About Us
Working Towards a Better Tomorrow
The Nourishing Generations Team is a group of professional nutritionists, chefs, credentialed teachers and skilled volunteers dedicated to inspiring positive diet and lifestyle changes through education. Our passion for healthy cooking, eating, and moving and our desire to positively impact the health of our community
is what inspires our work.
The Nourishing Generations Board Members
Nancy Birang, B.S, MT (ASCP), NC
Nancy is the co-founder, and former executive director of NG. A Licensed Clinical Laboratory Scientist and a Board Certified Nutrition Consultant, she runs her own nutrition consulting firm in Los Gatos, CA. She is a former instructor at Bauman College of Holistic Nutrition and Culinary Arts and currently works at Cancercarepoint where she provides nutrition consultations, group talks, and food demos for individuals and families on the cancer journey.
Karen Haralson | MA NC
Karen is the Executive Director and Operations Coordinator for NG. She is a Certified Nutrition Consultant and Educator. She holds a Masters of Humanities and Leadership from New College of California an is a graduate of Bauman College of Holistic Nutrition and Culinary Arts in Santa Cruz, CA. Karen manages and coordinates all aspects of NG program preparation and implementation.
Mica Hall | Ph.D.
Mica holds a BA from Williamette University, MA, and Ph.D. from the University of Washington, and an M.S. in Public Administration from Golden Gate University. She is a career educator that believes the way to positive change is by educating children and supporting them in making healthy choices a way of life. Mica is an American Council on Exercise Certified Group Fitness Instructor and Fitness Nutrition Specialist.
Cindy Jarrold, BS, RN
Cindy is an RN with over 40 years of experience. She has worked with children in
various settings for most of her career. She is passionate about helping children
achieve their best health outcomes. Having been a nurse for so long, she has seen
what years of an unhealthy diet and inactivity do to a body. She believes that teaching
children healthy habits as early as possible is extremely important.
Amy Lombardi, PhD
Amy is the Director of Operations and grant writer for Nourishing Generations. She has a Ph.D. in Linguistics and has taught academic writing in various colleges and university settings, often crafting her courses around themes related to health, wellness, farming, and food systems. Amy is a dancer, yoga practitioner, and meditator who believes optimal health is an integration of the physical, mental, social, and spiritual. Her interest in nutrition extends back to her childhood, where she enjoyed the luxury of eating fresh fruits and vegetables from her mother’s garden.
Rosa Orea | MSW
Rosa holds a Masters in Social Work from San Jose State University and is currently working on her Associate clinical social worker license. Her career has been devoted to education, with more than seventeen years working in various capacities. Rosa is one of three social workers in the Santa Cruz City Schools district. She is a board member in two other nonprofit agencies; Senderos and the Santa Cruz Education Foundation.
Rosa is very involved in the community and brings to Nourishing Generations a dedication to reaching underserved populations.
Harsha Ramchandani | M.P.A.
Harsha graduated with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Symbiosis University, India, and a master's in Public Administration from State University of New York. Passionate about a holistic lifestyle that incorporates fresh, nutritious food, physical fitness, and mental well-being, she joined Nourishing Generations as a volunteer and assisted with fundraising and social media communications before joining the Board.
The Nourishing Generations Advisory Board
Amy Lombardi, PhD
Ed Bauman | Ph.D.
Dr. Ed Bauman has been at the forefront of the holistic health and nutrition renaissance for the past 50 years. He holds a MEd. from the University of Massachusetts, an MS. in Nutrition from Heartwood College, and a PhD. in Community Health Promotion from the University of New Mexico. He was the founder of Bauman College: Holistic Nutrition and Culinary Arts, and co-founder of the National Association of Nutrition Professionals (NANP).
He is the founder and director of Bauman Wellness, a non-profit institute that nourishes cultures of wellness through healing foods, arts, and community learning.
Yeyen Gunawan
Yeyen was the co-owner of the award-winning La Vie Organic Cafe in Santa Cruz. She co-founded Inner Fit Science providing wellness education to health gyms in Northern California. She is now the owner of La Vie Pure Food Collective, a farmers market business focusing on delicious wellness drinks and cleanses built on the power of probiotics to support digestive health and overall wellness.
Jan McCormack | BS, CRIM, CPIM, CNE
Jan has over 28 years of experience in Silicon Valley in various manufacturing industries in the area of Information technologies. She was on the board of directors of the National Brain Tumor Foundation/ Society from 1992 until 2009 and a member of NG’s Board from 2011-18.
Laurie Zerga
Laurie, a Strategic Business Advisor and founder of Chef-K®, provides culinary education that is the link to a longer healthier life. Through Chef-K she’s trained almost 20,000 children and families over 15 years nationally. Her primary clients are organizations that support youth and families in schools, Boys & Girls clubs, and military youth programs. Chef-K material has been reviewed and included in resource libraries from USDA, SNAP-Ed, California Healthy Kids and After School Resource Centers, as well as other U.S. states and agencies.