery Kallen, MS, RD is an anti-diet dietitian and Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor on a mission to help people stop obsessing over food, start loving their bodies, and rediscover the joys of eating. She completed her dietetic internship with Northwell Health (formerly North Shore-LIJ). Valery is also a proud board member of the New York Chapter of iaedp (the International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals) and has been serving as the social media co-chair for several years.
Dr. Doris Pastore of Adolescent-Young Adult Medicine in NYC is a graduate of St. John’s University and the New York Medical College. She is the Medical Liaison for iadepny. Since 2007 Dr. Pastore has provided medical care for those with eating disorders and other health concerns at the Adolescent-Young Adult Medicine practice. She completed her residency in pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and fellowship in adolescent medicine at North Shore University Hospital-Cornell Medical College. Dr. Pastore served as Director of School-based Health Services and the Nutrition and Wellness Program at the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center, where she was an attending physician 1990-2007. She is the recipient of awards for excellence in research and program design and the author of numerous academic publications, has trained 20 fellows in adolescent medicine and served as an officer/board member of the Society for Adolescent Medicine for six years.
Maiken specializes in nutrition counseling for eating disorder recovery, as well as subclinical disordered eating. Maiken has worked at various eating disorder treatment facilities, both in the inpatient setting and outpatient setting. She enjoys helping people laugh, honor their achievements and problem solve when the plan isn't working. She completed her Masters of Science in Nutrition at Hunter College and has worked in the day, evening and outpatient programs at The Renfrew Center of New York, BALANCE eating disorder clinic and as the East Coast Director of Nutrition for Eating Disorder Recovery Specialists.
Lindsey Hall is a book publicist by day and eating-disorder activist by night. She is passionate about de-stigmatizing stereotypes behind eating disorders for those who need help but are often too scared to inquire. She bravely shares an unfilitered lens into her own recovery on her blog at "I Haven't Shaved In 6 Weeks: All The Truths About Eating Disorder Rehab."
Nicole is a RD with experience in both inpatient acute care as well as outpatient counseling, she is well-versed in working with a wide range of patients with a variety of conditions, histories, and goals. In her private practice, Body Over Mind Nutrition, Nicole encourages prioritizing your body over your mind, having faith that your body will tell you what it needs, what it doesn't, when it's had too much, or if it hasn't had enough. Her goal is to make sure clients enjoy food in a way that helps promote optimal physical health and - just as importantly - mental health surrounding food.
Hilde Bruch (March 11, 1904 – December 15, 1984) was a German-born American psychoanalyst, known foremost for her work on eating disorders and obesity.
In 1973 she published her seminal work Eating Disorders: Obesity, Anorexia Nervosa, and the Person Within. This book was based on observations and treatments of eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa, over several decades.
Gena is the blogger behind The Full Helping. After struggling with anorexia, she decided to make peace with food. In working toward a lasting recovery, she started to explore a vegan diet. Today, she continues to use The Full Helping blog to build a community and share her personal evolution with food that has helped her heal. She is a fierce advocate in opening the discussion around eating disorders and veganism.
Dr. Margo Maine, co-founder of the Maine & Weinstein Specialty Group, is a clinical psychologist who has specialized in eating disorders and related issues for over 30 years. She is author of many books on the topic of eating disorders.
Maine is a senior editor of Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment and Prevention. A Founding Member and Fellow of the Academy for Eating Disorders and a member of the Founder’s Council and senior board advisor to the National Eating Disorders Association. Dr Maine is the 2007 recipient of The Lori Irving Award for Excellence in Eating Disorders Awareness and Prevention and the 2015 recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, both given by the National Eating Disorders Association, and is a 2016 Honoree of the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame.
Diahann is the CEO & Co-Owner of the La Ventana Treatment Programs. Diahann's personal experience with an eating disorder and subsequent recovery motivated Diahann to pursue a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology.
As CEO, Diahann oversees all divisions of La Ventana, including all sixteen residential eating disorder, substance abuse and detox facilities; partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient services; transitional living homes, and La Ventana’s non-profit division, La Vista. She has extensive knowledge of the comprehensive care necessary for treatment, as well as clinical experience with those struggling with eating disorders, substance abuse, and co-occurring diagnoses.
Ginny Jones runs the wonderful website More-Love.org. After having an eating disorder for 30 years, she began the site as a passion project. More-Love website serves as a powerful place where parents can find love and support while they love and support their children who have eating disorders.
Lindsay is a Registered Dietitian, New York State Certified Dietitian-Nutritionist, and Certified Eating Disorders Dietitian. Lindsay has experience working as a Registered Dietitian at The Renfrew Center, Upper East Health, BALANCE Eating Disorder Treatment Center, and Kings County Hospital Center. She currently serves as the New York City Chapter Ambassador for the the International Federation of Eating Disorder Dietitians. She is also a member of the International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals' NY Chapter, the Association for Size Diversity and Health, Binge Eating Disorder Association, and Dietitians For Body Confidence.
Jillian is the Chief Strategy Officer at the Emily Program and brings expansive experience to the programs clinical, research, education and program development areas. She also provides nutrition education and counseling. Jillian is on the board of the Academy for Eating Disorders, an international professional organization of clinicians and researchers, and co-chairs its Nutrition Special Interest Group. She has authored numerous book chapters and articles on nutritional treatment of eating disorders, body image, sports participation, and adolescent health. She completed her doctorate in nutrition and epidemiology, master’s of public health and dietetic internship at the University of Minnesota and a master’s in nutrition at the University of Vermont.
Susie Orbach is a psychotherapist and writer. With Luise Eichenbaum, Orbach created the Women’s Therapy Centre in 1976 and the Women’s Therapy Centre Institute, a training institute in New York, in 1981. She has been a consultant for The World Bank and the NHS. Her ground-breaking first book, Fat is a Feminist Issue (London: Paddington Press, 1978), remains one of the most widely read texts of the British women's liberation movement. She has reshaped psychoanalytic thinking by insisting on a gendered understanding of human development. She is convenor of Endangered Bodies, which challenges contemporary culture that promotes negative body image.
Dianne Bondy is a celebrated yoga teacher, social justice activist and leading voice of the Yoga For All movement. Her inclusive view of yoga asana and philosophy inspires and empowers thousands of followers around the world – regardless of their shape, size, ethnicity, or level of ability.
Dianne contributes to Yoga International, Do You Yoga, and Elephant Journal. She is featured and profiled in International media outlets: The Guardian, Huffington Post, Cosmopolitan, People and more. She is a spokesperson for diversity in yoga and yoga for larger bodies, as seen in her work with Pennington’s, Gaiam, and the Yoga & Body Image Coalition. Her work is published in the books: Yoga and Body Image and Yes Yoga Has Curves.
After realizing the impact trying on clothes in her closet had on her eating disorder recovery process, Erin wanted to find a solution. She decided to launch Garment, a non-profit providing those in eating disorder recovery size-less clothing that is individualized for their healthy bodies providing confidence in tackling body image, often the hardest part of the process.
Jennifer is is the owner of Eat With Knowledge in Nyack, NY. As a Certified Eating Disorders Registered Dietitian, Jennifer combines her expertise in medical nutrition therapy, psychology, and physiology to help clients understand their eating behaviors, and gain the insight needed to make positive changes for their health. She is an expert in the field of eating disorders and also supervises other Registered Dietitians. She is involved with the International Federation of Eating Disorder Dietitians, the National Eating Disorders Association, and the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals (iaedp). She is the Co-Social Media Chair for the New York City Chapter of iaedp.
Ashlee is a masters trained counseling art therapist in Australia with experience in mental health with children, adolescents and adults in hospital and educational settings. She has specialized research interests in appearance-oriented body image, weight stigma/internalized weight stigma, sub-clinical disordered eating, body image disturbances and the impact of these areas on an individual’s wellbeing. She refers to herself as ‘fat’ as a part of her activism in taking the back the power of the word typically used as an insult. She brings this aspect of activism into her practice to model the non-avoidance of a topic that is generally seen as taboo, and maintains weight stigma and fat phobia.
Laura is the founder of Laura Cipullo Whole Nutrition Services in NYC, where she and her team teach clients how to eat ALL foods guilt-free and how to live mindfully. An expert in nutrition and healthy living, Laura has almost 20 years of clinical experience as a Registered Dietitian, Certified Diabetes Educator, and Certified Eating Disorder Registered Dietitian. For three years, Laura volunteered as President, New York chapter of the International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals (www.iaedpNY.com), and under her leadership, grew the chapter from 20 members to almost 200 members. This national organization’s mission is to educate professionals who treat individuals with eating disorders, and to serve as a credentialing agency that recognizes those who achieve expertise as Certified Eating Disorders Specialists. Currently, she serves as the Certification Chair on their board. In May 2016, Laura earned her 200hrs Registered Yoga Teacher status at LifePower Yoga and now offers private yoga and mindfulness sessions in her NYC office.
Laura Thomas is a Association for Nutrition Registered Nutritionist specialising disordered eating recovery using Intuitive Eating and Non-Diet approaches. She has a PhD in Nutritional Sciences from Texas A&M University where she studied psychosocial behaviour change models, dietary assessment, and gut health. She completed her post-doc at Cornell University, again focussing on behaviour change. She currently hosts the podcast 'Don't Salt My Game' and was the nutritionist for the 2017 BBC1 documentary Mind Over Marathon. She founded the London Centre for Intuitive Eating where she works 1-1 with clients and trains other nutritionists in the non-diet approach.
Lexie is a 23-year-old body positive activist, mental health advocate and blogger located in New Jersey. She shares her recovery journey on her blog and on social media to her thousands of followers that find inspiration and hope from Lexie's posts. She is the founder of the #BoycottTheBefore, a campaign challenging Eating Disorder recovery comparison photos.
After graduating summa cum laude from Texas A&M University with a degree in biochemistry, Schaefer moved to Nashville to pursue singing and songwriting, then dealt with the devastating consequences of an eating disorder that nearly derailed her life. Now recovered for over ten years, Schaefer is the author of several books including Life Without Ed: How One Woman Declared Independence from Her Eating Disorder and How You Can Too (McGraw-Hill) and Goodbye Ed, Hello Me: Recover from Your Eating Disorder and Fall in Love with Life (McGraw-Hill). In addition, Schaefer is a leading motivational speaker and recovery coach who discusses various topics including addiction and food disorders, relationships, depression, careers as well as overcoming adversity and living life to the fullest.
In February of 2009, Kirsten founded The Kirsten Haglund Foundation and serves as it’s current President. The mission of the Foundation is to fundraise to provide treatment scholarships to assist families and individuals battling eating disorders. Kirsten is currently the Community Relations Specialist with Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center and in that role, travels across the country to speak at universities, churches, for women's groups, athletes and artists, and national conferences on women's empowerment, eating disorders, and consumer advocacy related to the beauty and diet industries. She is also a proud Ambassador for the National Eating Disorders Association.
Jessica Setnick, MS, RD/LD, as one of the most recognizable names in the nutrition counseling world, thanks to her engaging and charismatic presentation style, her unique point of view, and her genuine ability to connect on a deep level, even from the podium. She has spent her career developing eating disorder treatment protocols in every level of care and shares her wealth of knowledge with health professionals and the public in every possible format, including the Eating Disorders Boot Camp: Training Workshop for Professionals audio course, The Eating Disorders Clinical Pocket Guide, The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Pocket Guide to Eating Disorders, as Eating Disorder Editor at Recovery Campus Magazine, in the forthcoming book Making Food Your Friend Again, as a CEDRD Supervisor and mentor to treating professionals around the world, and in her many, many, many presentations. Jessica’s mission is to work toward a world where everyone who needs care for eating issues has access to qualified professionals, and no one is turned away due to insurance issues or mistaken stereotypes.
Judith Ruskay Rabinor, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist, author, consultant and psychotherapist with offices in New York City and Lido Beach, Long Island. She has four decades of experience working with individuals, couples, groups and families. Judy is a frequently invited keynote and workshop presenter at national and international conferences, professional associations, retreat centers, universities and schools, including Harvard Medical School of Continuing Education, The Esalen Institute, Big Sur, California, National Association of Social Work meetings, The Renfrew Center Foundation Conference, The International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals, The New York City Board of Education and numerous university campuses including Princeton University and Barnard College. In addition to clinical work with patients, she coaches writers and offers consultation groups for therapists and other mental health practitioners.
Anna Sweeney, MS, RD, LDN, CEDRD-S is a Certified Eating Disorder Registered Dietitian, Certified Sports Nutritionist, Certified Intuitive Eating Specialist and owner of Whole Life Nutrition. Anna is member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the Massachusetts Dietetic Association, and is an active member of the Multiservice Eating Disorder Association, the Academy for Eating Disorders, the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals Foundation, and the International Federation for Eating Disorder Dietitians.
Lisa Pearl is a licensed clinical nutritionist and eating disorder specialist. She is the founder of CNC360 as well as a clinician with over 30 years of experience in providing treatment, education, training and mentoring in the field. As a member of the senior clinical team, Lisa’s services include nutrition therapy, case consultations, and professional supervision. Through the years Lisa has continued to push the envelope of innovation with presentations at local and national conferences. She has worked as a consultant for MIT, Harvard University, Boston Ballet, and numerous independent and public schools for prevention, education, and treatment of eating disorders.
Colleen Werner is a junior psychology major at SUNY Old Westbury, and she plans on going to graduate school to become a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who specializes in Eating Disorders. She also aspires to start an eating disorder treatment created specifically for dancers.
Her Instagram account/blog centers around body-positivity, self-love, eating disorder awareness, and mental health has deeply inspired thousands, and after creating the hashtag #BopoBallerina, Colleen was featured by Yahoo, National Eating Disorders Association, Dailymotion, A Plus, Dance.com, and several international news outlets. In addition to her work on her Instagram, Colleen is a member of the Advisory Panel for YPAD (Youth Protection Advocates in Dance), a National Ambassador for Project HEAL, and a Brand Ambassador for Wear Your Label.
Pia is a writer, public speaker and personal coach and the founder of Adios Barbie. From Harlem to Hawaii, she has led dozens of workshops and presentations on body politics, identity, intersectional feminism, media literacy and social justice. Her work at Adios Barbie is informed by Pia’s own life straddling different worlds as a bi-cultural Mexican and American who has never quite fit in, but has finally found her home. She has also worked with numerous groups including the Department of Education, PBS, ITVS, among others, to create media and educational initiatives that center around the experiences of marginalized folx. Committed to love and justice, Pia is a yoga student/teacher and unprofessional dog walker.
Tabitha Farrar is an eating disorder recovery coach who speaks and writes about effective and realistic recovery approaches for adults with restrictive eating disorders. Having recovered from 10 years of severe anorexia herself solely by adapting the principles of FBT to herself as an adult, she is passionate about helping adult sufferers find a sustainable recovery that works for them as an individual. Tabitha authored Love Fat, and is currently working on her second book — a workbook for anorexia recovery that will be published December 2017. She has written numerous eating disorder recovery guides for adults. She has been working as a recovery coach for adults with eating disorders and parents/partners of adults since 2009 and has set up two forums for adults with eating disorders in active recovery. Tabitha hosts the Eating Disorder Recovery Podcast. More recently she founded Active Eating Disorder Recovery for Adults (AEDRA) Meal Support Service.
Located in Central/East London, Jenna is a BACP Registered Psychotherapist, and has a Doctorate degree specializing in eating disorders and recovery. She is dedicated to supporting people to reclaim their bodies and their lives through her practice called Freedom To Be. Most recently, she started the Anti-Diet Revolution to inspire people to ditch the rules and restrictions and find peace with food and their bodies.
Julie Duffy Dillon is a Registered Dietitian, Eating Disorder Specialist, and Food Behavior Expert partnering with people on their Food Peace journey. She is trained as a mental health counselor and supervises dietitians and other health professionals to help using weight inclusive and attuned eating strategies. She owns central North Carolina’s group nutrition private practice and premier source of eating disorder treatment and prevention, BirdHouse Nutrition Therapy. Julie also produces and hosts the weekly podcast, Love Food.
Josée Sovinsky is a Registered Dietitian and Nutrition Therapist who specializes in eating disorders, intuitive eating and community nutrition. is a non-diet, weight inclusive, feminist, and Health At Every Size® dietitian. She believes people of all sizes, genders, ages, races, levels of disability, and class deserve nourishment, wellbeing and happiness. She uses motivational interviewing to guide her clients in adopting intuitive eating and mindful eating skills. She allows people to take up space and share their stories with vulnerability and authenticity. She strives to be an ally in people's journey by creating an environment where they feel empowered instead of telling them "what to eat and do". She feels eating isn't meant to be filled with guilt, shame or regret, and strives to support you in freeing yourself from the dieting or disordered eating trap.
For over two decades as a leading voice and face in the fashion industry, Emme is the iconic and world renown supermodel. With the conviction that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes, Emme has paved the way and given women a voice to feel beautiful and empowered.
A TV personality, brand spokesperson, model, consultant, author, creative director of her EMME®, mebyEMME®, and TrueBeautybyEMME® clothing lines, cancer survivor, lecturer, former Revlon spokeswoman and globally recognized women’s advocate for positive body image and self-esteem, Emme’s message is clear – to awaken the inner magnificence inherent in each of us, to be whole. She is the first model invited to speak before a Congressional subcommittee in Washington, D.C. with a mission to increase public awareness of eating and body image disorders and is the co-founder in it’s 5th year with Syracuse University - a first of it’s kind, Fashion Without Limits: Changing The Face of Fashion, a inclusive global fashion design initiative, teaching future fashion designers how to design for all women size 0-24+.
After her own struggle with an eating disorder, McCall Dempsey started Southern Smash. The non-profit exists to challenges men and women to redefine their worth and beauty by letting go of those perfect numbers that weigh them down.