Get Help Today Donate Now Join NEDA
About Us
National Eating Disorders Association
About Us

A message from our CEO

“NEDA is here to support the millions of families whose loved ones are battling eating disorders. How do we do it? By offering the latest information, resources, action-oriented advocacy and media campaigns to educate the public and policymakers and, most importantly, a sense of community to people often feeling alone and overwhelmed in their struggle to access quality, affordable care.”

– Lynn Grefe, NEDA CEO

Home > About Us > Leadership

Meet the leaders of the National Eating Disorders Association.

Headquartered in Seattle, with an executive office in New York City, the National Eating Disorders Association is staffed by a dozen full-time professionals, several part-time employees and many dedicated volunteers. In addition, we are fortunate to work with an elite group of individuals who comprise our Board of Directors, Founder’s Council, Clinical Scientific Advisory Council, and Ambassadors’ Council.


Board of Directors

The Board of Directors is composed of members from the corporate, medical and philanthropic arenas, with some also representing the constituents we serve.

Robbie Munn, MA, MSW, Chair
Charlottesville, Virginia

Bob Kovarik, Vice Chair
Oakton, VA

Russell Marx, MD, Treasurer
Princeton, New Jersey

Kimberli McCallum, MD, Secretary
St. Louis, Missouri

Amy Baker Dennis, PhD
Troy, Michigan

Deb Belfatto
Summit, New Jersey 

Ovidio Bermudez, MD
Tulsa, Oklahoma

Mary Curran
West Simsbury, CT

Elizabeth Fenn
Minneapolis, MN

John A. (Buddy) Howard
Raleigh, North Carolina

Roberta Katz, PhD, JD
Palo Alto, California

Walter Kaye, MD
San Diego, California

Phoebe Megna
Darien, Connecticut

Don Nielsen
Seattle, Washington

Dorothy Sprague
New York, New York

Diana Williams
New York, New York

back to top


Staff

Lynn S. Grefe, MA, Chief Executive Officer (New York)

Dee Christoff, MA, Vice President of Administration and Development 

Laurie Vanderboom, Director of Programs

Maggie Yoshinaga, Director of Finance

Andrew Beyer, Development Assistant

Lara Gregorio, LCSW, STAR Program Manager (Maryland)

Susan Roman, MA, Program Coordinator

April Snow, Development Associate

Paige Stombaugh, Office Assistant

S. William Walters, MA, Helpline Supervisor

Unless otherwise specified, the staff are located in Seattle.

back to top

Founder’s Council

The Founders of NEDA include past board members of two founding organizations and others who were critical to the development of this national movement and the formation of the National Eating Disorders Association. In acknowledgment of their many years of dedication and service, the council is one way to support their continued engagement, involvement and connection to one another – and with NEDA. The board members came from two founding organizations Eating Disorders Awareness and Prevention (EDAP) and American Anorexia Bulimia Association of New York (AABA).

Mary Pabst, LCSWC, Chair

Judi Goldstein, MSW, LSW, Co-Chair

Catherine Baker, MSW

Nancy Bravman, CSW

Doug Bunnell, PhD

Leigh Cohn

Lindsey Hall Cohn

Bill Davis, PhD

Amy Baker Dennis, PhD

Ilene Fishman, CSW

Michelle Hirsch, MD

Adele Holman, DSW

Craig Johnson, PhD

Sondra Kronberg, MS, RD, CDN

Marjorie Laird, PhD, MFCC

Michael Levine, PhD

Paula Levine, PhD

Anita Sinicrope Maier, MSW

Margo Maine, PhD

Russell Marx, MD

Diane Mickley, MD

Charles Murkofsky, MD

Melissa Nielsen

Jean Rubel

Joan Petty, RN, CS, NPP

Niva Piran, PhD

Morisa Schiff-Mayer, MD

Joseph Sultan

Natalia Zunino, PhD

Steve Zimmer, CSW

back to top

Clinical Scientific Advisory Council

The Clinical and Scientific Advisory Council (CSAC) is comprised of highly respected, nationally recognized experts who provide clinical and scientific counsel, guidance and advice to NEDA Board, staff and committees to further NEDA’s mission. The Council serves as a resource in ensuring that NEDA programs and materials maintain high standards of accuracy and clinical integrity.


CHAIR: Dianne Neumark-Sztainer
, PhD, MPH, RD
Professor, School of Public Health
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN

Catherine Baker-Pitts
, CSW
Founder of American Anorexia Bulimia Association
New York, NY

Amy Baker-Dennis, PhD
Dennis & Moye & Associates
Psychologist
Bloomfield Hills, MI

Pamela Carlton, MD
Adolescent Medicine
Palo Alto, CA

James Hudson
, MD, ScD
Associate Chief of the Biological Psychiatry Laboratory
McLean Hospital
Belmont, MA

Karin Kratina, PhD, RD, LD/N
Nutrition Therapist
Nutrition Therapy Associates
Gainesville, FL

Daniel F. Le Grange, PhD
Professor of Psychiatry
Director, Eating Disorders Program
Department of Psychiatry
The University of Chicago
Chicago, IL

Michael Levine, PhD
Professor
Psychology Department
Kenyon College
Gambier, OH

James Lock, MD
, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Medical Director
Comprehensive Pediatric Care Unit
Stanford School of Medicine
Stanford University
Stanford, CA

Russell Marx, MD
Medical Director
Eating Disorders Program
University Medical Center at Princeton
Princeton, New Jersey

James E. Mitchell
, III MD
President & Scientific Director
Neuropsychiatric Research Institute
Fargo, ND

Charles Murkofsky, MD
Eating Diseases Specialist
Gracie Square Hospital
New York, NY

Cheryl L. Rock, PhD, RD
Professor
Dept of Family & Preventative Medicine
University of California San Diego
La Jolla, CA

Linda Smolak, PhD
Professor
Department of Psychology
Kenyon College
Gambier, OH

Steve Wonderlich
, PhD
Director of Clinical Research
Neuropsychiatric Research Institute
Fargo, ND

Nancy L. Zucker, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Psychiatry, Medical Center
Duke University
Durham, NC

back to top


Ambassadors’ Council

The Ambassadors Council is composed of people who have generously agreed to use their celebrity on behalf of NEDA to generate awareness of eating disorders and to advance NEDA’s mission.

Emme, Chair
Supermodel, TV host, author and clothing designer

Paula Abdul
Singer, choreographer, dancer, actor

Judy Avrin
Documentary Film Maker, Someday Melissa

Bradley Bayou
Fashion Designer

Zina Garrison
Professional tennis champion and gold medalist

Jean Kilbourne, EdD
Author, documentarian, and social theorist

Justin Ly
US Figure Skating Jr. National Team

Kristen Moeller
Life coach, author

Karla Mosley
TV actor (Guiding Light)

Scarlett Pomers
Singer, actor (Reba)

Jenni Schaefer
Author and motivational speaker

Jamie-Lynn Sigler
Actor (The Sopranos)

Kelly Sullivan
Broadway actor (Young Frankenstein)

Carré Otis Sutton
Supermodel, author, producer, activist

Whitney Thompson
Model, speaker

Matan Uziel
Senior Executive of Verbmodels, Inc. and Founder of Warmhome Media Group

Jessica Weiner
Author, lecturer and actionist

back to top

Junior Board

NEDA’s Junior Board -- officially launched in January 2008, is an exciting new structure within the NEDA framework to build young philanthropy, leadership, advocates and policy makers within the field of eating disorders. The individuals of the Junior Board have pledged to assist the work of the organization through its mission and financially. One of its primary goals is to build awareness for the cause on college campuses through National Eating Disorders Awareness Week.

The Jr. Board hopes to expand with more members to build a strong leadership team. We are thrilled to have the following core group of individuals:

Allison Kreiger, Chair
Orlando, FL

Leslie Lipton
New York, NY

Rory Michaels
New York, NY

Shelly Steinwurtzel
New York, NY

Sherrie Vassallo
New York, NY

The Junior Board is supported by Dr. Ovidio Bermudez, past NEDA Board Chair and current Board member and Lynn Grefe, CEO. 

back to top