Wendie Trubow, MD, MBA, is a board certified Obstetrician/Gynecologist with a focus on Functional Medicine and wellness, is the co-founder and president of Five Journeys. Five Journeys is a wellness practice founded on the belief that every person is meant to be healthy, vital and energetic until they are 100 years old.  Using Five Journeys’ unique approach of evaluating a patient’s physical, chemical, emotional, energetic and spiritual health, Dr. Trubow works with her patients to design a custom plan that is both effective and sustainable.  She believes that food and lifestyle are the core keys to health, and works hard to practice what she preaches.  When not at work, she can be found playing with her family, cooking, blogging, and doing martial arts.

While our Clerk, Sherryl Radbil, does not have CD herself, her husband and three of their four children do, along with two aunts and several cousins. With support of The Healthy Villi and then NECO, Sherryl went from never having heard of CD, to transforming their home to a completely gluten free environment while adapting the family’s favorite recipes. Sherryl is passionate about supporting the gluten-free community and loves interacting with our members. She has a bachelors degree in Computer and Information Science from UMass Amherst and is a software engineer supporting e-commerce websites. In her spare time she loves to play with her two grandchildren, read, hike, bike, kayak and combine all those while camping on Cape Cod.

John Briggs is a retired investment professional who joined the National Celiac Association Board in 2017. John spent over 35 years in the investment business, 30 of which were with Salomon Brothers in sales and sales management. He recently served 7 years as the Treasurer and as a Governor of the Dedham Country and Polo Club. He is currently on the Board of the Phillips Pond Club where he lives and previously served on the Planning Board in Dover, Massachusetts. In addition to four children and five grandchildren his interests include golf, gardening, painting and current events. John is a graduate of Boston University and lives in South Natick, Massachusetts.

Christopher Mirick brings over 20 years of legal experience to the NCA board.  Chris is the Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Adviser Investments. Previously, Chris spent four years as general counsel to operating companies and a venture capital fund, focused on environmental sustainability issues. Prior to that, Chris was a partner in two international law firms, and his practice focused on complex corporate transactions and restructurings, in a wide variety of industries including energy, telecommunications, hotel management, health care, retail goods, computer software, internet security, and biotechnology.  In addition to NCA, Chris serves on the board of Greater Boston Legal Services. Chris received a B.A in Economics and History from Amherst College, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking and backpacking, particularly in Baxter State Park in Maine, and is working on perfecting a gluten-free home-brewed beer. Chris lives in Wellesley, MA with his wife and two children.

A 17-year veteran of the toy industry, Kim Boyd is Senior Vice President of US Marketing for Hasbro. She provides vision, leadership, planning and direction of all marketing activities for the US. Kim is co-founder for the company’s Women’s Leadership Network, she is passionate about building an inclusive workplace where female leaders thrive, and as a mother of identical twin daughters, she understands the importance of female leadership and equality. Kim was recognized as a Women in Toy “Wonder Woman” in 2016 for her contributions to the industry. Prior to Hasbro, Kim held positions at LEGO Systems. Kim holds a bachelors from Trinity College and a MBA from Babson College’s F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business. Kim resides in Boston’s South End with her family.

Jeff takes early stage concepts and builds corporate and investor value through individual contributions and the creation of the team, strategy and partner eco-systems required for success. He has been the VP of Mobile & Wireless for ZINK Imaging, the Senior VP at HighPoint Systems and the CEO at Attain. Jeff is currently the founder at SportingPhotoArt.com in the Greater Boston area and Ontario, Canada.

Professor Nick Washienko has taught at Boston University for the past 25 years, and for the past 12 years at the School of Hospitality Administration. He has taught courses in Hospitality Law, Business Ethics, and Managerial Communications. He holds a PhD from Boston University. While working at the University he also earned his JD from the Boston University School of Law.

Nicholas Washienko has helped senior executives prepare for business critical presentations for over thirty years. His client list includes Fortune 500 companies and he has traveled extensively throughout the world consulting to international companies. 

Lee joined NCA in 1997, became its president in 2006, and its Executive Director in 2014. She was diagnosed with celiac disease as a baby (which she was told she “grew out of”) and re-diagnosed in 1995. She experienced over 40 years of  illness, fatigue, and struggles until finally, with a proper diagnosis, the gluten-free diet became a way of life.

Trained as an Experiential Facilitator, for many years she ran Values & Leadership Trainings and Group Dynamics Courses for non-profits around the country. She was the lead trainer for Communication & Conflict Management courses for inmates at both Framingham and Walpole State Prisons for seven years. She has been on the Board of Governors of the Dedham Country & Polo Club, and founded a day camp in 1992 which runs successfully to this day. Her experience lies with administration, company governance, consensus building, and conflict resolution. In her spare time she enjoys entertaining, playing tennis, walking, and reading. Her ultimate joy is being with her large and thoroughly delightful family.

Kim Buckton is the managing director of NCA and has been involved at NECO since 2011. She enjoys working with Lee Graham and other Board Members, and spends her time improving the NCA website, writing the NCA News, a monthly e-newsletter, editing the Gluten-Free Nation magazine and organizing events. Kim was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2003, and enjoys helping others live a healthy gluten-free life. In her spare time, Kim keeps busy with her family. She has three children, one of whom has celiac disease, and all of whom play multiple sports.

Carla Carter is an occupational therapist who has worked with adults and geriatrics in various settings since 2002. She has a diverse medical background through her exposure to both standard and challenging medical diagnoses, as well as working with those afflicted with celiac disease in their late stage of diagnosis and life.

Personally, she is a wife and mom of two lovely children and has been diagnosed with celiac disease for over eighteen years and more recently, her seven year old having been diagnosed at age two and a half. They live and breathe the gluten-free lifestyle daily, to say the least.

Since 2006, she has served the National Celiac Association as a volunteer, holding various roles while residing on the Advisory Board.  Over the years, she has excitedly witnessed the growth of NCA and was happy to transition her role as staff in 2017.

Katarina is a Registered Dietitian and NCA’s Director of Education.  She was diagnosed with celiac disease when she was just three years old.  She knows firsthand what it is like to be a kid, a teen and an adult living with celiac disease.  She also has two young daughters with celiac disease, adding in the parent perspective of managing the disease and the gluten-free diet.

Katarina’s passion for celiac advocacy led her to a career as a Registered Dietitian.  She has a Bachelor of Science in Food and Nutrition, and a Master of Education in Nutrition Education from Framingham State University, with the final graduate project focusing on nutrition education for patients with celiac disease and how to reduce inadvertent gluten exposure in their daily lives.

She has enjoyed doing work for NCA since 2006, in various capacities such as workshop instructor, support group facilitator, advisory board member, and most recently working with the ROCK program.

In her free time, she enjoys doing nutrition research, cooking (gluten-free!), reading and spending time with her kids.

Liza began her journey with NCA back in 2009 when it was called the Healthy Villi. After years of her children having health issues, she discovered all three kids had celiac disease as well as other food allergies and sensitivities. Her children were ages 9, 11, and 13 at the time of diagnosis, and Liza was also diagnosed shortly after. She learned all she could about raising children with celiac disease and became creative in changing the family’s diet. She has used her experiences and research to be a resource for other parents, providing guidance for newly diagnosed families from elementary school through the college years.

Liza left her corporate career when her children were young to open her own business. She ran a successful childcare and preschool in her home for 11 years and currently works part time managing the New England office for a California-based law firm. She has volunteered for NCA throughout this time and is excited to take on her new role as part of the administrative team.