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.

Cuca Azinovic, Treasurer

Cuca Azinovic is a certified mindfulness teacher and certified 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 in Madrid (Spain).

Certified Teacher & Mentor 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), Eat for Life and in Compassion-Centered Therapy for eating disorders (CFT-e) , developed by Dr. Ken Goss & Paul Gilbert at Derby University (UK).

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.”

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.

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

Dr. Alexis Conason

Alexis Conason, Psy.D., CEDS is a licensed psychologist and certified eating disorder specialist in private practice in New York City. Her group practice specializes in the treatment of overeating disorders, body image dissatisfaction, and sexual functioning using mindfulness-based interventions. She is the founder of The Anti-Diet Plan, an online mindfulness eating program to help people stop dieting, start eating with more attunement to their bodies, and live lives filled with joy, peace, and pleasure.  

She earned her doctorate degree in clinical psychology from Long Island University, C.W. Post. Following completion of her doctorate, Dr. Conason completed post-doctoral training at The Karen Horney Clinic and the New York Obesity Nutrition Research Center, in affiliation with Columbia University.  She also earned a certificate in Eating Disorders, Compulsions, and Addictions from the William Alanson White Institute and a certificate in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy from the American Institute for Psychoanalysis. Dr. Conason’s research has been published in peer-reviewed academic journals (including Journal of the American Medical Association’s JAMA Surgery) and she has presented at numerous scientific conferences. She is a peer reviewer for numerous scientific journals, including Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases and Obesity Surgery. She serves on the leadership committee of the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals-NY Chapter as their Research Chair and on the board of The Center for Mindful Eating. 

She is a regular contributor to Psychology Today and writes the “Eating Mindfully” blog for their website. She has been widely featured in the popular press including Oprah Magazine, Elle, Teen Vogue, CBS News, The Washington Post, The New York Post, and many more. Dr. Conason is a fierce advocate for helping people recognize andquestion the societal norms that encourage feeling not good enough about themselves so that they can live their most fulfilling lives-- at any size! 

Sharon A. Suh, Ph.D.

Sharon A. Suh is a Level II certified Mindful Eating-Conscious Living teacher (ME-CL, UC San Diego) and a Professor of Buddhism at Seattle University. She received her Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies from Harvard University and is author of: Being Buddhist in a Christian World: Gender and Community (University of Washington Press, 2004); Silver Screen Buddha: Buddhism in Asian and Western Film (Bloomsbury Press, 2015); and Occupy This Body: A Buddhist Memoir (Sumeru Press, 2019). Her academic work explores racialized trauma experienced by people of color and emphasizes the importance of Trauma-Informed embodiment practices such as meditation and yoga that can increase the capacity for resilience. She is interested in somatic awareness and the generative possibilities of mindfulness, neuroscience, and trauma-informed yoga for healing. She served on the Board of Directors of Yoga Behind Bars and has completed the YBB Trauma-Informed Yoga training; Yoga 4 Trauma certification and extensive work in trauma-informed yoga for transcending sexual assault. She teaches barre for fun and lives in Seattle with her two daughters, husband, and two dogs. You can find her work in mindful eating at www.mindfuleatingmethod.com.