Beth Rose is a life-long Alaskan who brings more than 30 years of non-profit management, fund development, public relations, finance skills and strategic planning skills to this organization. She is passionate about her work with AKEDA and its outreach to partners around the state to improve awareness of eating disorders, support for individuals and families, and access to evidence-based treatment. Beth is an active member of the Collaborative for Eating Disorders Organizations, and is involved with the national advocacy group Eating Disorders Coalition. Her career prior to co-founding AKEDA included serving as the Alaska Community Foundation Vice President of Philanthropy and Communications and the UAA Assistant Vice Chancellor for Development. In addition to serving on the board, Beth is an avid photographer.

Caroline is a self-employed architect practicing in Anchorage, Alaska. A 21 year resident of Alaska, Caroline has invested a significant portion of her career working on healthcare facilities ranging from OR's to skilled nursing facilities. Raised partially in Canada and South Africa, her parents modelled the value of education and teaching. Caroline has lived experience with an eating disorder and sees the relationship between the effects of eating disorders and personal underachievement in academics, and is thus dedicated to broadening the accessibility of resources to students impacted by ED's. Caroline is an active hiker, and cyclist, as well as a haphazard gardener and proud dog mom.

Evelyn Abello is a 45-year resident of Alaska. An educator in the Philippines, she immigrated to the U.S. in 1976 and immediately started a second career in civil rights enforcement at the Alaska State Human Rights Commission. She retired as Investigations Director for that agency in 2006 to attend graduate school at Alaska Pacific University, earned a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology, and embarked on a third career as a clinical therapist for Southcentral Foundation's Dena A Coy Program, a residential treatment program for women with substance addictions and emotional and psychological disorders. She retired from this position in 2019 but maintains her professional counselor license. Evelyn runs AKEDA’s Family and Friends Support Group.

Dr. Daniel Rohlf is a board certified psychiatrist who works with patients at Tanana Valley Clinic (TVC) in Fairbanks. He graduated from the University of Minnesota Medical School in 2015 and completed both a General Psychiatry Residency and a Fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in 2020. In addition to publications in medical journals and presentations for medical staff, he has completed an 11-month elective rotation in feeding and eating disorder assessment and treatment. He is currently a member of the Alaska Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the American Psychiatric Association.​

Jennifer (Jenny) Poon, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist and Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Alaska Anchorage. She received her B.S. in Psychology (minor: Creative Writing) and her M.A. in Experimental Psychology from the College of William & Mary. Jenny received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from George Mason University, including a one-year APA-accredited internship at the West Virginia University School of Medicine. Jenny completed a two-year clinical postdoctoral fellowship in Adolescent Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT-A) in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown and Bradley Hospital. Following this, she completed a second NIMH-funded F32 research postdoc at Brown/Bradley focused on understanding how minority stressors in teens’ daily lives may contribute to suicide and self-injury among psychiatrically hospitalized sexual and gender youth.

As a core faculty member of UAA’s Clinical-Community Ph.D. program (the only APA-accredited program in Alaska), her research, teaching, and clinical work all broadly focus on engaging with the community to develop culturally responsive, trauma-informed, and evidence-based interventions. Jenny has published 20 peer-reviewed research articles and has extensive experience delivering CBT for Eating Disorders (CBT-E), Family-Based Treatment, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). As a former competitive powerlifter with her own lived experience, Jenny is passionate about expanding support for Alaskans experiencing eating disorders and/or suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

Dr. Sharon Smith has worked in Alaska for the past 29 years as a Board Certified Family Physician.   She has worked at the Anchorage Neighborhood Health Center, a community health center which cares for all patients irrespective of their ability to pay or insurance status.  During these years, she has specialized in women’s health care.  In addition she has been the medical director of the Reproductive Health Services located at the Municipality of Anchorage.  She graduated from the University of California, San Francisco with her Doctor of Medicine in 1991, and from the University of California, Berkeley with her Masters in Public Health in 1990.  Her interest in eating disorders began early in her life with personal experiences and continued in medical school with caring for her patients.  In addition to her work with non-profit organizations, she enjoys cycling, hiking, skiing, painting and violin.

Jack Jajewski serves as the Vice President of Operations for VOA Alaska, a nonprofit who serves youth and young adults struggling with mental health and substance use. He started with VOAAK in 2021. He graduated from Chapman University in 2014 with a BA in Integrated Educational Studies, and from the University of Washington in 2020 with a Master's in Business Administration (MBA). Jack was born and raised in Seattle, Washington, and lived in the midwest for several years after college before relocating to Anchorage with his wife, Zoe, and their two dogs. His commitment to AKEDA's cause and mission as well as his commitment to his career path comes from direct personal experience with eating disorders and mental health in his family. Outside of work, Jack enjoys cooking, various outdoor activities, and supporting various Seattle sports teams.

Jenny Loudon is a health policy and management consultant with over 20 years of experience with Alaskan non-profits working to improve services through grant writing, data analysis and reporting, budget development and monitoring, project management, and group facilitation. She brings significant training and experience in public health policy and management and has an MPA from the University of Washington with a focus on health policy and management. Jenny is an active member of the Collaborative for Eating Disorders Organizations and is involved with the national advocacy group Eating Disorders Coalition and the international Academy for Eating Disorders.

Megan Volkov was born and raised in Palmer, Alaska. After graduating from the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) School of Nursing BS program in 2003, she worked as a registered nurse in medical-surgical units, cardiovascular step-down, cath lab observation, pre-op and post-op, and home health. Obtaining her MS at Loma Linda University in 2009, she worked as an Adult Nurse Practitioner in Southern California and as a nursing educator at Loma Linda University for eight years. She also lived in Portland, Oregon for four years before moving back to Alaska in 2019 to be closer to her family. Achieving a post-master's DNP from the University of Iowa in 2022, Megan uses her education in leadership and evidence-based practice to work as a nurse practitioner in the community. On her days off she enjoys quality time with her significant other, snuggles with her furbabies, conversations with her dad, and watching British shows with her mom.

Grace Schumacher is a graduate of the University of Alaska’s dietetics program and works as a behavioral health dietitian in nutrition therapy for eating disorders, having completed requirements for a board-certified specialty in eating disorders nutrition. She is Alaska’s first board certified eating disorder professional, having achieved the Certified Eating Disorders, Registered Dietitian designation. She is currently completing a doctorate program in Occupational Therapy.  Grace is a passionate advocate for improving awareness and services for Alaskans with eating disorders. She is the founder of the Alaska chapter of the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals (IAEDP), the first organization for professional education and networking for the specialty of eating disorders in the state. 

Laurel is Alaska-grown and lives in Anchorage with her husband and two children. Her life is centered around family and being healthy (in all ways). Her athletic career ended with in-patient eating disorder treatment, but the experience led to an understanding of how to live more fully. She is a published author and aims to help other women (and men) live positive and prosperous lives.  Live colorfully and create your own upward spiral!

Ashley is a public health professional born and raised in Anchorage. She earned a BS from Georgetown University and MPH from The George Washington University. She stayed in Washington, DC for nearly a decade, gaining experience in public health practice, research, and consulting working for several national and international organizations. She then spent six years in Seattle, continuing her work in public health practice, academia, and bridging clinical connections. In 2019, she and her husband finally made the move home to Alaska via a wonderful journey driving and camping the historic AlCan Highway with their toddler and newborn. Since then, Ashley has worked for the State of Alaska Department of Health, focusing on reducing the burden of chronic diseases across the state, increasing representation of Alaska's diverse populations in public health, and addressing the impact of Social Determinants of Health. She understands and empathizes with the burden of disordered eating from both a professional and personal viewpoint. In addition to working toward her Doctorate in Public Health (DrPH), she enjoys spending time exploring Alaska’s stunning outdoors with her husband and three young children, embracing the adventure that comes with life in the Last Frontier.

Tina Woods is Unungax (Aleut) originally from Saint Paul Island, Alaska, and Chamorro from the Island of Guam. She is a licensed Clinical-Community psychologist with a Rural Indigenous Emphasis from the Universities of Alaska Anchorage, and Fairbanks and currently the Senior Director of Community & Behavioral Services for Central Council Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (Tlingit & Haida).

She respectfully blends both Western science and Indigenous practices based on teachings from Elders. Dr. Woods brings ‘lived experience’ and leverages such experience in combination with science for teaching others about trauma informed care. She strongly believes in going upstream with prevention efforts to make a significant difference for future generations.

Dr. Woods is passionate about holding healing space for helping people heal themselves through culturally responsive treatment infusing culture and tribal values as the foundation. In a therapeutic setting, she empowers individuals to find the best version of themselves by exploring how past and current traumas influence interpersonal relationships and behaviors. She supports individuals healing journey by validating their experience, teaching healthy coping skills, helping people to understand their emotions, offering hope, and building resilience.