Committees & Task Forces


2024-2025 Standing Committees & Task Forces

2025 ICED Scientific Program Committee

Co-Chair: April Smith

Co-Chair: Luz Scappatura

Board Liaison: Emilio Compte

Committee Members: 

  • Jennifer Campbell
  • Angelica Claudino
  • Nadia Craddock
  • Lauren Forrest
  • Kyle Ganson
  • Seena Grewal
  • Carolina Lopez
  • Jenny Loudon
  • Dianna Rancourt

Advocacy & Communication Committee

The AED Advocacy and Communications Committee identify and work on projects that support greater awareness and education about eating disorders through a variety of mediums, including written press releases and AED-supported statements, letter-writing to organizations and individuals, and collaboration with organizations that have similar goals.

Co-Chair: Jenny Loudon

Co-Chair: Amanda Raffoul

Board Liaison: Cristina Segura-Garcia

Committee Members:

  • Ariel Beccia
  • Blair Burnette
  • Emily Ferrer
  • Helen Liljenwall
  • Lilian Palmer
  • Carly Panacowski
  • Millie Plotkin
  • Natalie Szykowny

Awards and Scientific Review Committee

Through the generosity of AED members and individuals and families within our community, a number of grants and scholarships are given on a yearly basis to members of the Academy. The Awards and Scientific Review Committee selects these recipients who are subsequently honored at the International Conference on Eating Disorders (ICED).

Co-Chair:
Isabel Krug

Co-Chair: Leslie Sim

Board Liaison: Renee Rienecke

Committee Members: 

  • Heather Davis
  • K. Jean Forney
  • Rachel Kramer
  • Jamie Manwaring
  • Abigail Matthews
  • Catherine Walker

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Committee to the Board

The Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Committee is responsible for helping move both our organization and our field in the direction of being more diverse, equitable, and inclusive and strengthening our organization’s policies, initiatives, and programs.

Co-Chair: Chevese Turner

Co-Chair: Nadia Craddock

Board Liaison: Lesley Williams

Committee Members:

  • Abanoub Armanious
  • Makailah Dowell
  • Leticia Tinoco de Toledo Garcia
  • Phaedra Longhurst
  • Karen Mitchell
  • Madelaine Romito

Educational Programming Committee

The Educational Programming Committee organizes several education-related initiatives within AED, primarily the development and management of the AED webinar series. With the support of the AED staff, the EPC regularly engages with IJED article authors and colleagues around the world to develop and offer evidence-based educational content.

Co-Chair: Linda Booj

Co-Chair: Caitlin Shepherd

Board Liaison: Jennifer Wildes

Committee Members: 

  • Althea Bardin
  • Anna Ciao
  • Amy Gallop
  • Katelyn Melcher
  • Michal Rozenstein
  • Patricia Santucci
  • Colleen Schreyer
  • Peiyi Wang
  • Corina Zhao

Ethics Committee

Chair: Katharine Loeb

Board Liaison: Renee Rienecke

Committee Members:

  • Anja Hilbert
  • Rchare Kreipe
  • Lucene Wisniewski

Experts by Experience Committee

The Experts by Experience (ExE) Committee is comprised of individual AED members whose lives have been directly impacted by eating disorders (EDs).  Committee members include individuals with a personal ED history as well as those who have experience as a parent, sibling, child, spouse or other person who cares for and/or about someone with an ED. The committee values inclusivity and diversity. Members come from a variety of backgrounds and serve in many different roles as professionals and advocates within the ED field along with many other roles in fields not related to EDs. We identify as experts by virtue of direct lived experience rather than by training although many members are also professionals within the ED field.


Purpose (Mission): To integrate lived experience with research and clinical practice to better meet the needs of individuals directly impacted by eating disorders. Through collaboration with other professionals in the field we intend to build understanding, reduce stigma and discrimination, and promote inclusivity and diversity through our work. This collaboration will elevate the quality and relevance of research and clinical treatments available for those with EDs and are in keeping with AED’s stated mission, vision, and purpose.


Co-Chair: Sandi James

Co-Chair: Joanna Mercuri

Board Liaison: Erin Harrop

Committee Members:

  • Marissa Adams
  • Rosiel Elwyn
  • Laura Kenyon
  • Katelyn Melcher
  • Lori Morgan

Fellows Committee

The AED awards Fellow status to recognize distinguished contributions made by AED members in the field of eating disorders. Each year, the Fellows Committee (consisting of 3-5 Fellows of AED) reviews applications to become a Fellow and selects those AED members whose distinguished contribution is to be recognized in this way. In addition, members of the Fellows Committee organize the Meet the Expert event held annually at the International Conference for Eating Disorders and participate if they are available. 

Co-Chair: Jennifer Couturier
Co-Chair: Robyn Sysko

Board Liaison: Renee Rienecke

Committee Members: 

  • Wayne  Bowers
  • Gina Dimitropoulos
  • Allison Kelly
  • Phil Mehler

Finance Committee

The Finance Committee assists with preparation of the annual budget and advises the Board of Directors concerning its approval. The committee also advises the Board of Directors on the investment of the financial reserve and on fiscal matters throughout the year.  


Chair: 
Janet Lydecker

Board Liaison: Karen Jennings-Mathis

Committee Members: 

  • Rachel Bachner-Melman
  • Nicole Cifra
  • Esti Jacobs
  • Danyale McCurdy-McKinnon

Forum (Newsletter) Committee

The Forum Committee is responsible for producing AED's quarterly newsletter. 

Editor: Andie Chilson

Board Liaison: Cristina Segura-Garcia

Book Reviewers: 

  • Amanda Bruening
  • Leslie Sim

Medical Care Standards Committee (MCSC)

The Medical Care Standards Committee is responsible for ensuring the Medical Care Standards Guide remains up to date and relevant, seeking endorsements from other professional organizations and facilitating the distribution of the guide. We also work with other committees of AED to make sure that that any care guidelines related to care of Eating Disorder patients are up to date. 

Co-Chair: Amanda Downey

Co-Chair: Allison Nitsch

Board Liaison: Jennifer Wildes

Committee Members:

  • Laura Bridge
  • Stephanie Conrad
  • Scott  Crow
  • Jennifer Goetz
  • Meredith Kells
  • Fonseca Martinez
  • Molly Perlman
  • Millie Plotkin
  • Kaitlin Slaven

Advisors

  • Rebecca Boswell
  • Brooks Brodrick
  • Nicole Cifra
  • Diane DerMarderosian
  • Suzanne Dooley-Hash
  • Vikas Duvvuri
  • Angela Guarda
  • Beth Hartman McGilley
  • Kerri Heckert
  • Debra Katzman
  • Judy  Krasna
  • Jessica Moore
  • Josie Neale
  • Rebecka Peebles
  • Ellen Rome
  • Lori Schur
  • Sebastian Soneira
  • Mark Warren
  • Therese Waterhous
  • Lesley Williams

Member Retention/Recruitment Committee

The MRRC is an active committee that generates initiatives to better serve the needs of AED members. We host the annual Mentor/Mentee event at ICED, engage with members via surveys and other activities to ensure that members needs are being met. We also work with other AED committees on various projects and tasks throughout the year.

Co-Chair: Samantha Hahn

Co-Chair: Danyale McCurdy-McKinnon

Board Liaison: Leslie Karwoski Anderson

Committee Members: 

  • Emily Ferrer
  • Naomi Hill
  • Sandi James
  • Amanda Lehner
  • Amy Mack
  • Abby Sarrett-Cooper
  • Courtney Simpson

Nominations Committee

Chair/Board Liaison: Kelly Bhatnagar

Committee Members: 

  • Ursula Bailer
  • Jennifer Lundgren
  • Lauren  Muhlheim
  • Jennifer Thomas
  • Eva Trujillo
  • Eric Van Furth

Online and Social Media Committee

The AED Online and Social Media Committee (OSMC) supports the marketing and communication functions of the AED by providing in-field expertise on major marketing campaigns and by communicating mission-relevant information to membership and the general public through online and social media posts.  The committee also supports the AED management in website updates and redesign, as well as monitoring and managing communications in the AED Online Community.

Co-Chair:
Anna Karam Jones

Co-Chair: Gabrielle McDonough

Board Liaison: Rebecka Peebles

Committee Members:

  • Sarah Chiao
  • Rachel Dufour
  • Kirstie Herb Neff
  • Blakely Hunze
  • Kristen Lohse
  • Hilary Stein
  • Wanqing Xu

Partnership, Chapter & Affiliate Committee

Co-Chair: Karin Waldherr

Board Liaison: Cristina Segura- Garcia

Committee Members: 

  • Stephen Anderson
  • Tiffany Brown
  • Kiera Buchanan
  • Kiran Chitale
  • Macarena  Cruz
  • Carine El Khazen Hadati
  • Hermien  Elgersma
  • Hans-Christoph Friederich
  • Bonnie Harkin
  • Michal Hason Rozenstein
  • Guenole Huon de Penanster
  • Anna Jakobs Danielsson
  • Gundrum Kristmanndottir
  • Ashish Kumar
  • Umberto Nizzoli
  • Mayaro Ortega Luyando
  • Hana Papezova
  • Renee Prijatelj
  • Ellen Rome
  • Janice Russell
  • Ana Rosa Sepulveda
  • Sebastian Soneira
  • Olga Sushko
  • Kritika  Tiwari
  • Lena Westin
  • Lars Woeckel
  • Kazuhiro Yoshiuchi

Research-Practice Committee

The Research Practice Committee focuses on fostering the connection between eating disorders research and practice, and works via sub-committees and projects such as Forum Articles, Guest Blogging for AED website, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Promotion, and the ICED Research Practice Global Think Tank session.

Co-Chair:
Kristen Anderson

Co-Chair: Helena Lewis-Smith

Board Liaison: Jennifer Wildes

Committee Members: 

  • Sarah Altman
  • Althea Bardin
  • Kayla Costello
  • Seena Grewal
  • Katie Loth
  • Melinda Parisi Cummings
  • Leslie Sim
  • Jessica Van Huysse

Special Interest Groups Oversight Committee

The Special Interest Groups (SIG) Oversight Committee (SOC) supports the (approximately 30) AED SIGs throughout the year and at the annual conference. We help SIG co-chairs organize ICED SIG Discussion Panels, SIG meetings, and other virtual events to engage SIG members effectively.

Co-Chair: Abby Sarrett-Cooper
Co-Chair: Jennifer Campbell

Board Liaison: Leslie Karwoski Anderson

Committee Members:

  • Marissa Adams
  • Kimberly Claudat
  • Amy Egbert
  • Anita Federici
  • Kaila Peak-Rishel
  • Therese Waterhous
  • Wanqing Xu


About AED Committee Service

Committee volunteers are the lifeblood of the Academy for Eating Disorders, and our committees are a crucial part of our success. Committee volunteers serve three-year terms, during which they have the opportunity to collaborate with like-minded professionals and contribute their expertise to advance our mission. Our committees meet monthly via Zoom, making it convenient for members across the globe to connect and engage with their peers. Meeting times are arranged to accommodate the majority of committee members, ensuring that everyone has an opportunity to participate. Outside of regular meetings, the time commitment varies depending on the projects a committee is undertaking, but typically does not exceed several hours per month. Each committee is led by two co-chairs who are selected from among interested committee members. Committee membership is an excellent way to take an active role in the organization and gain valuable leadership experience. Several members of AED's leadership started as committee members, demonstrating the importance of this role in developing future leaders in the field of eating disorders. Join our community of passionate volunteers and help us make a difference!

The call for volunteers opens in the early spring each year and is publicized via email, social media, and AED's online communities. Volunteer terms begin and end at AED's ICED conference.  Applicants will be able to apply to up to three committees that align with their interests and will need to submit their CV along with a letter of interest for each committee. Volunteers must be (or be willing to become) AED members and maintain their membership throughout their volunteer term.