About our Staff:

Alice Bast
Executive Director

Alice Bast founded the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness in 2003 to help get the three million Americans with celiac disease properly diagnosed. It is her mission to align with various players across the medical, business and media communities, as well as the public to raise awareness about celiac. As executive director, Alice has formed partnerships with major U.S. corporations and become a leading authority on celiac disease. Alice works out of the NFCA Philadelphia office.
Read Alice's personal story

Watch a video of Alice telling her story!!

Vanessa Maltin
Director of Programming and Communications

Vanessa Maltin came to the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness after working as a health care reporter for a major national newswire. She was diagnosed with celiac disease after writing a feature story about celiac. After writing Beyond Rice Cakes as a fundraiser for NFCA, Vanessa came on board  full time as the director of programming & communications.  In this role, she oversees the foundation's programs including the Gluten-Free Cooking Sprees, the monthly newsletter, continuing education programs for pharmacists and chefs, media outreach and strategic partnerships with corporations. She is the author of Beyond Rice Cakes: A Young Person's Guide to Cooking, Eating & Living Gluten-Free and her second book, The Gloriously Gluten-Free Cookbook, is scheduled for release in the fall of 2009. Vanessa is also the host of Alternative Appetites, a video podcast series that teaches people with celiac disease and other special diets to cook delicious food that is suitable for their specific condition. In her spare time, Vanessa works as a Culinary Assistant at L'Academie de Cuisine in Bethesda, MD.  Vanessa works in the NFCA Washington, DC office.
Read Vanessa's personal story

Watch a video of Vanessa telling her story!!

Nancy Ginter
Director of Operations

Nancy Ginter joined the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness in June of 2004 after working extensively for AT&T leading a global sales team focused on the needs of multi-national corporations. At NFCA, Nancy works across departmental lines to assist in operational matters along with programming, Philadelphia area events, contracts and sponsorship. Nancy also is responsible for the NFCA Speakers Bureau, contributing to NFCA publications and working on NFCA programs for raising awareness. Nancy works in the NFCA Philadelphia office

Nancy Baker
Director of Education

Nancy Baker joined the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness in January of 2008 after merging her successful gluten-free educational projects The Celiac Site and GREAT with the non-profit.  Nancy holds a Masters in Teaching from Seattle University and a Masters in Education from the University of Texas.  Her experience in addition to classroom work includes being a former vice principal, chairing school accreditation, writing for newspapers in education, and curriculum construction both nationally and internationally.  Until there is a pharmaceutical cure in place, at NFCA, Nancy guides post-diagnosis support with gluten-free education for chefs, kitchens, dietitians, and programs relating to kids and schools. Nancy works for NFCA remotely from Seattle.

Stefanie Kleinman
Volunteer & Awareness Coordinator

Stefanie Kleinman came to NFCA after volunteering on the production of Alternative Appetites. She is a graduate of Boston University's College of Communications with a bachelor's degree in Film and Television with a concentration in International Relations. Stefanie has previously worked on BBC2's Saturday Kitchen and with the CBS affiliate in Boston. She hopes to transfer those experiences to participate in NFCA's media outreach, particularly with the production of Alternative Appetites. She adores working with people and hopes to continue to grow NFCA's volunteer base. She is inspired by the stories and experiences of NFCA's members and is excited to continue learning from them. Stefanie works in the NFCA Washington, DC office.

Chad Brandt
Web and Technology Coordinator

Chad Brandt has been a volunteer with the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness since January 2007 and is now a staff member helping the team with web initiatives. Chad was diagnosed with Celiac disease in 2002 and would love nothing more than to educate the masses regarding the disease and the gluten free diet, while promoting research & awareness. Since 1998, Chad has owned and operated a web design & development business. During that time he's held full-time positions for software companies and marketing firms in the areas of web programming, web design, and web team management.

Lauren Pike
Research & Administrative Assistant

Lauren Pike joined the staff of NFCA part time at the end of November 2008. She previously worked for various nonprofit organizations including the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. She is excited about applying her graduate certificate in nonprofit grant writing towards finding the funds needed for the NFCA to continue their amazing work within the Celiac community. Lauren works in the NFCA Washington, DC office.

Paul Cheh
Intern

Paul  joined the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness as a summer intern in May of 2008.  Paul is currently a full-time undergraduate student at Washington University in St. Louis.  He is majoring in Anthropology and Psychology and minoring in Public Health.  Paul has previously interned at the non-profit organizations Fight Crime: Invest in Kids and the Audubon Naturalist Society.  He hopes to apply his experience with non-profits towards contributing to the goals of NFCA.  Paul works in the NFCA Washington, DC office.

Sarah Gardiner
Intern

Sarah Gardiner joined the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness in June 2008 as a summer outreach intern. She is currently pursuing her undergraduate degree at Georgetown University as an international politics major. She has previously interned with Amnesty International in the Grassroots Advocacy branch of their D.C. office.  This summer, she hopes to contribute to increasing awareness of celiac and available treatments by reaching out to new individals and organizations. Sarah is interning in the NFCA's D.C. office.   

Sydney Lupkin
Intern

Sydney joined the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness as a summer intern in May 2008. She is currently a rising junior in Boston University's College of Communication, where she is majoring in print journalism with a minor in Economics. At school, Sydney is the Campus News Editor of her college newspaper, the Daily Free Press. While she is excited to use her communications ability to help NFCA with its initiatives, she is equally thrilled to learn about nonprofits and pick up new skills. Sydney works in the NFCA Philadelphia office.

Last Updated June 6, 2008