Nimali Fernando, MD, MPH is a pediatrician, public health leader, and nationally recognized authority in culinary medicine and early childhood nutrition. She is the Founder and Chief Visionary Officer of The Dr. Yum Project, a nonprofit advancing evidence-based, developmentally appropriate food education as a preventive health strategy — beginning in early childhood and designed for scale across education, healthcare, and community systems.

Dr. Fernando brings deep clinical and public health expertise to her work. She earned her Doctor of Medicine and Master of Public Health from the University of Pittsburgh, completed her pediatric residency at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and served as Chief Resident. This dual training grounds her leadership in both frontline clinical care and population-level prevention, informing an interdisciplinary approach that bridges medicine, education, and systems change.

As the owner of Yum Pediatrics, Dr. Fernando showcased an innovative pediatric primary care practice integrating lifestyle medicine into routine well-child care. The practice included a teaching kitchen and on-site garden, allowing families to engage in hands-on food education as part of clinical visits. This model, recognized for its rigor and creativity, served as the incubator for The Dr. Yum Project’s national programs and demonstrated the feasibility of integrating food education into trusted care settings.

Under Dr. Fernando’s leadership, The Dr. Yum Project has built and scaled Dr. Yum’s Food Adventure, an award-winning early childhood nutrition education curriculum implemented across dozens of states in settings including Head Start programs, YMCA Early Learning Centers, and community-based organizations. The organization has also developed Touchpoints, a structured training and implementation model that supports pediatric practices in delivering evidence-aligned food, feeding, and lifestyle counseling for children with obesity, translating national clinical guidance into real-world workflows.

Dr. Fernando is the co-author of the award-winning book Raising a Healthy, Happy Eater, which translates feeding science into practical, strengths-based guidance for families. She is a frequent national speaker on food as medicine, early feeding development, and nutrition equity, and has contributed to policy discussions related to child nutrition and WIC. Her work is increasingly focused on strengthening the evidence base for early food education through program evaluation and academic partnerships, ensuring that innovation is paired with rigor and accountability.

A member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Dr. Fernando is deeply committed to advancing preventive health interventions that begin early, address structural drivers of diet-related disease, and are designed to be adopted by the systems families already trust. Across her career, she has demonstrated a consistent ability to translate vision into scalable, evidence-informed solutions - making The Dr. Yum Project a trusted partner for funders, educators, and healthcare leaders seeking durable impact.

Heidi DiEugenio is a seasoned leader in public health education, nonprofit strategy, and family-centered program development, with a career devoted to connecting busy families with practical resources that make healthy, joyful living both accessible and sustainable. She currently serves as Co-founder and Chief Partnership Officer for the Dr. Yum Project, a pediatrician-founded public health nonprofit dedicated to advancing early childhood food education and preventive health. In this role, Heidi drives strategic program development, partnership cultivation, and national implementation efforts that bring research-backed nutrition education and hands-on learning experiences to schools, healthcare partners, and communities nationwide.

Heidi’s commitment to family wellbeing is rooted in personal experience — growing up with a younger brother diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes reinforced her belief in the transformative power of healthy eating and caregiver empowerment. This lived insight continues to inform her work championing food literacy, equity, and joyful learning as cornerstones of lifelong health.

She is President of HD Solutions, a woman-owned consulting firm specializing in marketing, digital strategy, and project leadership for mission-driven organizations. Through HD HR Solutions, Heidi has helped organizations refine their strategic narratives, strengthen community engagement, and scale impact through thoughtful brand and program alignment. Prior to this, she was the founding Executive Director of Blue Star Families, now the nation’s largest nonprofit network supporting military families through community connection, leadership development, and policy advocacy — a role that underscores her strength in organizational growth, cross-sector partnership, and community trust building.

Heidi’s early career spans senior roles in regional marketing leadership across several states and more than a decade as a small business owner, providing her with deep expertise in audience engagement, operations, and adaptive leadership. Across sectors, she has demonstrated a consistent ability to turn bold ideas into sustainable, evidence-aligned programs, mobilize stakeholders around shared goals, and lead teams in scaling impact for diverse communities.

At The Dr. Yum Project, Heidi’s leadership helps ensure that families across the country are supported with accessible tools, partnerships, and strategies that make healthy food habits a joyful and reachable part of everyday life. Her work exemplifies a blend of strategic rigor, empathetic stewardship, and community-centered innovation, making her a trusted partner for funders, educators, healthcare leaders, and community organizations committed to equitable family wellbeing.

Santhi was born in India. Her family moved to the United States
 when she was 5 years old. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Science
 from The George Washington University. She earned her Medical degree 
from Ross University School of Medicine (Dominica, West Indies). She 
completed her Pediatric Residency and Chief Residency at Crozer Chester
 Medical Center in Pennsylvania. She went on to work as an Attending 
Physician in General Pediatrics at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. In 2006 she and her husband moved to Fredericksburg, VA to be close to their families. Currently she is practicing pediatrics at ALL Pediatrics of Lakeridge/Lorton in Virginia. She is Board Certified with the American Board of Pediatric and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Nair is very passionate about fighting the epidemic of Obesity. She is and wants to be involved in promoting a Heart Healthy Lifestyle for her patients and her community. Her husband Sudeep Menachery is a physician at the Hematology Oncology Associates of Fredericksburg. Together they have two daughters, Riya and Rehka. She enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, gardening, reading, traveling and experiencing different cultures.

Laura is a photographer and lover of home cooking and the good ol’ days of family dinners. She is originally from Maryland and moved to the Fredericksburg area in 2015. She resides in Spotsylvania with her husband, Dr. Agostino Visioni, and their four children Guido, John, Sofia, and Rocco. Laura and her husband met as undergraduates at Johns Hopkins University where Laura majored in International Relations and Spanish. Prior to moving to the Fredericksburg area Laura had a nearly 20-year career as a management consultant with Vantage Partners of Boston, MA. There, she specialized in negotiation process design, mediation, conflict resolution, and multi-party alignment. Her clients were primarily pharmaceutical companies struggling to collaborate effectively with their drug development partners. Since her youth, Laura has found fulfillment in volunteer work, beginning as a candy striper in high school, and later traveling abroad to work with street children in Mexico City. In addition to her work for the Dr. Yum Project, Laura is a volunteer photographer for the Fairy Godmother Project and a Cuddler in the Mary Washington Hospital Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit. She enjoys cooking, hiking, camping, travel, cross-cultural immersion, and learning new things. Laura always has her camera and when she isn’t photographing food or other people’s families, she is working on her own Project 365, taking a photo a day, in a constant quest to document the art of the ordinary and the fleeting joys of parenthood.

C.J. is a senior marketing, advertising, and customer relations expert in Los Angeles, CA. His 20+ years of experience implementing a human behavior, data-informed approach to growth marketing has helped hundreds of nonprofits, departments of government, and startups increase lead generation, audience engagement, and sales. He has conducted a multitude of campaigns within Public Health on a variety of topics, such as childhood nutrition and obesity prevention, substance use risk and education, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), and tobacco and teen vaping prevention for audiences ranging from 0-18. C.J. has his Masters in Business Administration, Executive Leadership from the University of Southern California (USC) Marshall School of Business, CA, and a degree in Psychology from Appalachian State University, NC.

Lexi is a fifth-generation farmer with a passion for stewardship. Across her nearly 20 years as a conservation professional, she has honed her skills as a catalyst for identifying unique partnership opportunities to address critical environmental and social issues.

Most recently, Lexi led development of the SAI Platform’s Regenerative Agriculture Programme (Regenerating Together) serving to lead and manage the implementation across the matrix of agricultural production systems globally. Primarily through partnering with the food and beverage industry value chain members to develop metrics, program implementation guidance, webinar curriculum and demonstration pilots of how value chains can collaborate to increase the regenerative capacity of farms.

Lexi previously served as Program Director for Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture in the United States. In this role, Lexi led the development and implementation of the Continuous Improvement Accelerator which focused on supporting commodity crop farmers by measuring and incentivising continuous improvement. Prior to this role, Lexi supported business development and led environmental service support for Professional Development Services LLC. She also worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a soil conservationist for over a decade, working directly with farmers to adopt conservation practices through agronomic and engineering support.

Lexi’s education includes a M.Sc. degree in Environmental Science and Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic University. She also holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies with minors in Leadership and Applied Mathematics from Mary Baldwin University. During her time at Mary Baldwin University, she also received a Certificate in Leadership from the Virginia Women’s Institute for Leadership holding leadership roles and participation in the U.S. Army Reserve Officers Training Course.

Wendy is a graduate of Mary Washington College. She is an early childhood educator and preschool program director. Her work with the Dr. Yum Project includes cooking instruction, recipe development, and community outreach. She serves as the Creative Director for Dr. Yum's Food Adventure curriculum. Her volunteer work is with The Table at St. George's market-style food pantry providing free fresh produce weekly to her local community.

Jessica has worked in early childhood education for the last 15 years as a preschool teacher in both Maryland and Virginia. She is uniquely qualified to lead this program since she has participated in Dr. Yum's Food Adventure not only as a teacher and preschool director, but as a parent. She says it is because of the Dr. Yum Project that her kids prefer grape tomatoes over candy! She has witnessed firsthand children, including her own, learn to love foods through their experience with this curriculum. In her free time, Jessica loves to make memories with her kids, so you can catch her just having fun! She also loves to craft and create. She and her husband enjoy woodworking together and creating things for their home!

Melanie Potock, MA, CCC-SLP, is an international speaker on the topic of feeding babies, toddlers and school-age kids. She is the co-author of the award-winning Raising a Healthy Happy Eater: A Stage-by-Stage Guide to Setting Your Child on the Path to Adventurous Eating (2015) and Baby Self-Feeding: Solutions for Introducing Purees and Solids to Create Lifelong Healthy Eating Habits (2016). The tips in her cookbook for parents & kids, Adventures in Veggieland: Help Your Kids Learn to Love Vegetables with 100 Easy Activities and Recipes (2018) are based on the latest research and Melanie’s 20 years of success as a pediatric feeding therapist. Melanie’s children’s book You are Not an Otter takes preschoolers on a food adventure, exploring all the ways that various animals eat! Melanie’s advice has been shared in a variety of television and print media, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, CNN.com and Parents Magazine. Contact her at www.MelaniePotock.com for more articles, professional tips, and helpful videos to raise your adventurous eater and follow Mel on Instagram and Facebook too!

Dianna Thomas is a registered dietitian and certified personal trainer. She has experience in community nutrition research and is a certified CDC Diabetes Prevention Program lifestyle coach. Dianna received her bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science from Kennesaw State University, her master’s degree from the University of Georgia, and completed her dietetic internship at Emory University Hospital. She also runs her own health and fitness company, Mini But Mighty LLC, where she enjoys enlightening others about the power of movement and a well-balanced diet. Her work with the Dr. Yum Project includes nutritional analyses of newly developed recipes and support on nutrition-focused projects. Dianna aims to improve the health of individuals and families all over the world through the power of nutrition education!

Sarah is a registered dietitian who uses intuitive eating and a weight-neutral approach to help individuals and families take the stress out of eating, ditch diets, and enjoy food again. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Dietetics at James Madison University and went on to complete her Dietetic Internship at Virginia Tech. Since 2013, Sarah has produced and published food and nutrition videos on the Sarah Moran Nutrition YouTube channel. She reaches thousands of people each month through online video with a focus on practical tips, meal ideas, and nutrition education. Through her work with individuals, groups, and her online community, Sarah aims to help change the culture around food and eating and reduce the confusion that many feel about health and nutrition. Find more about Sarah at sarahmorannutrition.com.

Noah is a recent graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, holding a degree in Health, Physical Education, and Exercise Science. Noah was born and raised in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Growing up with the Dr. Yum Project, Noah quickly became passionate for serving his community on a local level. From the very first Dr. Yum cooking lesson, Noah has been a valuable team member in the coordination, promotion, and execution of the Dr. Yum Project’s values and mission as a cooking instructor and outreach team member. Noah currently works as a Financial Advisor in Richmond, Virginia.

Since moving to Richmond in 2017, Noah enjoys the diverse selection of hobbies and activities that the greater Richmond area has to offer. When not in the office, Noah can be found running on Belle Isle with his dog Finnegan, playing kickball and dodgeball in a recreational league, or simply trying a new recipe at home. Noah is thankful to live close to family and the Project and makes frequent visits to work with the Dr. Yum Team and spend time with his parents, siblings, nieces & nephews.

Ashleigh Buyers Kassock is a multimedia designer and illustrator living in downtown Fredericksburg. She started working with the Dr. Yum Project team in 2011 when she was still in college at the University of Mary Washington. Ashleigh designed the original Dr. Yum character featured in Dr. Yum's Food Adventure curriculum along with the most recent character redesign. More of her illustrations can be seen within the pages of this inspirational project, as well as in Dr. Yum’s “Raising a Healthy Happy Eater” book. As a new mom herself, Ashleigh is proud to be part of the Dr. Yum Project team. A group of enthusiastic people working to inspire a new generation of happy, health-conscious eaters, and their families.