Wendy Wessel- Executive Director 

Wendy Wessel is the founder and executive director of FASGMN. Years after being diagnosed with food allergies as an adult, she had a child who was allergic to milk, eggs, peanuts, and tree nuts. In 2003, Wendy and her husband began searching for other parents raising kids with food allergies, and the Food Allergy Support Group of Minnesota was formed. Wendy is a former teacher and enjoys creating educational support services that connect families and that give them guidance throughout their food allergy journey.

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Jeffrey M. Vinocur, MD- Chairperson, Board of Directors  

Jeff's interest in food allergy & intolerance stems from his background as a pediatrician and from having a wife with celiac disease (not diagnosed until well into adulthood). He was elected to the FASGMN Board of Directors in January, 2011. Jeff is currently undertaking advanced training in pediatric cardiology at the University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospital.

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Jenny Vierzba- Treasurer, Board of Directors   

Jenny was elected to the Board of Directors in the summer of 2011. One of her twin daughters was born with a complex congenital heart defect which is complicated by severe food reactions. She cannot tolerate milk, soy, citrus, DHA, and various other foods and medications. Now that she has gone through her heart repair, more time can be spent on education and finding "safe" foods to wean her off of elemental formula- her main nutrition. Her twin sister and their older brother have no known food allergies. Jenny is employed as a sales supervisor for an investments firm and has various securities licenses.

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Kathy Como-Sabetti- Board of Directors

Kathy Como-Sabetti is a new member of FASGMN and the Board of Directors in January, 2012.  Her son, Jack, was diagnosed with a severe allergy to tree nuts in 2010 when he was 4 years old.  She also has a daughter with no known food allergies.  She has greatly appreciated and relied upon the counseling provided by her son’s pediatrician and pediatric allergist as well as the advice of other parents of allergic children. Kathy is an infectious disease epidemiologist for the Minnesota Department of Health and Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota. She and her family live in Lakeville.

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Shayne Fettig- Board of Directors

Shayne joined the board in February, 2011. She brings her personal experience and her professional background to the cause of food allergy awareness and is proud to be a part of the Food Allergy Support Group of Minnesota. As a child, Shayne had a severe food allergy. Her two children, now elementary-aged, have multiple food allergies; one child has a history of severe reactions.

A master's level counselor by training, Shayne has professional experience in leadership development , coaching, counseling, and advocacy within school systems. She is the principle of Food Allergy Dynamics, LLC, a counseling and consulting firm that specializes in food allergy management. Her goal is to help kids with food allergies balance the need for self-advocacy with their other developmental needs, such as fitting in.

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Charissa Mobley-Bennett- Board of Directors     

Charissa joined the Board in January, 2012. Her experience with food allergies began when her daughter was diagnosed with an allergy to milk, soy, eggs, peanuts, and tree nuts shortly before her first birthday. Since the onset of her daughter’s food allergies she's been working to further educate herself on food allergies; so that she may educate her family, friends, and other caregivers in hopes of maintaining a healthy lifestyle for her daughter. Charissa is currently employed as a process analyst and project manager for the clinical pharmacy team at UnitedHealthcare.

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Tracy Olmscheid- Board of Directors

Tracy Olmscheid joined the FASGMN board of directors in January, 2012.  Her interest in food allergies stems from having a son with a peanut allergy and probable asthma and from a career as a pediatric nurse.  Her son recently started school, which brought about a whole new level of dealing with potential allergens and training non-family members in responding to allergic reactions.  Tracy is currently in graduate school to be a nurse anesthetist and hopes to continue to work with children in that role.

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Rob Schlegel- Board of Directors

Rob Schlegel joined FASGMN after learning of his daughter’s numerous life threatening food allergies and other multiple health challenges. At one point, Rob’s daughter was taken off of all foods and put on an elemental formula. Rob and his wife Heather have spent countless hours working with parents and families who are living with food allergies. They even allowed a local news team to follow their daughter’s journey in hopes to help other families. Rob believes that educating others as well as empowering his daughter to make educated decisions is the best way to help prevent accidental exposures. Rob and his family have helped raise money for FAAN and have been volunteers with FASGMN. Most recently, Rob was Co-Chair of the Food Allergy Resource Fair. Rob has a younger daughter with no known food allergies. He joined the Board in January  of 2012.

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