Our team's diverse talents and backgrounds strengthen and support our efforts and ventures, as does our shared passion for eating and living well. We encourage you to read our individual bios below for more interesting tidbits!

Sara Baer-Sinnott
President

Sara has been an instrumental figure at Oldways since its early days, joining the staff in 1992 to work on one of the first overseas Symposiums (Food, Culture and Discovery in Spain) and the first Mediterranean Diet Conference.  

Sara assumed the presidency of Oldways in May 2010, on the untimely death of founder K. Dun Gifford.. She now develops company strategy, oversees all Oldways projects and programs, and works closely with all members of the Oldways staff. In her years at Oldways, Sara has been an integral part of Oldways’ growth and success. She has helped develop ground-breaking programs including its Traditional Diet Pyramids; the Whole Grains Council; Healthy Pasta Meals; Managing Sweetness; High Five Children's Cooking Curriculum; Oldways Traditional Table; and many others.  Her current priorities include the growth of the Mediterranean Foods Alliance and Latino Nutrition Coalition, as well as overseas Symposiums and Culinarias about traditional foods and culture. Sara is also co-author of the much-lauded The Oldways Table with Oldways’ Founder, the late K. Dun Gifford.

Before joining Oldways, Sara was the Special Projects Editor at Inc. Magazine, and she's also worked for state and federal government agencies.  She has a B.A. in Economics from Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and an M.A. in Regional Planinng from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Sara's interest in food and nutrition came later in life, as a mother and through her work and travels at Oldways.  Her children, now adults, benefitted from an “Oldways education” and from Sara's travels to many parts of Italy, Spain, Greece, France, Turkey, North Africa, China, Australia, Thailand, Iceland and many Oldways destinations in between. Sara and her children have learned to bring the delicious (and easy) cooking of the “old ways” into their own kitchens, and are grateful for the many wonderful tastes and experiences they've had in the last two decades.  While Sara has many favorite foods from her travels, she saves her biggest swoons for burrata, aceto balsamico, Parmigiano-Reggiano, halloumi, and sweet wine.  One of her other great loves is her Rottweilers (she adopts rescued dogs) including her current Sadie, aka, The Oldways Dog (see Sadie's bio below!).

Birthe Creutz
Director of Finance

Birthe joined Oldways in 1999 and celebrated her 10th anniversary at Oldways in October 2009. She manages Oldways’ finances, including for the Whole Grains Council, Latino Nutrition Coalition and Mediterranean Foods Alliance, and other programs, conferences, Symposiums, and Culinarias. She is also responsible for HR policies and compliance, as well as permissions and licensing for use of Oldways’ copyrighted materials. Birthe came to Oldways with a strong background in financial management of grants and contracts and budget administration, and previously served for 10 years as the Associate Director for Research Administration at the Institute for Circadian Physiology in Cambridge, after having worked for 15 years as Executive Administrative Assistant and Coordinator in a leading cardiovascular-renal physiology laboratory at Harvard Medical School.

She holds a Diploma from the Danish Medical Society Medical Secretarial School in Copenhagen, Denmark and a Certificate in Graphic Design from Massachusetts College of Art in Boston. With her keen interest in appetizing and healthful food choices, health care, organic gardening and agriculture, and environmental issues, she enjoys being part of the Oldways team and Oldways’ stimulating environment and mission. She takes pride in what Oldways has accomplished over the last ten years and is eagerly anticipating what its new programs and directions for the next ten years will bring. She enjoys opportunities to meet sponsors, members, food writers, scientists and other participants at conferences and events. She especially enjoys having been able to take part in some of Oldways overseas Symposiums and Culinarias, to learn about regional cultures, farming and harvesting, and to experience first-hand how artisanal products are made.

Cynthia Harriman
Director of Food and Nutrition Strategies

A self-described "serial re-inventer," Cynthia has had a varied career, working at jobs as diverse as Kindergarten teacher, tax preparer, and corporate computer trainer. Before joining Oldways, she worked for twelve years as International Marketing Manager and later VP of New Product Development for a manufacturing company. Cynthia is the author of scores of magazine articles and five books, including the well-known Take Your Kids to Europe (a family travel guide now in its eighth edition) and Good Eats, a cookbook and nutrition guide for college students limited to six ingredients and two pans. She received her degree in French Culture and Language from Brown University.

Cynthia came to Oldways in 2003 to help manage the Whole Grains Council, which grew from six members to almost 250 under her stewardship. She managed the creation of standards and graphics for the Whole Grain Stamp, and helped it become a trusted symbol for aiding consumers in fifteen countries to find thousands of whole grain products. As Director of Food and Nutrition Strategies for Oldways, Cynthia has also been instrumental in the guiding of the Latino Nutrition Coalition and the Mediterranean Foods Alliance, and is always ready to add her wordsmithing talents to any Oldways communications.

Cynthia's own positive experience with the power of good food prompted her to dedicate her waking hours to helping others enjoy better eating. After she lost twenty-five pounds and left her seasonal allergies behind by switching to whole grains and eating more vegetables and legumes, Cynthia was surprised and delighted to learn that there is an alternative to the cycles of guilt ("cause I ate it") and deprivation ("'cause I didn't") that many women see as their only options in relating to food. Today, Cynthia is pleased to participate in crafting the Oldways message of how to enjoy a satisfying abundance of healthy delicious foods.

 
Kara Berrini
Program Manager, Whole Grains Council

Kara joined Oldways and the Whole Grains Council as Program Manager in July of 2007. She spends much of her time shepherding new whole grain products through the submission and approval process to obtain use of the Whole Grain Stamp. As the primary contact person for most of the WGC's many member companies, Kara helps prospective members learn more about the WGC and ensures that all existing WGC members enjoy a fulfilling and engaging partnership with the Council's many education and outreach initiatives. She often travels and presents on behalf of the WGC emphasizing the importance of whole grain goodness to a variety of audiences including culinary and health professionals, and enjoys writing frequently for the WGC's blog about her many whole grain adventures.

Before joining Oldways, Kara spent two years working for a guitar company and more than five years with an energy marketing and trading company, both located in Boston.  She has also traveled extensively, having visited nearly all 50 U.S. states and eight foreign countries to date. Highlights include a two-week trip across northern and central Italy culminating in a visit to Torino for the 2006 Slow Food Festival, as well as a two-week Oldways culinaria to Morocco in December of 2008 to explore the food and culture of Marrakech and Fez. She believes in a "try anything once" approach to life, as can be seen in her career choices, and especially loves trying new food while dining out and cooking new recipes at home. 

Kara received her B.F.A. in Writing and Literature from Emerson College in Boston, MA.

Erika Ross
Program Manager
 
Erika has stepped into the role of Program Manager for both the Latino Nutrition Coalition and the Mediterranean Foods Alliance, where she creates content and manages both program websites. Prior to joining Oldways, Erika spent the last four years working as an event planner at Harvard University where she organized everything from 10 person breakfast breaks to massive 6000 person events.

Erika hails from Wisconsin where the cow is king, and cheese is consumed in every conceivable form. After growing up on three square meals a day, she moved to Boulder to obtain a B.S. in Journalism from the University of Colorado. Her eyes were opened to radically new sources of nutrition and sustenance, and health and fitness became an essential aspect of life. Erika caught the travel bug and hiked, biked and trekked extensively through Central and South America while sampling and exploring various cuisines along the way. Her career, not surprisingly, has revolved around food as well. Whether is it providing PR for restaurants, running multifaceted events, or catering to the masses, food has been a prominent feature. Erika is ready to return to the simple pleasures of nutrition and health, and is thrilled by the opportunity to work at Oldways.

Alison Clancy
Social Media Manager

Back in the early 90s, when “using the internet” meant waiting for hours for a dial-up connection to work, and computers were still the size of baby elephants, no one could have predicted the communication channels that were about to be opened. Alison practically grew up on instant messaging, went to college with Facebook as a third roommate, and put off writing many, many research papers with the help of YouTube and later, Hulu.

Fresh out of Northeastern University with a B.A. in Journalism and Graphic Design, she joined Oldways in February 2009 with the intention of using new advancements in social media to spread the Oldways mission across the World Wide Web. Alison has helped to design and create The Oldways Table (our own foodie blog), manages multiple Twitter accounts for both Oldways and the Latino Nutrition Coalition, and moderates the OldwaysTube (the official Oldways YouTube channel). In April, she became the official “Videographer” for the Make (at least!) Half Your Grains Whole conference in Alexandria, Virginia, and learned how to quite literally juggle several different cameras. She also sometimes steps away from the computer to interact with media professionals, and writes all press releases. Alison truly believes that social media can be a wonderful way to connect and unify people, especially when it comes to teaching others about nutrition and fitness.

Traveling is one of Alison’s biggest passions, and she includes Australia and Italy as two of her former homes. Growing up in a big Italian family (don’t let the red hair fool you), Alison has unknowingly followed the Mediterranean Diet for her entire life, and was always taught that regular physical activity is mandatory, never optional. Unfortunately, she was not blessed with skills in the kitchen, but is inspired daily by her co-workers at Oldways and their frequent culinary achievements.

Georgia Orcutt
Program Manager

Georgia joined Oldways early in 2010 to work with our Mediterranean Foods Alliance and Get America Cooking programs, and to add her voice to our media outreach team. She enjoys finding, cooking and sharing good honest food, a passion she traces back to her childhood in western New York State, where she and her mother dug ramps from the woods in the spring, picked wild strawberries, blackberries and elderberries from fields and hedge rows in the summer, and gathered heirloom apples from abandoned antique orchards in the fall. She likes to keep a cast iron frying pan and a sharp knife within easy reach, and is prone to taking serious detours to discover new food sources. A side trip with her husband to the French town of Orival to taste a local cognac resulted in their purchase of a house in need of major work, but within close proximity to six boulangeries, four patisseries, and two weekly farmer’s markets.  

Georgia received a B.A. in English from Boston University and spent several decades as a writer and editor for Yankee Magazine, most recently as the food editor. She was also the editor of Changing Homes, the managing editor of The Walking Magazine and the editor of special projects for The Old Farmer’s Almanac. With a serious interest in regional foods, she has written four books on American cooking, including Cooking USA and The All-American Christmas Cookbook.

When her two sons hit the ravenous teenage years, Georgia tackled the challenges of keeping good, nourishing food ever at the ready by writing How to Feed a Teenage Boy, an odyssey that led her to understand the hidden costs of processed food. She developed hundreds of healthy recipes with kid appeal, and in the process became dedicated to helping children and parents discover how to eat well for life.

Chrisanne Grise
Program Assistant/Office Manager

Chrisanne started at Oldways as a media intern in early 2009 while still attending classes at Emerson College in Boston. After graduating with a B.S. in Print and Multimedia Journalism in the spring of 2010, she became an official member of the team. She works closely with the Whole Grains Council, in addition to helping with other Oldways programs and keeping on top of daily office tasks.

Growing up with a health teacher for a mother and a father with a degree in Exercise Physiology, many family friends deemed Chrisanne "destined" to follow in her parents' footsteps.  Once she started studying journalism though, it looked like this was not to be. But while at college, Chrisanne became determined not to gain the notorious "Freshman 15" and focused on eating a healthier diet and exercising frequently.  Yes, she finally developed a real appreciation for nutrition and fitness.  One thing led to another, and before she knew it, she was working at Oldways. Naturally, both she and her parents are thrilled.

Chrisanne's other big passion is music. She goes to more concerts than she can count, and writes album reviews for a handful of websites whenever she has time. She also enjoys traveling whenever possible.  Now that school is over for good, she is looking forward to devoting more time to Oldways.
 

Sadie Baer-Sinnott
The Oldways Dog

Like Carla and Mika before her, Sadie is a rescued Rottweiler, thanks to For The Love of Dog. She came to New England from South Carolina, rescued after being tied to a tree for many years producing litter after litter of puppies. She's enjoying her new life, stepping out in the Back Bay—smelling the flowers and meeting all the dogs that walk up and down the Commonwealth Avenue mall, looking out at the Charles River and the Esplanade, and assuming her new job as The Oldways Dog. We're not sure if she prefers the Mediterranean or the Latin American Diet, but soon enough she'll have a chance to decide on her favorite Oldways leftovers.