Feature Friday: Johanna Kandel, Founder/CEO of The Alliance for Eating Disorder Awareness

Happy Friday from the BALANCE team! This week, we are excited to feature Johanna Kandel, the founder & CEO of Alliance For Eating Disorder Awareness.

Johanna is an inspiring speaker and advocate as well as the author of Life Beyond Your Eating Disorder. With it being Mental Health Awareness Month, we could not think of a more perfect time to honor Johanna’s great work in being a fierce advocate for those struggling with eating disorders!

Johanna was inspired to create the Alliance after her own experience recovering from a ten-year-long battle with an eating disorder. The Alliance is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing programs and activities aimed at outreach, education, and early intervention for all eating disorders. Her work since starting The Alliance in 2000 has raised awareness and eliminated stigma for those who are currently struggling or have recovered from eating disorders.

Johanna is the immediate Past President of the Board of Directors for the Eating Disorders Coalition, member of the Academy for Eating Disorders Advisory Board, founding board member of the Eating Disorders Activist Network, and a member of the Eating Disorders Leadership Summit. She even was a part of the first-ever Eating Disorder Roundtable at the White House!

Today, the Alliance hosts multiple free and open support groups weekly for adults and teens in recovery. The Alliance now also offers a program called Psychological Services that aids those who are uninsured or underinsured in the community. This life-saving treatment is provided by post doctoral fellows in an outpatient setting. Most incredibly, The Alliance launched a free comprehensive and interactive eating disorder treatment provider directory you can find here.

The Alliance continuously connects and inspires people to find recovery and freedom from their own eating disorders. BALANCE sincerely thanks Johanna for her continued advocacy work!

You can learn more or support The Alliance by visiting their website here.

Make sure to follow The Alliance on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram.