Our Professional Staff

Thelma J. Wayler
Founder
MS in Public Health Nutrition, Institute of Human Nutrition, Columbia University,
BS in Foods and Nutrition, University of Vermont
Registered Dietitian, The American Dietetic Association

A pioneering woman who started her own
business when women "just didn't do that,"
Thelma J Wayler, MS, RD, founded Green Mountain at Fox Run at the age of 50 after an illustrious and prolific career as a nutritionist, teacher and author. Prior to Green Mountain, Thelma was a nationally recognized diabetes educator and consulting nutritionist for the US Public Health Service. Her textbook Applied Nutrition (MacMillan) is considered a classic in the field. Thelma often shares that her greatest achievement was helping women give themselves permission to eat, empowering them to take greater responsibility for their health, and most importantly, helping them begin to feel good about themselves, regardless of their body size. Strong, independent and visionary, Thelma earned the respect and attracted the support of luminaries in obesity research for this 'radical' approach to weight management. Thelma now spends her winters in Florida, but can be seen around Green Mountain in the summer, often sitting in on classes and quietly becoming the leader, sharing her now three decades of experience helping women achieve their potential.

 

Marsha J. Hudnall
Program Director
MS - Health Communications, Boston University
BS - Nutrition & Dietetics, Stephen F. Austin University, TX
Registered Dietitian, The American Dietetic Association
Certified Dietitian, State of Vermont Board of Registration

Marsha has served as nutrition director at Green Mountain since 1986, where her mission has been to help participants learn to enjoy food and eating while successfully managing their weight and health. An accomplished writer, Marsha has produced a body of work that reflects her desire to help people move away from restrictive notions of food and health, and thereby more easily achieve a healthful intake. She has written over 100 articles for popular magazines and newsletters and has worked extensively on a national basis to produce curricula, pamphlets and other materials to educate the public about nutrition. She is the author of What You Need To Know About Carbohydrates (Chronimed), Vitamins, Minerals and Food Supplements (Chronimed), The Pregnancy Cookbook (Berkeley Publishing), and over a hundred articles in popular magazines and newsletters. She recently co-authored Disordered Eating in Active and Sedentary Individuals, an online course for Human Kinetics publisher. Marsha has served as president of the Vermont Dietetic Association, chairperson of Dietitians in Business and Communications, and member of The American Dietetic Association's (ADA) publications and marketing committees, and most recently, Consultation and Business Practice Delegate, Council on Professional Issues at the ADA.

 

Alan H. Wayler
Executive Director
Ph.D. in Nutritional Biochemistry and Metabolism, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MS in Human Nutrition, Institute of Human Nutrition, Columbia University
BS in Psychology, University of Vermont

As an insightful professional, compassionate listener and executive director of Green Mountain at Fox Run, Alan has devoted his life's work to helping women free themselves of the tyranny of dieting, food obsessions and poor self-esteem. Starting as a tennis instructor when Green Mountain was in its infancy almost 30 years ago through to his present position, Alan has been a part of Green Mountain. He has not only observed the changing nature of women's lives during that time, but has contributed his unique perspective to encourage women to take charge of their health, establish realistic goals and strive for them in a supportive way.

Prior to joining Green Mountain, Alan served as Chief, Nutritional Biochemistry Section, Research and Development Section of the Veterans Administration (VA) in Boston. There he oversaw nutrition research undertaken as part of the Normative Aging Study, the country's oldest longitudinal study of aging. Alan has also served as assistant professor at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Harvard Medical School and the School of Public Health, at the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, and as an advisory member of the VA-National Institutes of Health (NIH) committee on Setting Research Priorities in Aging for the Year 2000. He is a founding member of the International Spa & Fitness Association, a former member of its Board of Directors, and has consulted for a number of Fortune 500 companies.

Dr. Wayler received his undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Vermont, and obtained his master's degree in human nutrition from Columbia University through a NIH fellowship. His research work was accepted and conducted at Cambridge University, England. He was graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Ph.D. in nutritional biochemistry and metabolism, where he conducted seminal research on minimum protein requirements for human populations. His work contributed to the development of the 1980 FAO/WHO nutritional recommendations for protein nutrition.

He authored over 25 peer-reviewed presentations during his relatively short academic career. Throughout his career, he has been a much sought-after professional speaker but now spends most of his time at Green Mountain, immersed in the field he enjoys.

 

Mimi Francis
Behavioral Health Therapist
MSN - University of Hawaii
BSN - Creighton University,
Certificate in Psychological and Family Centered Nursing, Cassel Hospital, Surrey, England.
Advanced Practice RN with Prescriptive Authority (State of Vermont)
Registered Professional Nurse (New York State) American Nurses Association
Certification as Mental Health Clinical Nurse Specialist

Mimi brings to Green Mountain a wealth of experience as a nurse practitioner, therapist and counselor with a focus on women's issues, anxiety and stress related conditions. In addition to maintaining a private practice in psychotherapy and counseling in southern Vermont for a number of years, Mimi has worked in psychiatric nursing, nursing administration and has served as an instructor at the Southwestern Vermont Stress Reduction Center. She leads many of Green Mountain's behavioral workshops.

 

Teri Hugo Hirss
Expressive Movement Therapist, Therapist in Health Psychology
BS -- Human Development/Family Studies, University of Vermont
MEd -- Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Vermont
Certified Expressive Movement Therapist
Health Realization Counselor -- Psychology of Mind Institute
Certified Kripalu DansKinetics Instructor

Teri's love of movement and her strong desire to empower women led her from the path of traditional psychotherapy to certification as an Expressive Movement Therapist. As our Kripalu DansKinetics and Shake Your Soul instructor, Teri uses her classes as an opportunity to help participants reconnect with their bodies and spirits while having a fun, energizing workout. She is passionate about encouraging women to hold themselves with loving compassion. Her ability to create a safe, supportive environment is one of her greatest assets. In addition to her classes, Teri is available for one-on-one sessions and phone coaching with participants looking for additional support in creating lasting change

 

Robyn L. Priebe
Director of Nutrition
BS – Dietetics, State University of New York, Oneonta, NY
AS – Commercial Art – Sullivan County Community College, Loch Sheldrake, NY
Registered Dietitian, The American Dietetic Association
Certified Dietitian, State of Vermont Board of Registration

For more than 12 years, Robyn has been working in the field of food and nutrition and is truly a big fan of both. Bringing together the concepts of feeding one’s self for nutrition and feeding one’s self for pleasure is her main goal when educating participants. Robyn has a varied nutritional background, having worked in hospitals, resorts/spas, clinics, wellness centers, schools, with supplementation, and in providing one-on-one counseling.

Robyn chose to complete a wellness-focused dietetic internship through Keene State College as her main interest in dietetics is educating others on eating to achieve health and well being. She has had the opportunity to teach nutrition classes in all types of settings and enjoys teaching with a focus on women’s health and nutrition. Robyn brings her love of teaching to Green Mountain at Fox Run and enjoys developing new classes based on the participants’ needs. Robyn is always thrilled to see the positive effect Green Mountain at Fox Run has on its participants and loves being part of a team that makes a difference in the lives of so many women.

 

Lynn Grieger
Consulting Nutritionist & Nutrition Coach
BA – University of Vermont
Registered Dietitian, The American Dietetic Association
Certified Dietitian, State of Vermont Board of Registration
Certified Diabetes Educator, National Certification Board for Diabetes Educators
Certified Wellness Coach, Wellcoach International
Certified Personal Trainer, American College of Sports Medicine

Lynn has been a part-time member of the nutrition staff at Green Mountain since 2003. Lynn became a dietitian after spending four years as an active duty Army military intelligence officer to put her considerable energy into empowering people to maximize their health, fitness, and wellness. She maintains a busy nutrition and wellness coaching practice in southwestern Vermont and nationwide via phone coaching. She’s also the Healthy Eating Expert at iVillage.com, the largest women’s website, where she writes nutrition-related articles and answers questions on a message board. Lynn has authored numerous articles for websites and popular magazines, and recently appeared on The Today Show. She is a past president of the Vermont Dietetic Association and is active with numerous professional nutrition and fitness groups. Lynn lives in the shopping mecca Manchester, Vermont but would much rather be out on the trails or roads running, biking, and snowshoeing.

 

Lynn Ann Covell
Senior Exercise Physiologist
Certified PT, AAFA, IFA, AAAI, ISMA
Personal Trainer, Strength and Aerobics Instructor, Tai Chi Instructor, Mat Science (Pilates) Instructor, Weight Training Consultant, Aquatics Instructor, Aquatics Rehab Instructor, Weight Management Certified, Certified Holistic Health Consultant

Trained in several fields including physical therapy, chiropractics and emergency medicine, and certified as a Fitness Professional , LynnAnn has spent 26 years in the field of Health and Exercise Physiology, 16 of them with Green Mountain. An energetic and inspirational leader, she heads up our fitness department, lending her own special touch and motivational skills to help women learn to love physical activity. LynnAnn is adept at providing personalized fitness programs that make all the difference in "taking it home and making it work."

Inspired to live a healthy lifestyle by the example her parents set, LynnAnn ran track and swam competitively from age 10 through high school. Her drive to share her enthusiasm for healthy living set her on a path of education and experience that equipped her as a tremendous motivator.

You’ll see LynnAnn starring on Green Mountain's upper, lower body and Green Mountain Express workout videos, trying to keep a straight face as she takes you through the routines. At the end, though, her true self wins out, giving you a glimpse of her warmth and humor and her commitment to the success of our participants.

 

Jennifer Ricuperio
Senior Fitness and Recreation Specialist
BS State University of New York, Brockton, Fitness and Recreation and Leisure Studies        Business Administration
MS, Boston University, Leisure Studies and Fitness
Assistant Director, Boston University Adult Fitness Center

Jennifer's goal at Green Mountain is to convince even the toughest critic that fitness can be fun! A recent graduate of Boston University with a Masters of Leisure Studies Education, Jennifer was the graduate assistant for the University’s fitness and wellness program. There she was a major driver in developing their new fitness and recreation center into a great place for feeling good. Her motto: “Do what is fun for you, and enjoy exercise again!” Jennifer also has a Bachelor’s degree from SUNY Brockport in Recreation and Leisure Management and Business Administration. She delights in being outdoors, and has taken full advantage our beautiful Vermont environs since her move here in August 2007. Some might say the mountains brought her, or maybe it was a calmer, more peaceful way of living, but one thing is for sure, she’s here to stay. While kickboxing is her true passion, Jennifer also embraces the healing powers of yoga and Pilates, and has taught aerobics and supervised fitness and wellness programs for seven years.

 

Samantha Rowland
Health and Fitness Specialist
BS – Health & Exercise Science from Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO

Sam has recently joined our team as a Health and Fitness Specialist who graduated in May of 2006 with a degree in Health and Exercise Science and a concentration in Health Promotion. Growing up at the beach in South Jersey and attending school in the mountainous state of Colorado, she chose to have the best of both worlds – the Great Outdoors on the East Coast. After completing her internship with us in 2006, Sam decided to pursue a career in Corporate Fitness where she soon realized that her passion for helping the women of Green Mountain feel capable and empowered was something too great to pass up. She teaches a wide range of classes from Beginner’s Step Aerobics and Aquatics to her Advanced Total Body Strength and Ab Attack classes. You will most definitely find her on our hiking, snowshoeing and indoor rock climbing expeditions as well! Sam also offers Personal Training, adding a variety of exercises and stretches for women to take home and have fun with.

 

Bari Ramirez
Fitness Specialist

Bari recently joined our Fitness staff, bringing maturity, high energy and a fun personality to her classes that include tennis, specialized stretching, aerobics, aquatics and many of our new longer and more exciting Vermontings. Bari’s background is in, surprisingly, the Pastry Arts; she taught at New England Culinary Institute. Always interested in fitness, however, she pursued a fitness career during the 90’s, including working with guests of the prestigious Woodstock Inn at their Sports and Fitness Center. She’s dedicated to helping women achieve overall health, teaching them how to be safe during exercise, and bringing joy to their body and mind. Participants at both beginner and intermediate fitness levels rave about her workouts.

 

Alice McGovern
Yoga and Reflexology
MSHeD Russell Sage College
BSN University of Connecticut
Certified reflexologist, polarity therapist, and reiki master
Certified Kripalu and Bikram Yoga Instructor
Internship at UMass Medical Center in Mindfulness Bases Stress Reduction

Alice has taught yoga and maintained a private practice as a holistic nurse healer and educator for over 15 years. She has designed and taught health related workshops in Vermont, New York, and Florida for over 30 years. She was also an instructor at the Southwestern Vermont Stress Reduction Institute. Alice has always seen and cared for people as individuals in her nursing practice. Her belief in our wholeness, and how healing is best facilitated when body, mind, and spirit are integrated, forms the foundation for her work. She is dedicated to helping others access their inner strength, wisdom, and power to heal. As a cancer survivor, she has first hand experience using alternative therapies to complement and enhance traditional medical care.

 

Karin Kratina
Clinical Advisor
BS in nutrition, St. Mary’s Dominican College, New Orleans
MA in exercise physiology, University of Florida
Graduate Certificate in Gender Studies, University of Florida
PhD in cognitive anthropology, University of Florida

For the past 20 years, Karin Kratina, PhD, MPE, RD/LDN, has devoted her work to the treatment of women and men with eating and weight issues, including those with eating disorders. Her passion is to help people break out of “diet prison” and guide them back to the freedom around food and body that is so rightfully theirs. Besides serving as Clinical Advisor to Green Mountain, Karin is in private practice in Gainesville, Florida. She is the Nutrition Coordinator for the Eating Disorders Program at the University of Florida.

A noted speaker, Karin is an author and nutrition therapist who holds a BS degree in nutrition, MA in exercise physiology and PhD in cognitive anthropology (where she examined the unconscious thinking processes of women regarding food and body and how it impacts their behavior).

Her first book, Moving Away from Diets: Healing Eating Problems and Exercise Resistance, was released in its second edition in 2003. Her most recent book is It’s the Calories, Not the Carbs.

She is on the Clinical and Scientific Advisory Board for NEDO (National Eating Disorders Organization), the Advisory Board for the Foundation for the Advancement of Grain Based Foods, and the Editorial Advisory Board for the Health at Every Size journal.

In her free time, Karin is an avid dancer, and regularly teaches her favorite dance, called zydeco, locally and at festivals around the country. And, although she refuses to “exercise,” she is a zealous mountain biker. She resides in Gainesville, Florida with her miniature long-haired dachshund, Logan.

You can contact Karin at www.nourishingconnections.com.

 

Alta Engstrom
Director of Communications
BS - Foods and Nutrition, North Dakota State University
Registered Dietitian, The American Dietetic Association
Licensed Dietitian, State of Minnesota

An accomplished cook, serious shopper, frequent world traveler and passionate nondieter, Alta provides support for many of Green Mountain's auxiliary activities, including FitBriefings, our website Recipe of the Month, and the FitWoman online store. She also directs our Food Lovers' cooking tours to Italy and is the co-author of Recipes for Living, our new cookbook of Green Mountain recipes. So you can see that her interests match her job description quite well!

Alta also has impressive credentials for orchestrating these different activities which Green Mountain sponsors to help women stop dieting and start living. Alta spent the first part of her career providing leadership for the food industry. As nutrition director for a major food corporation for many years and a nationally respected authority in nutrition and public policy she led food industry efforts to develop and market good-tasting, healthy foods, to provide nutrition education for the public, and to ensure clear and accurate food labeling and health claims. Alta has published many articles on America's eating and nutrition trends. Her interest in women's health issues, good food and her passion for travel has led her to this next phase of her career, as part of the Green Mountain professional team.

 

Jon Gatewood, Executive Chef

Chef Jon Gatewood has been cooking professionally for over 23 years. He graduated, with honors, from The School of Culinary Arts in Denver Colorado and eventually became chef of the only three-star three-diamond hotel in Denver. Jon and his family moved to Vermont in 1999 where he accepted the position of Chef at a fine dining restaurant in Manchester. A few years later he opened his own restaurant in Danby Vermont.

Chef Gatewood loves to share his fondness of fresh ingredients and preparations in creating delicious and inspired dishes. With his motto of “Think Globally, Cook Locally” Chef Gatewood enjoys making dishes inspired by the seasons, using as much locally produced ingredients as he can.

 

Lisa Fennimore, Sous Chef & Pastry Chef

Lisa began her career in food as a teenager in the trenches of busy gourmet delicatessens in New Jersey. After completing a degree in music education at the College of New Jersey in 2000, she relocated to southern Vermont and began working in Brattleboro area restaurants. She fell in love with cooking "on the line" and the satisfaction that comes with preparing fresh, beautiful meals for soon-to-be satisfied customers.

Her training continued at one of Vermont's most prestigious inns, where she learned the finer points of baking bread, making pastries, and executing superior presentations. She continues to be devoted to creating healthy and delicious food as a member of the dining services team at Green Mountain at Fox Run.

Lisa also is an elementary school music teacher and can often be found leading after-school programs about baking, nutrition, and foods of the world. In her free time, she loves to cook with friends at home because that's just how much she loves what she does.

 

Sandie Small, Administration

Sandie is the first point of contact for many Green Mountain participants. She answers phone queries, dispenses information, sends out brochures, books appointments and generally troubleshoots in addition to taking care of all the administrative details that keep Green Mountain running like a well oiled clock. Sandie is a local resident, eager to share the beauties of her home state with visitors.

 

 

 


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