Meet the Erica Leon Nutrition Team of Dietitians and Nutritionists
Our founder, Erica Leon, has had a 35+ year career as a dietitian nutritionist.
- We are based in Westchester County, New York and our team members are located across the country.
- We are licensed to work with clients in the following states: the tri-state areas of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, along with Alabama, California, the District of Columbia, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Oregon, Texas, Vermont, and Wisconsin, and we are adding more each day.
- The Erica Leon Nutrition team is guided by the non-diet, weight-inclusive approach to health using the frameworks of Intuitive Eating and Health at Every Size ®
- This non-diet approach individualizes your nutritional needs and focuses on your overall health and well-being rather than focusing on your body weight.
- Our team works with women, families, teens, youth and folks in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
Our philosophy when it comes to nutrition…
All bodies are worthy and deserving of care.
All foods fit and can be part of a balanced eating pattern.
Your relationship with food is as important (if not even more so) than the food you actually consume.
We want YOU to be able to distinguish between your reasons for eating – the “why”, “when”, “what”, “how” and “how much” – as the first step in learning to eat mindfully.
You may wonder how you will ever achieve a normal relationship with food.
The answers to your overall health and wellness include:
- Challenging your thoughts and assumptions about the definition of “normal eating.”
- Recognizing that food and weight issues aren’t always about the food.
- Approaching your body from a place of compassion rather than judgment.
Guiding Principles/Core Values of Erica Leon Nutrition and Associates
We Believe:
At Erica Leon Nutrition & Associates, all of our dietitians take a non-diet approach, individualize your nutritional needs and focus on your overall health and well-being rather than focusing on your weight. We believe that difficult relationships with food and body image are barriers to people living life fully. We are passionate about helping our clients develop a positive relationship with food and increased confidence in making food decisions.
We are committed to an anti-oppression, weight-inclusive practice and providing people of all ages, sizes, sexual orientations, genders, ethnicities, abilities, and socioeconomic levels with a whole-person, non-shaming approach to the mystery and miracle of living in a human body.
As a team, we strive to embrace these core values:
Honesty, Authenticity, and Reliability
Society encourages us to hide our struggles and put up barriers between ourselves and the rest of the world. We stand up for what we believe and openly share our points of view. We respect when others do the same. We want you to feel safe, and we want to meet you where you are. We strive to be reliable, as we believe that consistency is key to building trust. We believe that this is where healing starts.
MEET THE TEAM
Erica Leon
MS, RDN, CDN, CEDS
she/her
Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Eating Disorder Specialist
Erica (and all practitioners at Erica Leon Nutrition) practices from a Health at Every Size (HAES®) lens. She is certified as an eating disorder specialist and is passionate about helping women at midlife, menopause and beyond to make peace with food and body image.
Erica is a highly sensitive nutrition therapist who takes the time to learn where you or your family are in the pursuit of health. Respectful of your individual needs and lifestyle, she will provide an honest assessment of whether or not we’re a good fit.
She prides herself on being down to earth, relatable, and a practitioner who understands her client’s struggles, having dealt with her own personal health issues over the years.
Rebecca Stetzer
RD, CD
she/her
Rebecca specializes in weight-inclusive nutrition therapy counseling for a variety of health conditions, but primarily eating disorders and disordered eating/body image concerns, gastroinestinal disorders, family and child feeding concerns, and cardiovascular conditions.
In addition to her education in nutrition, Rebecca has undergone training in Family-Based Treatment for eating disorders (FBT), she is a Be Body Positive facilitator.
Diana Ushay
MS, RDN, CDN, CNSC
she/her
Diana specializes in working with clients with eating disorders, is certified as an Intuitive Eating Counselor, and is also certified as a Nutrition Support Clinician with the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN).
She has a passion for working with adolescents and their families, as well as college students and young adults struggling with Anorexia, Bulimia, and eating disorders.
Diana partnered with Erica to write a cookbook called Recipes for Recovery, which you can purchase on Amazon.
Taylor Lucas
MS Nutrition & Dietetics
she/her
Taylor Lucas has been a valuable member of the team of dietitians at Erica Leon Nutrition since she completed her Master’s Degree in Nutritional Science at CUNY Hunter College. Taylor shares how she intends to use her passion for nutrition and community to make an impact as a registered dietitian!
“Food is often how we connect with our traditions, cultures, families, and even identities. That connection should be respected and honored.”
Taylor loves to share her passion for plant-centered, culturally competent nutrition therapy, particularly within the African American and Latinx communities. Taylor believes that even the smallest decisions can play a major role in the prevention and progression of chronic disease.
Simone Weingarten
MS, RDN, CEDS-C
she/her
Simone is an Eating Disorder Specialist & Sports Nutrition Dietitian | HAES-Aligned | Anti-Diet | Inclusive Care for All Bodies
She is a sports nutritionist who works with athletes of all ages and abilities, from recreational to elite, and is certified as an Eating Disorder Specialist with the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals.
She brings both clinical expertise and lived experience to her work with teens and adolescents as an eating disorder specialist who has worked at Clementine Eating Disorder Treatment Center in Briarcliff Manor, NY.
Simone’s approach is deeply rooted in an inclusive, weight-neutral, and anti-diet philosophy and she works with our clients virtually from her office in Texas!
Amy Schwarz
MS, RD
she/her
Amy Schwarz is an Eating Disorder Dietitian who works with adolescents, adults, and families on a range of concerns, including eating disorders, gut health, and maternal nutrition.
Amy specializes in eating disorder treatment and prevention, as well as supporting women during pregnancy who may be struggling with disordered eating, body image concerns, gestational diabetes, and other pregnancy-related nutrition concerns.
In addition to supporting clients with eating disorders, she has a special interest in gut health and the intersection between gastrointestinal issues and disordered eating behaviors.
Rebecca Mahoney,
RD
she/her
Rebecca is a Registered Dietitian with over 34 years of experience supporting individuals in healing their relationship with food and body. She specializes in working with women navigating menopause, eating disorders, and chronic dieting.
She offers Medical Nutrition Therapy with a weight-inclusive approach, with a special focus on clients with PCOS and heart disease, because for individuals with overlapping challenges, nutrition is one piece of a bigger picture.
Michal Schaefer,
MS, RDN
she/her
Michal is an Eating Disorder Specialist for Adolescents & Families | HAES-Aligned | Anti-Diet | Compassionate Care
She is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist with a Master’s degree in Nutrition, Health & Behavior from Haifa University, Israel.
She specializes in supporting adolescents with eating disorders and the families who love them – bringing a decade of hospital-based clinical experience treating adolescent eating disorders in Israel before continuing her career in the United States.
We offer insurance-based care and are licensed to work with clients in the following states: the tri-state areas of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, along with Alabama, California, the District of Columbia, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Oregon, Texas, Vermont, and Wisconsin, and we are adding more each day.
WHAT IS HEALTH AT EVERY SIZE®?
The Health at Every Size® philosophy promotes self-care — learning to eat according to hunger and fullness cues as well as satisfaction, choosing physical activities that are pleasurable, managing our levels of stress, getting adequate sleep and of course, having access to respectful health care. With better self-care, our bodies are more likely to stabilize at their own natural healthy weight.
Research consistently shows that trying to control or manage weight (through caloric restriction or dieting), may work in the short term but more often results in rebound weight gain. Our bodies can undermine efforts at weight control because the body is enormously successful at regulating its weight. It’s not something we need to “work at”—in fact, this “control” approach ends up being counterproductive.
FREE: INTUITIVE EATING GUIDE!
Are you ready to make peace with food and your body image? You CAN Get OFF that DIET Roller Coaster… for GOOD!
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