Team of advisors |
Supporting Organizations |
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Thank you to the following incredible team of people who have offered their expertise to make sure this video is the most educational and effective final product. I am proud to work with such an inspiring group of people.
Thanks for your support! Kyle Dine |
Thank you to the following supporting organizations who help review the video scripts to ensure accuracy with national guidelines and messaging.
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Meet the Team
Gina Clowes
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Gina Clowes is the Director of Education for Food Allergy Research &
Education (FARE), and Program Director for a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She is the founder of the online support group AllergyMoms.com serving thousands of families and professional members worldwide. A well-known speaker, coach and consultant, her advice has appeared in numerous print, radio, and television features including CNN, People magazine and ABC World News. She writes a regular column, The Parenting Coach, for Allergic Living Magazine and is the author of the best-selling children's book One of the Gang: Nurturing the Souls of Children with Food Allergies. |
Laurie Harada
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Laurie Harada is the Executive Director of Anaphylaxis Canada (since 2003), a leading Canadian allergy association. The mother of two, one of whom has multiple food allergies, Laurie is a well respected advocate for people living with food allergies. She has been instrumental in galvanizing the allergy community in Canada, raising public awareness through media interviews, and advocating for improved food labelling and ground-breaking legislation to protect students (Sabrina's Law, Ontario). She has been involved in the development of key anaphylaxis education resources (Anaphylaxis in Schools & Other Settings and www.allergyaware.ca) and has been a regular columnist in the popular Allergic Living magazine since 2005. Laurie is actively involved as a member of the Patient Organisation Committee, European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, delivering presentations at events and participating in EAACI’s Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Guidelines.
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Angelica Duenner
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Angelica Duenner is the chair of the not-for-profit, tax exempt Swiss Peanut Allergy & Anaphylaxis Association, www.peanutallergy.ch (page in German). Her son has multiple food allergies, some of them with potential anaphylactic reactions. In 2011, Angelica helped build up and since then leads this Swiss patient organization, focusing on education, and making materials on food allergies and anaphylactic reactions available. In 2014, Angelica was awarded the Swiss aha! award for building up and leading the Swiss Peanut Allergy & Anaphylaxis Association as a patient organization. The association also published three of FARE’s booklets on Alexander the elephant who couldn’t eat peanuts into German, French and Italian and runs a webshop for allergy related goods. Angelica has been instrumental in the development of the aspects of food allergy management (declarations, travelling, visits to restaurants, schools and food allergies etc.) for the Swiss anaphylaxis education resources for patients and affected families as well as for schools. Furthermore, she conducts regular meetings for the peanut and food allergy community, has cooperated with state organizations on developing information materials for schools and advocates for improved food labeling.
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Dr. Ruchi Gupta
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Ruchi Gupta, M.D., M.P.H, is Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine's Center for Healthcare Studies and the Ann and Robert H Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, where she also serves as a clinical attending.
Dr. Gupta has significant experience with community-engaged research. Her research and clinical interests include childhood food allergy and asthma and their management in a school-based context. Dr. Gupta has more than 30 peer-reviewed publications and multiple funded grants. |
Dr. Jennifer LeBovidge
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Dr. Jennifer LeBovidge is a pediatric psychologist in the Department of Allergy & Immunology at Boston’s Children’s Hospital, where she provides psychological consultation and support to children with food allergies. She has a particular interest in fostering children’s developmentally appropriate involvement in allergy management.
Dr. LeBovidge facilitates coping skills groups for children with food allergy and their parents. Her research interests focus on the psychosocial impact of food allergy, quality of life associated with oral immunotherapy, and resources to empower families of children with food allergy. Dr. LeBovidge is also a co-author of Living Confidently with Food Allergy: A Guide for Parents and Families. |
Caroline Moassessi
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Caroline Moassessi is the author and owner of the internationally followed food allergy and asthma Blogsite, The Grateful Foodie. In addition to blogging, she has written articles for Allergic Living Magazine's online newsletter, co-founded the non-profit, Northern Nevada Asthma and Food Allergy Education Group, serves on national committees and the Southwest regional board (past officer) for the American Lung Association and was the lead advocate who worked on passing mandated stock epinephrine in Nevada in addition to assisting in the writing the first school anaphylaxis policy in the state of Nevada.
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Dr. Madhavi Mallapragada
Assistant Professor
Department of Radio-TV-Film University of Texas at Austin For more, please click on Dr. Mallapragada's page on the UT website. |
Dr. Mallapragada's research interests include media activism, media for social justice, transnational media and issues of diversity and difference in communication practices. Her first book, Virtual Homelands: Indian Immigrants and Online Cultures in the United States (University of Illinois Press, 2014), explores the role of digital media in recasting ideologies of belonging and cultural citizenship for Indian immigrants in the United States.
Dr. Mallapragada is also developing a new research project, tentatively titled, "Disability Tropes in Media Culture: Debating Health, Critiquing Normativity," which challenges the idea of an ableist world by considering how mainstream media represents mental and physical disabilities through the lens of an apriori normative able body and mind. This research project considers how online networks, social media platforms and participatory cultures have created a new space for disability rights activists to call attention to issues such as stereotyping and bullying while also using the same media space to inform, educate, advocate and fund-raise. This project bridges new media studies, disability studies and medical humanities studies (medical law, policy and ethics). In addition, Dr. Mallapragada’s research has been published in several peer-reviewed media and communication journals as well as edited book anthologies. |
Penny Anderson
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I have been an elementary school teacher for 17 years. My daughter is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, and sunflower. My son is allergic to dairy, egg, peanuts, tree nuts, sesame and celery. I am currently the group leader of the Mississauga Anaphylaxis Group. I have found that navigating life with life threatening food allergies takes support, courage, and perseverance. My approach has always been to educate those around us who are unfamiliar with the daily risks that individuals with anaphylaxis face each day. I am always amazed at the maturity and responsibility that children demonstrate as they manage their daily school experiences in an environment that contains allergens.
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Gina Lee
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Gina Mennett Lee, M.Ed. works nationally and internationally as a food allergy consultant and educator through her business, FoodAllergyConsulting.com. Using her education and experience as a former teacher and trained school administrator, she specializes in food allergy management in the school setting. She holds a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Bachelor’s Degrees in both Elementary and Special Education. She is a parent to a child with food allergies as well as the founder of Food Allergy Education Network. She recently served as an expert witness in the landmark Iowa food allergy case, Knudsen vs. Tiger Tots Community Child Care Center Corporation. She has appeared in or contributed to numerous television, online, and print media sources regarding the topic of food allergy management including Food Allergy Research and Education, Kids with Food Allergies, Allergy Home, Everyday Health, and Allergic Living Magazine. She resides in Connecticut with her husband and two children.
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Justin Cunningham
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Justin Cunningham launched the mobile app, YoDish, in 2012 to enable people to quickly share restaurant dish images, information, and experiences with other people who have similar dietary profiles. After a nine-year stint advising businesses on raising capital and completing merger and acquisition transactions at McColl Partners, Justin is extremely passionate about crowdfunding’s ability to bring exciting projects to life that do not fit the narrow criteria of traditional banks or institutional investors. Justin graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a Morehead Scholar and now lives with his wife and three children - two of which have multiple life threatening food allergies - in Charlotte, North Carolina.
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Melanie is a Toronto-based set and costume designer who works primarily in the theatre world, and has done a few pretty cool things in the film/tv world. She has worked extensively with Eldritch Theatre, Videocabaret, and Theatre francais de Toronto, as well as many others ranging from tiny indie events to large scale musicals produced by the Mirvishes.
She has won a Prix Rideau and a Dora Award, and has been nominated for 3 other Doras and a few other designer awards. |
Melanie McNeill
Jessica Morris
Communications Strategist, Author, Journalist. Managing Director, JAM! PR LLC. Co-Founder, Food Allergy Network |
Jessica Ann Morris is a 20-year strategic communications and public relations veteran in the higher education/non-profit, B2B/B2C and technology arenas. With direct, in-house, agency and freelance experience, she’s an innovative team leader trusted by the C-suite to the front line for counsel, integrity and results-oriented execution. Always making creativity and enthusiasm key components of her proactive service philosophy, Jessica is also an active Boston College alum, freelance print/online journalist, and published children’s eBook author.
In addition to her many industry and volunteer affiliations, she co-founded the Food Allergy Network, a community organization that increases awareness, education and support for individuals with food allergies. |
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Leigh Ann Baker has been working as a nurse in an elementary level school and is a food allergy advocate since 2009. Her son Ethan was diagnosed with a life threatening food allergy in 2009.
Leigh Ann is a co leader of a local Dallas support Group and is eager to bring more education, concerning food allergies, through nursing to schools and her community. |
Leigh Ann Baker
Heather Mehra
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Heather Mehra is one of the creators and authors of The No Biggie Bunch® children’s book series for kids creatively coping with food allergies. Her own three kids with multiple food allergies inspired the self-published series, while keeping them empowered, prepared and positive inspires her every day.
Heather ran a successful crowdfunding campaign in early 2014 enabling distribution of The No Biggie Bunch adventures to over 500 libraries across the United States. |