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Alexia Brue
Alexia BrueAlexia Brue is the co-founder of Well+Good, the award-winning wellness media company, and she served as CEO until Leaf Group (NYSE: LEAF) acquired Well+Good in June 2018. She’s currently SVP of the Fitness & Wellness Group at Leaf Group, which is comprised of Well+Good, Livestrong.com, and My Plate. The three digital properties collectively reach 30 million people every month and create compelling and actionable content and events aimed at informing and inspiring people to find their personalized wellness recipe. Brue is a frequent commentator on digital media, entrepreneurship, and wellness and has been featured in outlets including CBS This Morning, Good Morning America, the New York Times, Fast Company, Forbes, Yahoo Finance, AdWeek, and Digiday. Brue earned her BA in Classics from Grinnell College and her MA from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.
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Maya Feller
Maya FellerMaya Feller, MS, RD, CDN of Brooklyn-based Maya Feller Nutrition is a registered dietitian nutritionist who is a nationally recognized nutrition expert. In her practice, she provides medical nutrition therapy for the management of and risk reduction of non-communicable diseases. Maya received her Masters of Science in clinical nutrition at New York University, where she is adjunct faculty. Whether addressing the nation or working one on one and with groups, Maya believes in providing nutrition education from an antibias patient-centered, culturally sensitive approach. Maya is dedicated to promoting nutrition education that helps the public to make informed food choices that support health and longevity. Maya shares her approachable, real food based solutions to millions of people through regular speaking engagements, writing in local and national publications, via her social media account on Instagram, @mayafellerRD, and as a national nutrition expert on Good Morning America, GMA3: What You Need to Know and more. She is the author of The Southern Comfort Food Diabetes Cookbook: Over 100 Recipes for a Healthy Life.
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Kelvin Gary
Kelvin GaryKelvin Gary is the Founder, CEO and Head Coach of Body Space Fitness, a boutique personal training facility specializing in “Semi-Private” personal training. A graduate of the University of Miami (FL) College of Engineering and New York University Stern School of Business, Kelvin left the business world to pursue his love for helping others live a better life through fitness. After training for several years both independently and in a big box gym setting, Kelvin opened Body Space Fitness in 2012 with the goal of bringing a customized experience to group training. Through an innovative approach to program design and unique training system, Body Space Fitness has become known as one of the premier personal training facilities in New York City.
Kelvin is an internationally recognized fitness expert (holding numerous training certifications) and is known as the “trainer’s trainer” and the fitness guru to many of New York City’s top fitness professionals.
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Allison Grover
Allison Grover(Treasurer) is a former investment banker who today combines her business acumen with her longtime involvement in the fitness community. With a focus on the boutique fitness space, she currently serves as a Strategic Advisor to Jetsweat, a premium digital content fitness app, and Body Space Fitness, a leading NYC training facility. From 2014 through 2016, Allison was President of Terez, a performance activewear line made in New York City. Prior to Terez, she spent over a decade in finance as an investment banker and equity trader, most recently as Vice President in Goldman Sachs’ Securities Division. While there, she served on the firm’s LGBT Network Steering Committee, developing and implementing its LGBT Ally Strategy, which won the HRC Innovation Award for Workplace Equality in 2011. Allison also worked for Vestar Capital Partners and Morgan Stanley & Co. She currently serves on the board of Athlete Ally, an LGBT non-profit.
Born and raised in Montreal, Allison received a BA in Business Administration with honors from the University of Western Ontario, and lives in Manhattan with her family.
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Erica Huss
Erica Hussis a seasoned entrepreneur committed to making a meaningful contribution to the world of wellness through her work in healthy food, beverage, fitness and lifestyle. She has co-founded companies dedicated to bringing wellness to a mass audience, including BluePrint Cleanse, the original fresh pressed juice company offering home delivery and customized programs. Prior to Blueprint, Erica worked in public relations, representing chefs, restaurants and wine brands and drawing on her previous experience in hospitality management with Morgans Hotel Group. She graduated from Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Science in Speech as a Theater major and French minor. She worked for two years as a professional dancer, but to date has not gone pro in French. Erica grew up in New York City and attended Hunter College Elementary and High Schools, one of the earliest participants in WITS. Not early enough, though—she liked the cafeteria salad bar but always thought it could have used some real improvement.
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David Mansbach
David MansbachDavid Mansbach, CCP, is a Senior Partner with Kingsley Gate Partners specializing in the hospitality industry. He has more than two decades of experience advising hospitality clients, and has sold and led engagements in the areas of executive recruitment, compensation consulting and business strategy & implementation. He is also an investor in early-stage Restaurant companies and a human capital artificial intelligence technology platform.
Prior to joining Kingsley Gate Partners, David served as a Managing Director at AETHOS Consulting Group, a firm he co-founded in 2013 to provide executive search, compensation consulting and human capital advisory services to the global Restaurant, Hotel and Gaming industries.
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Nick Marsh
Nick Marsh(Chairman) is the CEO of Chop’t Creative Salad Company, the leader of the premium salad segment with over 40 restaurants in New York, Washington, DC, Virginia and Maryland. Under his leadership, Chop’t is committed to changing the future of “fast food.” Nick became the lead investor at Chop't in 2005, through his investment fund, GrowthPoint Restaurants. He is also the lead investor and Executive Chairman of Mendocino Farms, a twelve-unit fast casual sandwich chain based in Los Angeles, CA. Earlier in his career, Nick was President and Chief Operating Officer of Cosi Restaurants. He graduated cum laude from Princeton University in 1990.
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Brian Meyer
Brian Meyeris General Counsel of Fir Tree Partners, an NYC-based hedge fund, and is responsible for overseeing the firm's legal, compliance, human resources, insurance and regulatory matters. Before joining Fir Tree in 2005, Brian was a Managing Director at Veronis Suhler Stevenson, a media-focused private equity firm and investment bank. From 1997 until 2004, Brian worked closely with Fir Tree Partners as General Counsel of The Official Information Company, a Fir Tree investment. Before that, he was Senior Corporate Counsel at Revlon, Inc. Brian began his professional career specializing in M&A, corporate, securities and banking law at the law firms of Latham & Watkins and Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy. Brian received a J.D. degree from U.C. Berkeley's Boalt Hall, where he was Executive Editor of the California Law Review, and received a B.A. in History and graduated magna cum laude from the University of California at Berkeley.
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Jeff Morrison
Jeff MorrisonJeffrey A. Morrison, M.D., CNS is a practicing physician, founder of The Morrison Center for
Integrative Medicine in New York City, award-winning author of Cleanse Your Body, Clear Your
Mind, author of medical journals, chapters for textbooks and lecturer on Functional and
Environmental medicine topics. He is Board Certified in Integrative Medicine and is a Certified
Nutrition Specialist. At is office, he collaborates with his patients using an Integrative and
nutritional approach to help them achieve optimal health. Visit, www.morrisonhealth.com for more information about his practice. -
DeMarco Murray
DeMarco MurrayDeMarco Murray is a retired NFL Running Back who played for the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles and Tennessee Titans. He currently serves as the Running Backs Coach at his Alma Mater, Oklahoma University and is an active Entrepreneur & Investor in a variety of different industries and sectors, including Food, Agriculture, Real Estate, Sport Tech / Ecommerce. Murray graduated from OU in 2010 with a degree in communication and a minor in African-American studies. After an historic collegiate and then heavily decorated seven-year NFL career (3x Pro Bowl, 2015 Player of the Year, All Pro, etc.), Murray retired from the NFL in 2018. Shortly after announcing his retirement, DeMarco set his sights on broadcasting, securing a full time position as in game color Analyst for FOX Sports. With an inherent passion for health and fitness, DeMarco sought to invest and grow the national salad chain, Chopt, a Creative Salad Company based in NYC as well as serving as an advisor on the Seventy Six Capital Athlete Venture Group. DeMarco lives in Norman, OK with his wife and two kids.
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Becca Parrish
Becca Parrishbegan her career as a features reporter in Montgomery, Alabama. After a stint in Atlanta as communications manager for a non-profit group, she moved to New York in 1997 to pursue a career in public relations. With nearly 20 years in the media business, Becca has built a career on listening and delivering. She has established fruitful, long-term relationships with a wide range of lifestyle, broadcast, travel and culinary media. She believes in the power of elegant PR — that which is largely invisible. Her approach is appreciated by some of the country's most acclaimed chefs, hoteliers and restaurateurs. Whether working with legendary properties or establishing new talent, Becca is naturally creative, strategic and focused on delivering results that exceed her clients' expectations. A native of Pensacola, Florida, Becca earned a master's degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a fellowship from the Poynter Institute of Media Studies, and a bachelor's degree in creative writing from Florida State University. She is the proud mom of a trencherman and she, too, lives to eat.
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Craig Russell
Craig Russell(Secretary) is global co-head of Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s client business, with global sales and client relationship management responsibility of mutual funds and separate accounts for corporate pension plans, public pension plans, foundations and endowments, insurers as well as third party intermediaries. He is also responsible for the global distribution of cash products sold directly and on a third party basis. Craig is co-chair of the Investment Management Division Client and Business Standards Committee. He joined Goldman Sachs as a managing director in 2007 and was named partner in 2010. Prior to joining the firm, Craig was a managing director at Reservoir Capital Group, a private investment firm based in New York. Craig serves on the Board of Directors of Wellness in the Schools and the Crime Victim’s Treatment Center. Craig earned a BSE in Industrial and Operations Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1988 and serves on the Industrial and Operations Engineering department’s Advisory Board.
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Jamie Sutherland
Jamie Sutherlandis the Managing Director and Head of Americas Advisory at UBS. Jamie is
responsible for global client-facing advisory sales teams within UBS Equities Americas including specialty sales and the corporate access business. Jamie is a member of the Global Distribution Executive Committee, Americas Distribution Committee, and Americas Cash Management Committee. Prior to joining UBS, Jamie was co-head of New York Global Equity Sales at Goldman Sachs. She joined Goldman Sachs as an analyst in 1999 within Goldman Sachs Asset Management and moved to the Securities Division in 2001 to help grow the Firm’s Institutional Equity relationships. Jamie was named Managing Director at Goldman Sachs in 2010.Jamie earned a BA in Foreign Affairs and Spanish from the University of Virginia in 1999.
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Troy Thornton
Troy ThorntonTroy is co-head of Retail Sales within the Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) Americas Client Business. Prior to assuming his current role, he was head of Key Accounts and Platform Development and national sales manager of the Investment Consulting Group in US Third Party Distribution. He is a member of the Board of Governors of the Money Management Institute and serves as chair-elect. Troy is also a member of the Distribution Council of the Investment Management Education Alliance and a member of the Sales and Marketing Committee of the Investment Company Institute. Troy also chairs the advisory board of the Pennsylvania State University Educational Equity Program.
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Elly Truesdell
Elly TruesdellElly Truesdell has spent her career driving strategic growth in the Natural and Organic Food industry, shaping the landscape of some of the fastest growing, most innovative categories and sectors of food. Elly spent nearly a decade at Whole Foods Market as Global Director of Local Brands & Product Innovation, and left to join as interim CEO with Canopy Foods, a strategic manufacturer. In June 2019, Elly became Partner at Almanac Insights, a venture fund focusing on consumer food, beverage, and food technologies, where she brings expertise in brand, purchasing, and supply chain as an investor. Elly holds a B.A in Media Studies from the University of Virginia and got her start in food volunteering on an organic vegetable farm in Sudbury, Massachusetts. Elly sits on the board of Scout Canning, and acts as an advisor to FOOD-X.
In Memoriam
Susan Fisher Haag
Susan Fisher Haag was a founding board member and dear, dear friend to WITS. We lost Susan to ovarian cancer on April 12, 2020 but her legacy, her spirit, her beauty and her love lives on in the WITS design, which was all created by Susan. She loved the work of WITS and believed deeply in the power of our team to share their gifts and create change in schools. She was bold and persistent in her beliefs and in her designs. She created a brand that captures the spirit and beauty of this great work. Susan will be remembered and honored always.