Board of Directors
Bridget Whitlow, LMFT, President
Bridget Whitlow, MS, LMFT is a clinical psychotherapist that provides psychotherapy for adolescent and adult individuals, couples, families, and groups. Bridget has clinical expertise in the treatment of eating disorders, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder and is trained in multiple treatment modalities, including family-based "Maudsley" therapy, cognitive processing therapy, and dialectical behavioral therapy. Throughout her clinical training, Bridget has also been actively involved in research projects and most recently worked as one of the lead clinicians at UCSD's Eating Disorders Treatment and Research Program on a multi-site NIMH study that compared two types of family therapy for adolescents with anorexia. Bridget currently serves as the President, and has served as the Resources Chair, Secretary, and social media editor for EDRS, Inc. Additionally, Bridget is a member of the Academy for Eating Disorders and serves on its Social Media Committee. Bridget earned her M.S. in Clinical Psychology from San Francisco State University, where she conducted research on twin-sibling competition for her masters thesis. She completed her undergraduate work at Mills College and was awarded the Zimmer Prize upon graduation for academic excellence and community service. Bridget currently has a private practice in San Rafael and also practices with an outpatient team at Baywell Psychiatry Group in San Francisco. For more information on Bridget, visit her site at www.bridgetwhitlow.com. You can also reach her directly at 415.827.0283. You can also connect with Bridget on Twitter: @bridgetwhitlow.
Haleh Kashani, Ph.D., Immediate Past-President
Haleh Kashani, Ph.D. is the Immediate Past President of the Board of Directors of EDRS, Inc., and has been a licensed psychologist in clinical practice for over 20 years. Dr. Kashani specializes in the treatment of eating disorders with adults and adolescents.
Dr. Kashani is currently in private practice in Marin County and works at the Outpatient Eating Disorders program at Kaiser Permanente in San Rafael, which she created and directed for the past 10 years. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Minnesota with Cum Laude honors in 1983 and her Doctoral degree in clinical psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology in Berkeley in 1988.
In addition to her practice, Dr. Kashani has been actively involved in training professionals in the field of eating disorders as well as providing support and education to parents and community groups on this topic. For more information regarding her private practice, speaking engagements, or professional training, please contact her at 415.898.9839 or by email at http://www.halehkashaniphd.com.
Dr. Kashani is currently in private practice in Marin County and works at the Outpatient Eating Disorders program at Kaiser Permanente in San Rafael, which she created and directed for the past 10 years. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Minnesota with Cum Laude honors in 1983 and her Doctoral degree in clinical psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology in Berkeley in 1988.
In addition to her practice, Dr. Kashani has been actively involved in training professionals in the field of eating disorders as well as providing support and education to parents and community groups on this topic. For more information regarding her private practice, speaking engagements, or professional training, please contact her at 415.898.9839 or by email at http://www.halehkashaniphd.com.
Michelle Minero, MFT, Founder and Former Director
Michelle Minero, the founder and former director of Eating Disorder Recovery Support (EDRS, Inc.) graduated from the University of San Francisco with a B.A. in psychology in 1976 and a master in counseling in 1988. Michelle has worked in the field of eating disorders since the early 1990s. As her work progressed in the field of eating disorders treatment it became clear that a treatment team was needed to be successful in this work. With this as a focus, Michelle developed the Quest Intensive Outpatient Eating Disorders Program in collaboration with many talented providers in the year 2000. She was the program director from 2000 to 2002. Michelle has a private practice in Petaluma, California where she enjoys working mainly with individual clients with eating disorders. She also works with individuals, couples, groups and families on a wide spectrum of concerns. For more information regarding private practice, contact Michelle at 707.762.4016. To learn more about Michelle, read an article here and listen to her 1/9/11 interview on Big Blend Radio here. Also check out Michelle's website The Self-Love Diet, her online community the Love Warrior Community, her group self-love blog, Self-Love Warrior and find Michelle on Twitter and Facebook.
Veronica Benjamin, MPH, RD, Vice-President and Acting Treasurer
Ronnie is a Nutrition therapist who has worked as a
nutritionist counselor for over 25 years. She received her Masters in Public
Health Nutrition for UC Berkeley, and is currently a member of the EDRS Board
and Committee. She was a team member of Quest, an extensive outpatient program
treating Eating Disorders, for 6 years. She was affiliated with the Center for
Well Being for 5 years teaching diabetes and weight management classes. Ronnie has strong commitment and dedication to nutrition and
wellness on both a personal and professional level. She has experience and
in-depth knowledge of nutrition in areas such as eating disorders, disordered
eating, diabetes, childhood nutrition, cardiovascular disease, and weight
management. Ronnie is not only an exceptional nutritionist but has a
unique ability to bring the human experience and spiritual awareness into her work, helping her clients deal
with and overcome their health issues. She currently has a private practice
here in Petaluma and speaks for varying conferences and organizations at public
venues.
Joan Thompson, Outreach Coordinator
Joan Thompson is the EDRS, Inc. Outreach Coordinator, that helps put together programs, coordinating with community partners, and serving as a liason with families in need of information. Additionally, Joan serves as the outreach coordinator for the Petaluma Healthcare District and is instrumental in the ANAD group, facilitating the parent support group which is held weekly. Please contact Joan through this website.
Mary Fiumara, LCSW, Education Chair
Mary C. Fiumara, LCSW is EDRS, Inc.'s Chair of the Education Series. She has been working with eating disorder clients and their familes since 1985 when she was part of the original staff of the Renfrew Center in Philadelphia, PA. Since, she has developed and implemented various eating disorder programs, facilitated workshops on eating disorder awareness and prevention at organizations, universities, and businesses. She had also worked at the Quest Eating Disorders Program. Currently, Mary is the manager of Social Service and the Rehabilitation departments at Creekside Mental Health, a residential facility for the chronically mentally ill. Mary received her MS in 1984 from Byrn Mawer College, PA on a full scholarship, and a BSW and Women's Studies Certificate from Rutgers University in 1982. She has been published in the Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions in 2001. Mary has a private practice in Santa Rosa treating people with eating disorders. She can be reached at 707-236-2894 or maryfiumara@comcast.net and her website is www.maryfiumara.com.
Dr. Barbara Birsinger, Outreach and Public Relations Coordinator
Barbara Birsinger, ThD, MPH, RD, is EDRS, Inc.'s Outreach and Public Relations Coordinator Chair. She is a Medical Nutrition Therapist, Licensed HeartMath® Practitioner for Stress Release and Eating Anxiety, Spiritual Health Counselor, and she is currently completing Master NLP Practitioner Certification Training from NLP-Marin. She specializes in the spirituality and soulful purpose in eating and weight issues, working with individuals and groups for over 28 years to promote intuitive nutrition and health. Barbara works with clients across the spectrum of eating disorders, to feel at peace with food, experience joy and vitality in their body, and to find true nourishment and their passion in life. Much of her approach based on the healing of her own eating disorder, from research, clinical practice and from others whom she has worked and shared experiences. Mother of two young adults, and recovered nearly 30 years, Barbara is passionate about helping others heal. She is authoring a book on her popular, self-discovery process, Decoding the Spiritual and Symbolic Meaning in Hungers, Food Cravings, Body Talk and Weight, which also served as her Theology Doctorate Dissertation in Spiritual Healing and Energy Medicine. Barbara practices with the Integrative Medical Clinic of Santa Rosa, Community for Spiritual Living Petaluma’s Well-Being Center, The Body Positive Institute’s Intuitive Eating Consultant www.TheBodyPositive.org, and is also a Board Member with Andrea’s Voice Foundation, www.andreasvoice.org. Information about Barbara’s programs and services, included the “Advanced Professional Training: Decoding the Meaning and Purpose in Disordered Eating and Weight-Related Behaviors”, can be found on her website: www.BarbaraBirsinger.com. She can be reached at 1+888-243-9582, or by email. Connect with Barbara on Twitter: @IntuitiveTwEAT.
Karen Nemrow, M.A., MFT, Secretary
Karen Nemrow is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who enjoys working with individuals and couples, specializing in helping women, teens and their families navigate through life transitions and chronic illness.
Karen has a private practice in Petaluma, California, and outside of her practice she has also worked as a counselor with at risk teens at both the High School and Junior High level. Before going into private practice she was trained at Hospice of Petaluma and Memorial Hospice as a bereavement counselor, and had the honor of helping people find ways to get through their most difficult times of grief and loss.
Learn more about Karen at karennemrow.com. Get in touch with Karen by emailing her at Therapy@KarenNemrow.com or calling her at 707-765-4999.
Karen has a private practice in Petaluma, California, and outside of her practice she has also worked as a counselor with at risk teens at both the High School and Junior High level. Before going into private practice she was trained at Hospice of Petaluma and Memorial Hospice as a bereavement counselor, and had the honor of helping people find ways to get through their most difficult times of grief and loss.
Learn more about Karen at karennemrow.com. Get in touch with Karen by emailing her at Therapy@KarenNemrow.com or calling her at 707-765-4999.
