Who We Are
We have a non-hierarchal team structure to ensure the greatest level of participatory decision making. Core team members have elected to commit a minimum of 5 hours per month to FEDUP work. Adjunct team members have chosen to contribute on a per project basis. Not all of our team members have elected to be listed on the website for safety reasons. Team members are compensated $25-$30 per hour depending on how many non-dominant identities each person holds, and we remunerate for up to 15 hours of work per person every two weeks.
Core Team Members
Bee Norris (they/them)
Bee is a neurodivergent, genderqueer creature based out of the Pacific Northwest, USA. They have a Masters in Mental Health Counseling and eating disorder certification from Lewis and Clark College. After working with local trans+ and intersex clients, Bee shifted from therapist to advocate/educator due to their mounting frustration with the harmful systems in place. They were diagnosed with ADHD as an adult which has provided a lot of hope and clarity for their eating disorder treatment. Bee has many other passions including animals, puzzles, creating/making things of all kinds, gaming & karaoke.
Cody Esterle (he/him)
Cody is a 23 year old white, trans man that grew up in France. He is the founder of the not-for-profit, Safely Connected, The Eating Disorder Centre and the student-run McGill Eating Disorder Centre. Both organizations are dedicated to providing trauma-informed, harm-reductive, inclusive and intersectional community and peer eating disorder care. He is dedicated to changing and deconstructing the current narratives around, and structures of care for, eating disorders that exclude and erase marginalized communities' experiences.
Bek (they/them)
Bek (they/them) is a nonbinary/queer/neurodivergent/disabled person working on their PhD in counseling psychology. They have personal experience with eating disorder recovery and focus their clinical work on providing services to 2SLGBTQ+ clients, especially those experiencing disordered eating and body image concerns. They collaborate with other queer academic researchers to look at eating disorders, disability, and gender. In their free time they like playing with their two cats and hiking with their partner!
Adjunct Team Members
detty (they/them)
detty (they/them) is a black, autistic, non-binary & mentally ill artist, poet, mental health advocate, and cancer survivor based in South Florida. In their day-to-day, detty works full time as a peer supporter and multimedia artist, is a proud cat parent, and runs a radical anti-capitalistic digital space called Expressive Arts. Through art, supporting others, and radical kindness, detty is committed to using their lived experience as a means of liberation, self-expression, and fighting mental health stigma, all while advocating for those whose voices are rarely heard.
Oliver Tripp (they/them)
Oliver is a transgender non-binary, queer activist in San Francisco. They’re pursuing graduate school in Communication Studies, where their focus on critical rhetoric seeks to pave new pathways for trans scholarship in academia. As an ED survivor with a past of trans-incompetent treatment, they contribute to research to fill the gaps in trans-authored literature for health professionals. In their free time, they like reading, sewing, and organizing for their union.
Ian (he/him)
Ian is a Black, trans* and queer-identified man who just so happens to be Autistic. He graduated from a local community college and has completed quite a few trainings in mental health including harm-reduction, substance use, and how to use trauma-informed practices. While living in West Philadelphia (Lenni-Lenape land) through political unrest he is aware of the importance of community healing and community aid and plans to continue his education in the Nursing field. He is also aware of the difficulties of having multiple underserved identities while going through the process of recovering from an eating disorder. His main goal is to better serve and support his community.
Emil Smith (they/them)
Emil is a genderqueer PhD student in Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh and a clinical social worker in Pennsylvania. Their work to support access to mental health care for LGBTQ youth in Minneapolis, MN led them to pursue a MSW. After graduation, they worked as a behavioral health consultant in Springfield, MA and Philadelphia, PA, where they developed an interest in enhancing the understanding of eating disorders among trans affirming medical and mental health providers. Their work is informed by anti-carceral, client centered approaches to healing and recovery and a passion for relational psychoanalytic theory.
Rena Johnson (they/them)
Rena is a Caribbean American nonbinary person who lives on the US East Coast. Their experience stems from being a crisis counselor for a peer led mental health support program with a bachelors in interpersonal communication, as well as from existing. They are very passionate about disability justice, mental health advocacy, and reforming mental health care in ways that holistically meet needs.
H Coakley (they/them)
H is a Queer, non-binary RDN (Registered Dietitian Nutritionist) who specializes in supporting Queer & TGNC clients through recovery from eating disorders and/or disordered eating from a trauma-informed, body-affirming & anti-racist framework. H's past experiences in their own ED recovery, working in food justice/access, farming, and living full-time at a meditation center informs how they practice and see the world.
Heart (he/ him)
Heart is a fat, queer, trans masc ' activist, educator, speaker and writer. He's been in ED Recovery for a few years and is excited to hold space for others with shared identities. Heart is also a certified Yoga Instructor and advocates for self-love on Instagram @transyogateacher. He's been in recovery from addiction to substances for almost 6 years! Heart enjoys quiet mornings at home in the mountains where he lives. He's currently based on unceded Cherokee land in Asheville, North Carolina.