The Center for Mindful Eating is a nonprofit, nonreligious organization that is governed by a multidisciplinary Board of Directors. Its purpose is to establish and communicate the vision and mission of the Center. In May 2006, the bylaws of the Center were ratified. The Center for Mindful Eating is grateful for the time and dedication that these individuals have agreed to contribute to this project.

Alex Askew

At 14 he received his first job offer as a personal chef through a high school vocational work program and after 6 years of working in a variety of restaurants in and out of New York City decided to attend the Culinary Institute of America and graduated in 1989.

With a focus on eating lifestyles and trends in new menu alternatives, he began food research, development, and consulting for companies; General Mills, Hilton Hotels, Aramark Corporation, Specialty Restaurants and a host of private clients. Alex has also created one of the most unique consortiums of chefs under one group (ALS Culinary Concepts) for consulting in areas of menu development, R&D, start up operations, systems and controls, training, food manufacturing, business planning and concept development.

While working in restaurants that broadened his experience in different cooking styles as well as cuisines which included Cajun and Creole, Holistic, Latin and American fusion. In 1993 Alex Co-founded the BCAGlobal which dedicates itself to Education, Awareness, and Exposure for young minority students seeking careers within the culinary and hospitality industry.

Alex has enjoyed guest appearances on Good Morning America, CBS Early Morning Show, and the Food Network. He was a 2001 Doctorate of Foodservice recipient from the North American Foodservice Equipment Manufacturers, a Distinguished Visited Chef (DVC) for Sullivan University, 2011 Business Leader of Year from the Marcella Brown Foundation, in May 2012 received the distinguished New York Institute of Technology Global Leadership Award and served on the American Culinary Federation as Board member Accreditation Commission. In 2014 Alex was selected as a 2014 National Kellogg Fellow in Leadership in the Racial, Equity and Healing (REH) cohort.

With over 35 years in the restaurant and hospitality field Alex continues his use of knowledge and experience as a foundation for further growth and development in the culinary industry and continues the important social change work using food as a nexus and mindful eating as a platform to improve lives in the community.

Cuca Azinovic 

Cuca Azinovic is a certified mindfulness teacher and co-active coach specialized in mindful eating and self-compassion, based in Madrid, Spain. She has a Masters degree in Mindfulness in Health Contexts from Complutense University.

Certified Teacher of the Mindful Eating - Conscious Living (ME-CL) program and in the Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) program at the University of San Diego, she has been implementing both programs since 2014 in Spain. She has also completed professional training in Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness (MB-EAT) and in Compassion-Centered Therapy (CFT) for eating disorders, developed by Dr. Ken Goss & Paul Gilbert.

She has been working for Nirakara Mindfulness Institute in Spain since 2016, with responsibility for the development of mindful eating, for professionals and lay people.

She joined TCME as a member in 2012, volunteering for few years to revise our programs. In 2016, she started working for TCME, providing administrative support, and in April 2018, she joined the Board to promote the Spanish-language development of TCME.

She adores her family (including two little dogs), her allotment in which she meets with nature, and the natural processes of life and her garden.

You will find more about her, her work, and her personal path on www.bienestarconsciente.es.

In her own words: “I understand scarcity as the hunger that exists in our heart, despite living in full material abundance. This existential hunger, which can be manifested as lack of love, loneliness, rejection, or isolation, often determines our way of relating to food. By connecting with the heart and bringing awareness and presence to the act of feeding ourselves, we gradually nourish our existence, connecting with the fullness and abundance that are present at all times, alleviating suffering and recovering our dignity.”

Cecilia Clementi, Ph.D., Psych.D

Cecilia Clementi, PhD, Psych.D,  is a Clinical and Health Psychologist and psychotherapist. She is also teacher in Mindfulness based protocols (MBSR, MBCT, MBRP, MB-EAT).

Cecilia qualified as mindfulness teacher at The Italian Center for Mindfulness studies (CISM) and trained as a mindful eating teacher in Bruxelles (Belgium).

Cecilia has a PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of Bologna (Italy) where she also obtained her Clinical and Community Psychology degree and her Specialization as Health Psychologist and psychotherapy. She has also qualified in Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Compassion focused therapy (CFT).

Her areas of expertise include eating disorders, obesity, addiction, trauma, mood and anxiety disorders. She lives in Italy and she works as psychotherapist and Mindfulness Teacher both privately and at  San Nicola’s Addiction Center. She also collaborates as researcher and tutor with The Department of Psychology of the University of Bologna, and as a trainer in Mindfulness based protocols with CISM and other Associations.Cecilia has been practicing Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism for 15 years. She is keen on skating and dancing and she is also a volunteer clown therapist in the Hospitals. 

To learn more about Cecilia’s work, visit www.ceciliaclementi.altervista.org

Héctor Morillo Sarto, PhD

Héctor is a Clinical Psychologist, having degrees from University of Basque Country and the University of Seville. He is a teacher within the Psychology and Sociology Department at the University of Zaragoza. He is also a member of the “Mental Health in Primary Care (B-76) and of the Aragon Health Research Institute (IIS).

Hector completed internships related to his field at the University of Valencia and at CHA (Compassion and Mindfulness Center) in Cambridge, MA, USA

In addition to completing Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness (MB-EAT), Mindful Eating - Conscious Living (ME-CL) programs, Héctor has a Ph.D in Mindful Eating, adapting the program to a primary care population. Hector is the author of “Mindful Eating, el sabor de la atención” (Mindful Eating, the taste of attention).

He has led several Mindfulness and Mindful Eating groups for physicians, nurses, teachers, unemployed, students and clinical patients.

Dana notte, MS, RD, CD

Dana Notte is a non-diet dietitian and nutrition educator who aims to help people heal their relationship to food, body, and self through non-diet, weight-inclusive, and mindfulness-based approaches. She specializes in working with individuals seeking support to heal from chronic dieting, disordered eating, and eating disorders. Additionally, she actively presents at conferences and professional trainings on topics related to mindful eating and non-diet approaches to care.

Much of her training has been self-guided and on-the-job. She has spent years reading, researching, and attending trainings and conferences related to mindfulness, mindful eating, and weight-inclusive care. She is a former facilitator of the Am I Hungry® Mindful Eating Program and spent several years working for a non-diet, mindfulness-based wellness retreat, where she honed her skills as a nutrition educator, counselor, and mindfulness practitioner.

Dana is now the owner of ThrivInspired Nutrition, a Burlington, VT based nutrition counseling practice offering individual in-person and virtual nutrition counseling services, group workshops and retreats, and community, corporate, and professional speaking services. Dana is also part-time faculty at the University of Vermont where she teaches in the Nutrition and Food Sciences Department.

Recognized as an expert in the field, Dana has been quoted in several major publications including TIME, Reader’s Digest, Health, and EatingWell.

Outside of her professional work, you can find Dana in her kitchen experimenting with new ingredients and creating new recipes, with her nose in a Lonely Planet book planning her next international adventure, practicing staying present on the mat at the yoga studio, or enjoying all that the outdoors of VT have to offer.