Nancy Easton is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Wellness in the Schools. Since founding WITS in 2005, Nancy has helped WITS grow from one classroom at the Ella Baker School (NYC PS 225) into a national organization that now reaches 90,000 students in over 190 schools nationwide.
Nancy is a forward-thinking, entrepreneurial leader, lending her passion and expertise to efforts that expand the WITS vision. As a parent in a NYC public school, she helped to build a rooftop greenhouse for her children’s school. More recently as WITS’ visionary, she started ScratchWorks, a collective that supports school districts to cook from scratch. As a thought leader, Nancy is a regular commentator and speaker on school food and child wellness and has been recognized for her leadership. First Lady Michelle Obama honored her at the launch of Chefs Move! to Schools, acclaimed chef-food activist Jamie Oliver named her a Food Revolution Hero, and Ann Cooper, the “Renegade Lunch Lady,” designated her as a Lunchbox Hero. Nancy received a 2012 Westy Award for her innovative work and was honored by Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, a New York City Council Member at the time.
She has spoken at TedX Montclair, the Just Food conference at Columbia University, Teach for America’s 20th Anniversary Summit, the American Museum of Natural History, and “School Meals and the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act” at Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College.
Before founding WITS, Nancy spent 15 years as a teacher, mentor, and school leader at the New York City Department of Education. She was a partner of The Learning Project (TLP), a nonprofit that designs and manages schools, where she co-founded and directed TLP One Middle School. She was recently named one of the 2020 Tp Women in Metro New York Foodservice & Hospitality.
Nancy holds a Masters of Education from Bank Street College of Education, an Administration and Supervision certification from Fordham University, and a Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University, where she was a three-sport athlete. Nancy is also a graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and has her certification from the American Association of Drugless Practitioners.
As a lifelong athlete with several marathons and triathlons under her belt, including an Ironman distance triathlon, Nancy considers fitness a personal and professional passion. In 2003, she became a founding board member of Girls on the Run Manhattan (GOTRM). Nancy serves on the board of the Samara Fund and on the Friends of Princeton Track, from whom she was awarded the 2013 Larry Ellis Alumni Award for her distinctive service to track and field and cross-country.
Seeing the powerful impact WITS has had on public school children and their families is incredibly rewarding for Nancy, but nothing makes her prouder than raising her kids to be aware, caring, responsible, and healthy individuals. Nancy, her husband, and their three children live in New York City.