EDC YOUNG LEADER COUNCIL
The Young Leader Council (YLC) is dedicated to amplifying the voices of young people in legislative discussions surrounding eating disorders. By cultivating a supportive community of informed young adults, the council encourages the sharing of personal experiences and insights, ultimately working towards greater awareness and advocacy for eating disorders. Members are empowering the next generation to take an active role in creating meaningful change in the fight against eating disorders.
BLOG SERIES
Racial Disparities in Eating Disorders
Navigating Insurance Coverage for Eating Disorder Treatment
Fighting the Battle of Eating Disorders in the Military
Empowering the Next Generation: Nurturing Confidence in Adolescents
Eating Disorders in the Military
MEMBERS
Ella Kirksey, Virginia (she/her)
Ella Kirksey is from Virginia and is a senior at Duke University pursuing a BS in neuroscience and chemistry on the pre-med track. Her experience in the healthcare system during the height of her eating disorder inspired her work to work towards becoming a physician to revoluionize treatment practices using scientific evidence. Ella is also interested in using her creative brain to influence the public perception of eating disorders, seen through her role as a writer, graphic designer, and content creator for Project HEAL. Ella is passionate about brining her perspective of the biological basis behind eating disorders to exact change.
Athena McDowall, New Jersey (she/her)
Athena McDowall lives in New Jersey and received her Master's in Social Work degree from Rutgers University following a time in which she served in the New Jersey National Guard. During college, Athena became the National Eating Disorders Association Philadelphia Walk Coordinator. Athena currently works for the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD) as their peer support group coordinator and the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) as a walk associate. Athena also volunteers with the Body Empowerment Project (BEP) which is an organization aimed at reducing eating disorder risk in Philadelphia Youth. In her free time Athena enjoys being a Sunday School teacher and Youth Group Leader at the church that she grew up attending and spending time with family and friends.
Asha Patel, California (she/her)
Asha is a freshman at the University of California, Los Angeles. She co-founded the nonprofit organization, M2Health, to spread eating disorders and mental health education to middle schools nationwide. Asha is also on the UCSD Advisory Council for Public Health, part of Resonance, an award-winning collegiate Cappella group, and is also a Healthcare Operations intern at MOVN Health, a virtual cardiac rehabilitation program. Asha seeks to educate new generations about eating disorder awareness and innovate preventive efforts tailored to younger age groups. She's also a part of the all-student consulting firm Uconsulting and hopes to further her interest in Health Consulting and Management.
Sahana Nayak, California (she/her)
Sahana is a student at the University of California, Santa Cruz pursuing a degree in psychology. She is a longtime volunteer at the Eating Disorders Resource Center of Silicon Valley (EDRC), where she served on the Student Action Committee and co-founded the Education Initiative. Her work with the EDRC primarily focuses on bringing awareness to her community about eating disorders through free educational presentations for people of all ages and backgrounds, from middle school students to healthcare professionals. Sahana is also a research intern at the Stice Lab at Stanford, where she is working to implement a pilot program for eating disorder prevention in high schools.
Zara Poon, New Jersey (she/her)
Zara Poon is an undergraduate student at Northeastern University studying bioengineering and biochemistry. She is on the Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders (STRIPED) New Jersey translational policy team. She also has experience as a campus warrior for the National Eating Disorder Association. Zara is interested in several topics such as the neuroscience of eating disorders, mental health insurance coverage, physician awareness, co-occurring disorders, and mental illness in immigrant families. In the future, she hopes to become a physician-scientist to better understand and treat eating disorders.
Bella Mei, Texas (she/her)
Bella Mei is a second year student at the University of Texas at Austin studying nutritional sciences. Bella’s interest in public health and advocacy stems from her time participating in the Food Allergy Research and Awareness organization and lobbying for the passage of the FASTER Act. On campus, she serves as an undergraduate research assistant and is the president of a pre-health profession organization. Bella is passionate about educating the public on the dangers of eating disorders and creating solutions to promote recovery.
Mina Hancock, Alaska (they/them)
Mina, born and raised in Alaska, is currently studying for a BS in biology with minors in neuroscience and psychology at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA). After an eating disorder that took them out of state for treatment, Mina was struck by the lack of care and support present in Alaska. This insight, coupled with inspiration from a social work class at UAA, led Mina to begin working with the Alaska Eating Disorder Alliance (AKEDA). Alongside AKEDA, Mina speaks on the distressing reality of experiencing an eating disorder and the subtle yet impactful reframes communities can adopt to help prevent these conditions. Today, Mina uses their voice across platforms to share their personal story, raise awareness about care disparities, and discuss the risk factors associated with high-intensity athletic environments.
Sahana Srikanth, Ohio (she/her)
Sahana is a high school junior from Ohio passionate about the intersection between healthcare and public policy. She is currently a member of the Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders (STRIPED) and serves as State Campaign Captain for Ohio. She is a Youth Council member for the National Initiative for Eating Disorders (NIED) and works on content writing and policy translation. Sahana is also an active member of her school's debate team, ranking as a National Finalist and State Champion for her event. She volunteers for local literacy programs, raising 1000+ books to promote children's literacy in Kenya. In her free time, Sahana plays the piano, dances, and listens to podcasts.
Anna Mockel, Maryland (she/her)
Anna is a high school senior in Maryland. She became involved in mental health advocacy through her lived experience with an eating disorder, and her interests lie in health policy and the neurological basis of eating disorders. In her role as part of the policy translation team of Harvard STRIPED, she works with other teenagers and young adults to meet with lawmakers and promote legislation that fights eating disorders. In college, Anna plans to pursue a degree in neuroscience while incorporating public health research into her studies. Additionally, as a wrestler, she is passionate about addressing the prevalence of disordered eating in combat sports athletes, and she advocates for increased education of coaches, improved resources for athletes, and modification of dangerous weight-management strategies.
Jennifer Yu, Massachusetts (she/her)
Jennifer is a high school senior in the Boston Area working to improve eating disorder treatment accessibility through policy initiatives. She is the founder of the All Bodies Coalition, the largest youth-led nonprofit dedicated to supporting young patients in the eating disorder recovery process. She is also one of ten National Committee Representatives on the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders' (ANAD) Community Engagement Committee. Most notably, Jennifer has been named a finalist for the Princeton Prize in Race Relations for her work in supporting minority access to eating disorder treatment and has shared her own recovery story through her TedTalk entitled "Rewriting Society's Definition of Health."