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Meet Our Team

Stacey Antine, MS, RD is the founder and CEO of HealthBarn USA, Inc., the leader in proven hands-on healthy-lifestyle education for children and their families. HealthBarn USA     opened its first location in partnership with ABMA’s Farm & Market of Wyckoff, New Jersey in April 2005 and is expanding to Speyer Farm in North Salem, NY in June 2010.  She is a registered dietitian with a Master’s of Science in Food, Nutrition and Dietetics from New York University. Stacey has over 20 years of experience as a nutrition counselor, speaker, writer and media spokesperson -- including 18 years in public relations.

During her dietetic training at Beth Israel Medical Center, New York City she became familiarized with the types of traditional programs available for overweight and at-risk youth. She combines her passion for nutrition and health with her public relations experience creating educational campaigns for children and adults on behalf of big name food companies to make HealthBarn USA a distinctive model for behavioral change for families' long-term health.

Stacey was honored on The Rachael Ray Show in March 2008 as part of Ray's Incredible People & Healthy Eating series sponsored by the American Egg Board, click here to watch the TV segment. She writes Food Confessions with Stacey Antine, MS, RD that regularly appears in EveryDay with Rachael Ray magazine, click here to read more. BusinessWeek Online selected Stacey as Entrepreneurs to Watch for HealthBarn USA in "She Did it Her Way" in March 2007, click here to read more. Stacey and HealthBarn USA have been featured on CNN, House Calls with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, click here to watch the segment; Families First with Cindy Hsu, CBS-TV, New York click here to watch the segment; FOX-TV Good Day, NY; PBS/Nickelodeon and over 200 televsion networks across the country through Medstar TV, click here to watch the WFLA-TV (NBC) Tampa/St. Petersburg video clip. Women's Health magazine named Stacey their Action Figure for Fighting for a Good Cause: Nutrition, click here to read more. Among nutrition professionals,Today's Dietitian featured HealthBarn USA in Community Matters.

She is appointed to the advisory board of the master’s degree program in nutrition communication at Tufts University’s Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. Stacey is an adjunct teacher at Speyer Legacy School in New York City where she developed and HealthBarn USA educators teach its optimal health curriculum for students.  She is a member of the American Dietetic Association (ADA), the Society for Nutrition Education (SNE), and has a certification in childhood and adolescent weight management ADA.  Stacey was accepted into the Class of 2010 for Bergen LEADS, a leadership program for people who have the desire to learn more about Bergen County and how to make it a better place to live and work, click here for more information.  In addition, she wrote the nutrition commentary for celebrity chef and HealthBarn USA advisory board member Curtis Aikens’ book, Cooking is a Family Affair.
Justin Allen joined the team in spring 2006 seeking experience in educating kids on healthy habits!  After volunteering for only three weeks, his garden skills and knowledge about food and nutrition  gained him a job as a HealthBarn USA summer camp educator.  He now specializes in garden education and is HealthBarn USA's expert weeder! 

Justin has a nutritional science degree from Rutgers University and is currently in the dietetic internship program at Montclair State University.  His plant knowledge is self-taught and was gained by gardening with his family since he was a seedling!

Along with taking care of the HealthBarn USA garden, Justin spends his free time taking care of his own garden and enjoys outdoor activities such as snowboarding and surfing.  He loves to cook and eat good food and appreciates the opportunity to make a difference for kids and their long-term health! 
Jill Pettit, MS joined the HealthBarn USA team in fall 2005.  She has a master’s in art education and is a certified New York State (NYS) teacher Long Island University, C.W. Post.  She loves to teach kids about living a healthy-lifestyle and helps train new HealthBarn USA educators, too.  She teachs the Seedlings, Sprouts, Harvesters, school field trips and our programs for children with special needs.  She also schedules our wildly popular school assemblies.  Jill is our resident artist who brings fresh, natural creative ideas to the curricula and always has a warm smile and enthusiast attitude as she takes part in the development of the children's healthy behaviors!

Prior to joining the HealthBarn USA team, Jill was teaching private art classes for children and adults in addition to maintaining a career in painting original works of art. Some of her accomplishments include a painting featured on Isaac, a nationally broadcast television show; and designing and creating all of the artwork for Sonic Fuel, a music production studio in Venice, CA. She continues to paint and create on her days off from teaching the Seedlings and Sprouts at HealthBarn USA.
Rachel Meltzer, MS is the manager of nutrition and health promotion at HealthBarn USA. Her experience in public health, media and education adds tremendous value to the HealthBarn USA experience for children and their families.

Rachel holds a master’s in nutrition communication from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, and a bachelor of arts in journalism from the University of Maryland. While at Tufts, she was awarded an Albert Schweitzer Fellowship. The fellowship project she designed and ran focused on communicating health and nutrition messages to parents of children enrolled in the community-based Shape Up Somerville childhood obesity-prevention intervention. She also completed an internship at the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Science in the Public Interest where she researched an extensive report on food and beverage advertising aimed at children entitled Pestering Parents.

Rachel co-authored a content-analysis study on food advertising aimed at children that, the results of which she presented at the International Society for Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity in June 2004. The study is currently awaiting publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Her other professional affiliations include the American Public Health Association and the SNE.

Prior to pursuing her master’s degree, Rachel was the research assistant at Fast Company magazine. She continues to write and research on health and nutrition topics for consumer magazines.  
Lisa Adler, MS, RD is a registered dietitian with a Master’s degree in Food, Nutrition and Dietetics from New York University.  She  joined the HealthBarn USA team in fall 2007 with over 15 years of experience in clinical nutrition, teaching college nutrition, and private practice.  She considers herself lucky to have worked with some leading health clubs and spas in New York City including, Chelsea Piers and Elizabeth Arden Red Door Salon.

Lisa learned about HealthBarn USA when she volunteered during a HealthBarn USA assembly at her son’s school.  She saw firsthand how effective our programs are when her picky five year old choose to try new foods at the assembly that he would never have tried at home!  Lisa is a HealthBarn USA educator and you can find her teaching school assemblies, school field trips and  our healthy-lifestyle programs for children with special needs.
 
She is all about being healthy and having fun; and practices what she preaches at the barn and at home with her two boys and dog, too!  
Kay Truckenmiller is the ultimate master gardener and spends her time looking after the Seedlings and the HealthBarn USA     team. Cooking is a family affair at the Trunkenmiller home, she is always whipping up healthy recipes for us to try at lunch-time, since there is no such thing as "take out" at HealthBarn USA! You can also spot Kay at school assemblies all over New Jersey either at the whole grain tasting station or busy making the Rainbow Swirley for eager students who can't get enough of the fresh, all-natural food! Kay has been with the HealthBarn USA team since Fall 2005 and comes to us with high marks from Joel Flagler, Rutgers University.
Joel Flagler, MS is a full professor with Rutgers University and serves as the agricultural agent for Bergen County, NJ. He has been a registered horticultural therapist since 1984 and has investigated people/plant relationships for over 25 years. Joel is the editor of two books and author of many professional journal articles. He has received numerous national and regional awards for his work in agriculture and horticulture and has garnered several million dollars in grants and funding for his horticultural therapy programs. Joel received his bachelor of science from Rutgers University Cook College and his master’s degrees from Yale University.

Lauren Cianciotta joined the HealthBarn USA team in fall 2008.  She knew it was good fit from the start because she loves working with kids and cooking!  After graduating with a degree in economics from Bucknell University and spending time working in marketing, she decided to go back to school for nutrition.  Lauren earned a bachelor’s degree in nutritional sciences from Montclair State University and is pursuing her Master’s degree in nutrition education at Columbia University.

Lauren loves teaching the Seedlings, school and scout field trips and summer camp programs.  Her favorite part about HealthBarn USA is seeing the kids get really excited about trying new foods, cooking, and expanding their horizons at such a young age.  In her free time, Lauren transforms recipes into healthier versions (she has a talent for creating great tasting dipping sauces!).  She also is active by playing softball, volleyball, tennis, and cycling.

Mollie Kurshan joined the HealthBarn USA team in spring 2007 after reading the Women's Health magazine article about Stacey and HealthBarn USA as a junior in high school!  She is now an  undergraduate studying food and nutrition at New York Univeristy.  Mollie is passionate about healthy eating and she helps out wherever needed, especially assisting at The Speyer Legacy School in New York City during HealthBarn USA's optimal health program and during the summer camp programs. 

Her favorite part of HealthBarn USA is learning about nutrition and eating!  In her free time, Mollie likes being active, food shopping, cooking healthy meals, and being environmentally conscious by recycling and reusing.
 

 
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