Meet our Celebrity Board, click on picture for a more information
 Miss America 2007 Kirsten Haglund |
 Supermodel Emme |
 Christine Avanti- Best Selling Author and Celeb Nutritionist |
 Chenese Lewis- President NOW Hollywood Chapter and Miss Plus Size America 2003 |
 Dr. Linda Papadopoulos- UK's Leading Counseling and Media Psychologist |
 Whitney Thompson- Wilhemina Model and Winner America's Next Top Model Cycle 10 |
Miss America 2007 Kirsten Haglund
Originally from Farmington Hills, Michigan, Kirsten Haglund is 21 years old and most recently traveled 20,000 miles a month serving as Miss America 2008. During that time, she served as Goodwill Ambassador for the Children’s Miracle Network, spokesperson for the Zerosmoke © Company, and was a tireless advocate for increased awareness of Eating Disorders as a public health priority. On behalf of this cause, she made guest speaking appearances at Harvard University, the National Press Club in Washington D.C., and for the United States Congress while lobbying with the Eating Disorders Coalition for Mental Health Parity and the FREED Bill. She also worked with Darryl Robert’s in promotion of his film America the Beautiful, and in these efforts, was recipient of the ANAD Advocacy Award. In February of 2009 she founded the Kirsten Haglund Foundation, whose mission is to fundraise to provide treatment scholarships to assist families and individuals battling eating disorders. A member of the International Association of Eating Disorders (IAEDP), she also works closely with NEDA, the Eating Disorders Coalition, and Renfrew Treatment Centers. Kirsten continues to speak out both in media and at universities and professional conferences across the country about eating disorders, sharing her personal story and a message of hope and healing. She attended the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, and will begin finishing her degree in Political Science/International Relations this summer at Emory University in Atlanta, GA.
Supermodel Emme
Emme, the supermodel, television personality, author, lecturer, clothing designer, and nationally recognized women’s advocate for positive body image and self esteem has a clear mission: to awaken the inner magnificence inherent in each of us. It’s no wonder People magazine selected her twice as one of the “50 Most Beautiful People” and Ladies’ Home Journal chose her as one of the “Most Important Women in America” and one of the “Most Fascinating Women of the Year.” And the accolades don’t stop there: she was honored as a Glamour magazine “Woman of the Year” and as one of Biography magazine’s “25 Most Influential Women.” At Sundance 2010, Emme served on a highly selective and accredited panel assembled by the Creative Coalition to address America’s unhealthy relationship with food and the role the of the entertainment industry in creating a positive change. In 2009 Emme brought her talent and sparkling personality to Fox as the host of the groundbreaking dating competition series, MORE TO LOVE, from Executive producer Mike Fleiss (The Bachelor and The Bachelorette). Emme burst onto the scene as the world’s first full-figured supermodel and, as host of E! Entertainment Television’s “Fashion Emergency”, she quickly became a popular icon not only in the United States, but around the globe. Most recently she founded the Body Image Council with NEDA. Emme’s bio and acolades are most impressive and we are pleased to have her on our Celebrity Board. You can find out more about her at www.emmestyle.com
Celebrity Nutritionist and Best Selling Author Christine Avanti
www.christineavanti.com
Christine is not only the best selling author of Skinny Chicks Don’t Eat Salads, but she is a highly acclaimed and popular nutritionist based in Los Angeles, California. She has been featured in a lot of media including: Dancing With The Stars, The Rachael Ray Show, Tyra, the Today Show, The 700 Club, Better TV, the TV Guide Channel, Fox & Friends, E! News, LA’s KCOP 13 News, KTTV Fox 11 News, ABC 7 News and Spike TV. She has appeared in InStyle, US Weekly, Clean Eating, Health, Self, Real Simple, Star, Parents magazine, Muscle & Fitness, and Oxygen magazines. Celebrity clients include:
E! star Chelsea Handler, actor Johnny Galecki, action star Jason Statham, action star Steven Seagal, Entourage actor Jeremy Piven, Dancing with the Stars hostess Samantha Harris, E! hostess Giuliana Rancic, actress Janine Turner, NFL legend Marcus Allen, and supermodel Stacy Williams. She’s also a nutrition consultant for The Dr. Phil Show and The Ultimate Tea Diet, a Harper Collins book by Mark “Dr. Tea” Ukra.
Christine serves as the Nutrition Expert for Fed Up and approves all curriculum related to nutrition and healthy eating. You can buy her book at:
Chenese Lewis
Chenese Lewis is a sought after keynote speaker, expert commentator, and a positive body image and self esteem advocate. She is the current President of the Hollywood Chapter of the National Organization for Women, the Ambassador of the Binge Eating Disorder Association (BEDA), and made history by being the first woman crowned Miss Plus America in 2003. Her unique story and prestigious career have been featured by countless media outlets such as Dr. Phil, The Insider, E! News , Extra and Figure Magazine. As a plus size model she has modeled for many companies including Torrid, Kmart, and served as the celebrity face for Sizeappeal. As a keynote speaker she lectures at national workshops, seminars, and universities around the country including the University of California, Davis “Celebrate Your Body Week” and the commencement speaker at The Art Institute of California in Hollywood. Chenese’s unique perspective as a plus size woman and role model enables her to connect to real women across the country. It’s no wonder PLUS Model Magazine called her “A leader in the curvy revolution!”
As an actress her work on B.E.T’s hit show “Hell Date” showed her impeccable improvisational and comedic skills, which kept millions tuning in weekly. She also won rave reviews for her dramatic portrayal of Connie Williams, a larger than life professional baseball player in the NAACP Award winning play “The Girls of Summer” set in the 1940’s.
The Louisiana native is the Chief Creative Officer for Chenese Lewis Productions, LLC a media company established in 2007 based on the principal that you don’t have to be a size 0 to be beautiful. She is the creator and host of Hollywood NOW’s “Love Your Body Day” an annual event where women of all sizes come together to celebrate a day of self-acceptance to promote positive body image and PLUS Model Radio, the #1 podcast for plus size women. She also executive produced the 2008 Flawless Calendar, the very first of its kind, showcasing a wide variety of curvaceous models all different ethnicities, shapes and sizes with high fashion editorial images.
Chenese attributes her success by not conforming to society’s ideals of beauty but rather showing by example, that you can be beautiful and confident regardless of your size, Chenese Lewis is the epitome of the plus size woman.
Dr. Linda Papadopoulos
Dr. Linda Papadopoulos is one the most well-known and respected Counselling and Media psychologists in the UK today. As well as an academic career where she set up and headed successful post-graduate and practitioner-doctorate University programmes, she is also an active researcher and was at one time one of the youngest Readers in the country based on international publications. Her comments regarding the psychology behind news and current events are often syndicated by the press and discussed by both TV and radio networks both in the UK and the US. She has a very prolific academic publication record and has published widely in peer reviewed academic journals in the field of Counseling and Medical psychology. She has also written several academic and self-help books and is often invited to give specialist lectures at numerous Universities and Medical Schools both in England and throughout the World. Dr. Linda’s research has also informed government policy, she is currently heading up a large-scale independent review on the effects of sexualisation on violence against women for the Home Office. In 2008 she won the prestigious Madame Figaro Women of the Year award and in 2007 was cited as one of the top 5 Psychologists in the UK by the Evening Standard Newspaper. Dr. Linda practices as a Chartered psychologist and Cognitive Behavioural Therapist in London where she lives with her husband and little girl.
Whitney Thompson
Whitney is the first “plus sized” winner of America’s Next Top Model, which caused controversy as she is a very fit and slim looking person. This brought a lot of attention to what our society calls “plus sized”. Fortunately this label did not deter Whitney and she won and is now modeling with Wilhemina. She is based in both NY and LA. Whitney is an ambassador for NEDA (National Eating Disorders Association). She won a contract with CoverGirl that included a U.S. national tv commercial, print, a billboard in Times Square and then a commercial with singer Rihanna. She has landed covers of magazines including: Seventeen, Jacksonvile , Animal Fair and Supermodels Unlimited. She has modedled for Metrostyle, JC Penney, People Magazine, Diana Warner Jewelry, Forever 21 (Faith 21), Saks Fifth Avenue, Torrid, Converse One Star, Fashion Bug, Pure Energy/Target.
