Cheryl

Cheryl Harris (full bio) has a Master’s Degree in Public Health Nutrition from the University of California, Berkeley and a BS in Nutritional Sciences from Cornell University.  She has worked as a Registered Dietitian and nutritionist for the past 10 years and is a Certified Breastfeeding Counselor (CLC) through the Center for Breastfeeding . Cheryl has attended numerous trainings through the Center for Mind Body Medicine in DC and Tai Sophia, which focus on the health of a whole individual.

One of Cheryl’s particular passions is working with people to help them  enjoy a healthy gluten free diet.   She has been gluten free for years, and loves sharing her knowledge and skills.  She has written articles on gluten free living for the Gluten Intolerance Group, DC Celiacs newsletters, and more.  She is a content editor for the Dietitians in Gluten Intolerance subunit of the ADA Medical Nutritional Therapy group.  She has given presentations on gluten free eating for DC Celiacs and has been involved in numerous  events to support the DC area Celiac community.

In addition to her professional degrees and certifications, Cheryl has also learned a great deal about the needs of parents as one of the volunteer moderators of an active gluten/casein free listserv of over 4000 people. Cheryl currently works with the Kaplan Center for Integrative Medicine in McLean, VA., which has a variety of fabulous practitioners that specialize in chronic pain management.   Cheryl has worked with DC WIC (Women, Infants and Children) in various capacities for the past 5 years, provided nutrition counseling services at Children’s Hospital to a clinic for obese children and teens, taught cooking classes for adults with learning disabilities and serves as a consultant for Mom Made Foods, a local organic baby food company. Her speaking engagements have ranged from national USDA conferences to a local recreation center to Celiac support groups to a variety of presentations focused on people living well with cancer.

Cheryl developed food allergies and intolerances several years ago, and learned first hand the challenges and “survival skills” for living well with food restrictions. She considers herself incredibly lucky, because she loves her work and the chance to help others! In her free time, Cheryl can be found digging (playing?) in her organic garden or experimenting (playing?) with gluten free goodies in her kitchen.

Prior speaking engagements have included:

2010-2011       Celiac Disease Video Project                                     McLean, VA

Basics of Celiac Disease, grant funded through the Celiac Sprue Association

6/29/10            FDA Hearing                                                 Silver Spring, MD

The Effect of Celiac Disease on Medications and Other Treatments

2006-present Harris Whole Health/Kaplan Center            Alexandria/McLean VA

10 classes a year on topics related to a gluten-free diet

2/10, 8/09        Chesapeake Celiac Support Group                        Annapolis, MD

Healthy Gluten-free Eating, Gluten-free Grains

(3/11), 5/09,11/07 Washington Area Celiac Support Group           Bethesda, MD

Healthy Gluten-free Holiday hints, Gluten-free weight loss

2005-present Living Well with Cancer (several annually)

Smith Farm for the Healing Arts, Holy Cross Hospital, the Wellness Center, Life with Cancer,

6/12/08            Institute of Medicine/National Academies            Washington, DC

Implications of Weight Gain for Pregnancy Outcomes: Issues and Evidence

9/17/05            FNS USDA Annual Conference                                Arlington, VA

Building Breastfeeding Friendly Communities

7/19/05            Mid Atlantic Region WIC Conference                  Washington, DC

Successful Breastfeeding Efforts—Panel