For more information about MEDA and services call

1-866-343-MEDA

1-617-558-1881

Meet the Staff

Beth Mayer

Beth Mayer, LICSW, has been in the eating disorders field for 27 years. She is nationally recognized for her work in the eating disorders field and has spoken at conferences around the country. Beth is currently the President of MEDA. Prior to becoming President, she served as Executive Director of MEDA. She was also a member of MEDA's Board of Directors for several years. Beth has been the Program Director of three community-based adolescent programs for Riverside Community Care, a nonprofit, healthcare and human services organization that delivers mental health, early intervention and substance abuse treatment services throughout Eastern and Central Massachusetts. Beth also served as the Executive Director of Travelers Aid Society of Boston, an organization that works with vulnerable individuals and families to address their immediate housing and social service needs through outreach, direct service and advocacy. Beth has a private clinical practice and for 20 years has been providing individual, couples and family therapy with a focus on eating disorders, addictions, sexual abuse, clinical depression and multiple personality disorders. Beth has also served as an adjunct professor at Simmons College, Boston University, Boston College, Lesley University and Salem State College, supervising MSW and LMHC graduate student interns. Beth holds a B.S. in Clinical Psychology from Quinnipiac University and a Master of Social Work Degree from Boston College.

Kristin Tyman

Kristin Tyman, MPH is the Executive Director at MEDA. Kristin has been at MEDA since 2004. Her current role includes event planning and management, budget and strategic planning, grant writing and public speaking. She earned her B.A. from The College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA and completed her Master's in Public Health at Boston University in January 2010. The intersection between eating disorders and public health is an area of extreme interest to Kristin. She is proud to be a member of MEDA's team and promote the message that full recovery from an eating disorder is possible.

Katie Heimer

Katie Heimer, MA is the Community and Education Coordinator at MEDA. She first became involved in eating disorder outreach during her time as an undergraduate at Vassar College, where she was active in the campus' Eating Disorders Reachout Service. She went on to work with, research and write about issues of body image, particularly in relation to the media, as a communications intern at the National Organization for Women and as part of her Master's of Media Studies at The New School in New York City.

Mary Korba

Mary Korba is the Events and Communications Coordinator at MEDA. She earned her B.S. in Marketing from Bentley University and went on to work for an environmental consulting firm where she specialized in Marketing and Business Development. Mary joined MEDA's team in the fall of 2011. Her current responsibilities include coordinating and managing the organization's events, maintaining MEDA's website and social media pages, generating the monthly e-newsletter, and assisting in fund development. Mary is a proud supporter of MEDA's message that full recovery is possible and is especially interested in the interconnections between eating disorders and spiritual-wellness.

Meet the Board

Rebecca Manley

Rebecca Manley, M.S., is the founder of MEDA, Inc. She holds a B.A. in secondary education and English, and a M.S. in family studies and counseling with an emphasis on early childhood development. Before founding MEDA in 1994, Rebecca worked as a therapist for a year at a residential treatment facility. For the last eleven years, she has been teaching and developing an eating disorder prevention program for early childhood educators and high schools. Additionally, she has also been working in a clinical setting for the last nine years. Rebecca is the author of Teaching Body Confidence: A Comprehensive Curriculum for Girls, and has presented more than four hundred lectures on eating disorders, media influences, self-esteem, and body image. Nationally recognized for her work in eating disorders, she has been quoted in several national publications and has appeared on many national news programs. Check out Rebecca's blog Preventing Eating Disorders here: http://eatingdisordersandbodyconfidence.blogspot.com/

Caroline Carlson Balz

As former Chairman of the Board, Caroline is passionate about MEDA's mission. Professionally, Caroline is a psychotherapist specializing in the treatment of eating disorders and sees patients in her private practice located at MEDA. Currently, Caroline is writing a book based on the development of self-concept for those in recovery from eating disorders. Caroline earned her Masters in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University and a Masters in Counseling from the University of Massachusetts, Boston. After graduating with a BA from Connecticut College, Caroline worked as a Managment Consultant at Sibson & Company's New York City Office. Between Master's degrees she worked at Dedham Country Day School as the Assistant Director of Development. As for organizational memberships, Caroline is a member of: American Counseling Association (ACA); Psy-Chi-The National Honors Society for Psychology, The Women's Educational and Industrial Union and The Vincent Club. Married for almost seven years, Caroline and her husband Bill have two young sons named William and Charlie.

Zach Dubin

Zach Dubin received his Bachelor of Arts in English and Sociology from Tufts University in 2007. He joined the MEDA board in Spring 2009. Zach is a professional fundraiser and currently works in the Annual Giving department at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, a nationally acclaimed research and care facility. He currently is the lead officer of a new naming opportunity that supports the construction of the hospital's new building. Through his undergraduate studies, Zach became interested in public health and in particular, the sociology of women's health issues. Before becoming a fundraiser, Zach worked briefly teaching English in Japan to children and adults.

Roy Etlinger

Roy Etlinger has thirty-five years of experience managing complex private and public behavioral health organizations which deliver adult and child inpatient and ambulatory services. He recently retired from being the CEO of Arbour Health System which includes five private psychiatric hospitals and ten outpatient centers. Roy has an interest in mental health programs that serve the special needs of women. He established the Center for Women Development and a partial hospitalization program for eating disorders. He has published in professional journals and served on many state and national boards. Roy has earned a Masters in hospital administration from the University of Minnesota.

Marilyn Newman

Marilyn Newman, LICSW, GCEC is a social worker/executive coach with thirty years of clinical experience in the fields of eating disorders and substance abuse. A graduate of Barnard college and the Simmons School of Social Work, Marilyn worked at McLean Hospital for many years and at the Partial Hospital Program and at the Appleton Outpatient Clinic, McLean's alcohol and drug treatment program. She has maintained a private practice in Sudbury for the past twenty-four years, at which she has specialized in treating adults and adolescents with eating disorders, alcohol and drug problems, and issues of trauma. Marilyn has led psychotherapy groups for men and women in recovery, survivors or trauma, and a support group for social workers with emotional difficulties. She has served on the SWAN Commission for the National Association of Social Workers, a group which runs a 24-hour hotline for social workers in personal or professional distress. She has given numerous presentations on the treatment of eating disorders, substance abuse and attention deficit disorder. Marilyn holds a degree in executive coaching from the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology, and specializes in the areas of team-building, emotional intelligence, and systemic issues in organizations. Marilyn has served as chair of several committees, on the board of directors, and as president of her synagogue. She lives in Wayland, and is the proud grandmother of eight.

Leigh Van Dusen

Leigh P. Van Dusen, M.S., is a Nutritionist specializing in the treatment of eating disorders. Leigh earned her Masters degree in Human Nutrition from the Tufts University School of Nutrition Science and Policy in Boston, MA. Leigh currently maintains a private practice in the Harvard Square area of Cambridge, MA, specializing in the treatment of eating disorders and disordered eating. Leigh also advises clients in the areas of sports nutrition and general weight management, in addition to working with families in the prevention and management of childhood weight issues. Leigh consults for Middlesex boarding school in Concord, MA and Tufts University in Medford, MA. Before returning to the Massachusetts area, Leigh maintained a full-time private practice for 6 years in New York City providing nutrition counseling to clients with eating disorders and collaborating with their multi-disciplinary treatment teams. Prior, Leigh worked as a Nutrition Therapist for The Renfrew Center of New York’s Intensive Outpatient Program’s (IOP) and Outpatient Services, and The Center for the Treatment of Eating Disorders in Livingston, NJ. Leigh’s past work experience includes Deaconess Waltham Hospital’s inpatient unit in Waltham, MA, Laurel Hill Inn’s residential unit in Medford, MA, and Massachusetts General Hospital’s Neuroendocrine Unit in Boston, MA. Leigh has developed and implemented nutrition therapy support groups and served as an Advisory Board Member and Lecturer for the Center for the Study of Anorexia and Bulimia (CSAB) in New York, NY. Leigh was a former MEDA facilitator of Hope and Inspiration, co-leader for the teen support group and an educational presenter for the Connect to Confidence program.

Arlene Schuler

Co-Chairman of the Board, Arlene Schuler is an attorney and principal in Archstone Law Group, P.C., a business law firm in Waltham, MA, where she practices general business and commercial real estate law. Arlene is a graduate of Boston University School of Law and Smith College. Arlene also served for several years as a Staff Attorney for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Having attended women's schools for much of her educational life, Arlene is particularly interested in some of the unique challenges facing young women in the world today. Arlene is an accomplished equestrian and spends much of her free time as possible riding and training her Hanoverian mare.

Aiden Winslow

Co-Chairman of the Board, Aiden Winslow joined the Board of Directors at MEDA after playing many other roles within the organization including Assistant Director, Professional Member, tenant, and Co-Chair of the Annual Gala. Aiden is a Licensed Mental Health Clinician who has been in private practice for 13 years with adolescents and adults specializing in eating disorders and body image issues. She graduated from Skidmore College with majors in Psychology and Dance and went on to pursue a Masters Degree at Lesley University. In addition to her private practice and association with MEDA, Aiden worked as an Administrative Coordinator and Clinician at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Along with the other Board Members and MEDA Staff, Aiden is passionate about the continued expansion of MEDA’s presence, mission and strength within the community. She feels even more dedicated to this work as she and her husband are currently raising their three daughters. It is her hope that with an increased awareness on prevention and education of eating disorders, disordered eating, and body image issues, today’s girls will grow up feeling at home in their bodies.