Susan Peirce Thompson, Ph.D. is an expert in the psychology of eating.Adjunct Associate Professor, Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Univesity of Rochester, President of the Institute for Sustainable Weight Loss and the founder of the worldwide Bright Line Eating movement. Her first two books, including “Bright Line Eating: The Science of Living Happy, Thin, and Free,” became New York Times bestsellers

Dr. Tarman is the author of “Food Junkies: The Truth About Food Addiction”, and “Food Junkies: Recovery from Food Addiction”, the seminal food addiction texts used in food addiction programs and trainings. She spearheaded the first in-patient and out-patient programs in Canada for food addiction. A medical pioneer in the field of compulsive overeating and food addiction, she has treated hundreds of food addiction patients.

Karla is a Registered Therapeutic Counselor (in Canada) specializing in the treatment of food addiction. Having began her journey in food addiction recovery with INFACT, she currently works as a group facilitator, educator, counsellor and recovery coach for SHiFT Recovery by Acorn

Ph.D. in Counseling and Counselor Education; Addictions, Masters; Agency Counseling

Agnes Thora has worked part time as a Food Addiction Counselor at the MFM Food Addiction Treatment Center in Iceland, since 2006. Her specialty is teaching and cooking delicious abstinent food for Food Addiction Recovery, for students and clients from around the world. Agnes Thora is one of the founders and a board-member of Matarheill, a rights movement for food addicts in Iceland. She is a food addict in recovery with the help of a 12 step program since 2004.

Nicole m. Avena, PhD., is a world-renowned neuroscientist and expert in diet, nutrition, and addiction.  She received her doctorate in neuroscience and psychology from Princeton University and did her postdoctoral fellowship at The Rockefeller University in New York.

Robert H. Lustig, M.D., is an internationally renowned pediatric endocrinologist who has spent the past sixteen years treating childhood obesity and studying the effects of sugar on the central nervous system, metabolism, and disease. He is the director of the Weight Assessment for Teen and Child Health Program at UCSF Center for Obesity Assessment, Study, and Treatment; as well as a member of the Obesity Task Force of the Endocrine Society.

Amanda is an Addiction Counselor, a Certified Food Addiction counselor (CFAP), FAI/ACORN Certified Food Addiction Professional and CENAPS-trained Advanced Relapse Prevention Specialist (ARPS), with a background in drug and alcohol counseling and group facilitation at a Vancouver-based non-profit residential treatment center for women. She sits on the board of directors for the Food Addiction Institute.

Esther Helga Gudmundsdottir is a pioneer in the field of food addiction treatment. Herself a recovering food addict, she opened one of the first food addiction treatment programs in the world. Esther realized that not only the patients needed help with food addiction but also the professionals .She founded the International School For Food Addiction Counseling and Treatment (INFACT), the world’s first and only Food Addiction counseling training, resulting in professional certification from an accredited certification body

Mary Foushi, Co-founder and Executive Director, ACORN Food Dependency Recovery Services, USA. Mary holds a degree in Human Services with a specialty in Addiction Studies. She is a food addict with over 27 years of stable recovery and is maintaining a 200-pound weight loss for over 25 years.

H. Theresa Wright, MS, RD, LDN, is the founder and Director of Renaissance Nutrition Center, Inc.

Dr. Lerner is the founder and CEO of the Milestones in Recovery’s Eating Disorder Program located in Cooper City, Florida. A graduate of Nova Southeastern University, Dr. Lerner is a licensed and board certified clinical psychologist who has specialized in the treatment of eating disorders since 1980. He has appeared on numerous national television and radio programs that include The NPR Report, 20/20, Discovery Health, and ABC’s Nightline as well authored several publications related to eating disorders

Philip Werdell, M.A.Director, ACORN Food Addiction Professional Training Program has worked professionally with over 4000 middle and late-stage food addicts. He is a graduate of Yale University with postgraduate work in food addiction. He comes from a 25-year career building innovative liberal arts and graduate programs. As a food addict professional, Phil was lead counselor for the residential food addiction treatment program at Glenbeigh Psychiatric Hospital of Tampa and the outpatient program of Rader Institute of Washington.