Carolyn Cohen, Co-Founder

No stranger to building socially innovative education programs from the ground up, Carolyn joined the founding staff of the Institute for Collaborative Education in 1998. The challenges of working in a startup environment with limited fiscal resources did little to stop Carolyn from fulfilling her passion for working with at-risk youth in underserved communities. Carolyn played a key role in helping to transform ICE into a rigorous, competitive and sought after public middle and high school. At ICE, Carolyn served as the Head of the Humanities Department, the Director of Admissions and liason to the Consortium of Alternative High Schools in New York City.  As the Director of the Senior Internship Program, she worked with hundreds of ICE students to match, mentor, and support them through their internship experience across multiple partners throughout the city. This experience underscored for Carolyn the critical and meaningful role of education and empowerment in the lives of NYC youth.  

A product of the New York City public school system, Carolyn graduated from Brown University, holds a Masters in Education from the New School For Social Research, and recently graduated from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition where she received her Health Coach Certification from the Association for Drugless Practitioners. Carolyn lives with her husband and two children in New York City.


Deborah Lewison-Grant, Co-Founder

Deborah came to teaching after working as a financial underwriter in the insurance industry. Looking to fuse progressive theories of education with the practice of teaching in an urban setting, Deborah enrolled at Teachers College Columbia University. During this time she worked for the National Center for Restructuring Education Schools and Teaching (NCREST) and played a key role in researching and analyzing the benefits of small schools for at-risk teenagers. Graduating with a dual Masters degree in Deaf Education and English, Deborah taught in several New York City public high schools. Deborah returned to Columbia University to earn a doctorate in Curriculum and Teaching with a focus on enriching student-teacher interactions in the classroom. She lives in New York City with her husband and two children.


Interns:

Mitch Bloom
Currently in his second semester of his Masters in Food Studies Program at NYU, Mitch brings a great passion for changing lives through food and maximizing the efficacy of nonprofit initiatives.

Johanna Johnson
After spending several years in the financial and advertising fields, Johanna is glad to bring her talents to FoodFight via the marketing department.

McKenzie Largay
Currently a senior studying Psychology at Columbia University, McKenzie has found a true passion in health education

Ruthie Lazenby
Since graduating from Wesleyan University, Ruthie has been pursuing her lifelong interest in dairy farming and sustainable agriculture.

Alex Roem
After graduating from Fairfield University, Alex has spent her time working for non-profit groups focused on sustainability and food activism.

Medical Program Coordinator:
 
Tracy Breen, MD
Dr. Tracy L. Breen is a full time faculty member in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Bone Diseases at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.  As the Clinical Director of the Mount Sinai Diabetes Center, she is involved with educational and quality improvement initiatives aimed at improving the care of individuals with diabetes in the hospital and in the community.

Culinary Program Coordinator:

Dave Nuss
Dave Nuss is a graduate of the Natural Gourmet Institute in NYC, and is now a Culinary and Nutrition Instructor for Children's Aid Society and the Sylvia Center , working exclusively with children age 7- 18. His mission is to impart basic culinary concepts as well as the fundamentals of conscious consumption, exploring how food affects one's mind, body, and spirit.

Nutrition Content Providers:

Lauren Dinour, MPH RD CDN
Lauren is a Registered Dietitian and Nutrition Consultant in NYC. Currently a Public Health doctoral student at the CUNY Graduate Center, Lauren's passion for obesity prevention has allowed her to work on several public health projects with the NYC Department of Health, Head Start, and other community-based organizations.

Julie Negrin, M.S., C.N.
Julie is a certified nutritionist and cooking instructor who's work has been featured in newspapers, magazines, radio programs, CBS Nightly News with Katie Couric and the Today Show. In 2008, she was on Sesame Street teaching children how to cook. She just published her first cookbook, Easy Meals to Cook with Kids, for adults who want to cook with kids ages two years old and up.

Ilaria St. Florian, M.S., R.D.
Ilaria has a Master's degree in Nutrition Education from Columbia University and is a Registered Dietitian. She is a Clinical Dietitian at Stamford Hospital and a health and nutrition writer.

Pauline Newman
Pauline Newman is a certified health coach who has extensive experience working as a nutritionist and educator. Since 2008, Pauline has taught nutrition classes and led workshops for various audiences with topics ranging from basic nutrition and wellness to chronic illness prevention and treatment.