Jenny is a mom of three on a quest to help families find joy at the table. Passionate about food and farming, Jenny founded Solid Starts to make it easier for parents to learn how to introduce any food to their baby. Jenny is the creator of the award-winning First Foods® database, which anyone can access for free in the Solid Starts App.
Dr. Ruiz is a mom of three, a board-certified general pediatrician, and a pediatric gastroenterologist. She completed her undergraduate at Dartmouth College, doctorate of medicine and pediatrics residency at Vanderbilt University, and pediatric gastroenterology fellowship at Stanford University. Dr. Ruiz is an attending pediatric gastroenterologist at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center and an affiliated clinical instructor of pediatric gastroenterology at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford. She treats a wide range of children suffering from constipation, abdominal pain, swallowing difficulties, inadequate weight gain, inflammatory bowel disease, fatty liver and other liver diseases, and Celiac disease. In her part-time position at Solid Starts, Dr. Ruiz reviews content for evidence-based accuracy, analyzes choking data and trends, and is a trainer for Solid Starts PRO.
Dr. Bajowala is a mother of two and a board-certified adult and pediatric allergist and immunologist with a passion for patient education and advocacy. She specializes in the evaluation and management of food allergy, and is a best-selling author on the topic. In her private allergy practice, she helps her young patients overcome food allergies through precision-focused sublingual and oral immunotherapy. In her part-time position at Solid Starts, Dr. Bajowala reviews content for evidence-based accuracy, analyzes allergy data and trends, and is a trainer for Solid Starts PRO.
A mom of two, Kary specializes in family mealtime dynamics and eating issues across the spectrum, from breast and bottle feeding challenges and picky eating, to dysphagia, tube feeding, and complex food refusal. Kary has extensive, wide-ranging work experience from outpatient therapy, to pediatric acute care in a high acuity NICU, to in-home settings and Well Child visits, all supporting families and children with eating and swallowing. Kary has worked with thousands of infants and children as they learn to eat, and she has taught parents and medical professionals on this topic for nearly two decades.
Specializing in infant and child feeding, eating, and swallowing, Kim has spent the majority of her career in pediatric acute care at some of the largest children's hospitals on the west coast, focusing specifically on neonatal (NICU) feeding and swallowing, breastfeeding with high-risk infants, and infant/pediatric cardiac rehabilitation. In addition to her hospital-based work, Kim has worked with families struggling with breastfeeding, transitioning to solids, selective/picky eating, tube weaning, and oral motor/chewing. Kim is a mom of two in Michigan.
Inspired by her mother’s work serving nutritionally vulnerable mothers and infants, Venus is dedicated to bridging nutritional inequities in her work. As a pediatric dietitian in gastroenterology, she works with children with celiac and inflammatory bowel diseases, food allergies, picky eating, and more, while exploring research and program development. Venus completed her Registered Dietitian training at Stanford Medicine and her Masters in Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. Off the clock, she practices her polyglot skills, sings jazz, and subjects her husband to unconventional culinary creations.
As an occupational therapist, Marisa holds advanced certification in feeding, eating, and swallowing, and is also a certified lactation education counselor. With a background in psychiatry and behavioral management, she is passionate about addressing the anxiety commonly felt with feeding—from postpartum breast- and bottle-feeding to complex family mealtime dynamics and caregiver support. Marisa is a mom of three, including twins and enjoys cooking family meals with her dietitian husband, Josh.
Alexia is a bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist with a special interest in feeding and swallowing. She has experience in outpatient, school, and home health settings, but strongly believes a healthy and happy relationship with food is developed at home with small, daily steps. As the lead for Solid Starts Espanol, Alexia ensures all materials are translated into Spanish and made accessible to Spanish-speaking communities.
Jenna is a pediatric feeding and swallowing expert with experience at some of the largest children's hospitals in the United States. Since 2015, she has specialized in working with infants and children with complex cardiac anatomy and aerodigestive needs. Jenna loves to mentor fellow professionals and assist families in reaching their feeding goals.
Kate is guided by the belief that every family deserves access to fruits, vegetables, and whole foods that nourish the soul and the planet. She brings her passion for biodiversity, culture, and storytelling to Solid Starts, where she supports the team with documenting the joy of cooking and eating good food. When she’s not behind her laptop or camera, she can be found standing at her kitchen island, cooking with the flowers, herbs, and leafy greens that she grows in her backyard garden.
Based in Arizona, Chelsea brings over a decade worth of experience working with small businesses, start-ups, and community-based organizations. She is passionate about food accessibility and the preservation of native foods and their recipes. In her role at Solid Starts, Chelsea ensures that all community members and customers are heard and seen.
Katja brings expertise in interdisciplinary research, writing, and editing to wrangle the First Foods® database. She is passionate about the world’s foods—where they come from and how they bring us together—and ensures that Solid Starts reflects the diversity of the world’s food, cooking, and cultures. As a writer and former academic with a Ph.D. in English from U.C. Davis, Katja brings more than a decade of research experience to the team. In her free time, she shares her love of cooking with her daughter, and enjoys reading, running, and trying to tire out her tireless dog.
Kelly leads content creation at Solid Starts across all media platforms. Before joining Solid Starts, she worked as a communications consultant, political advisor, and managed special events for national non-profit foundations and professional sporting organizations. A mom of three, Kelly lives in Kansas City and is passionate about food, travel, and Halloween.
Stephanie was born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya. She is a mom of one and her daughter is a founding member of Solid Starts junior recipe tester program. Through the introduction of solid food to her baby, and by supporting fellow parents through their journeys, Stephanie feels a deep commitment to the development of happy eaters who enjoy a variety of food textures, flavors, and colors. In her work, she applies expertise in process and systems improvement shaped by an industrial engineering degree from Northwestern University.
Cristina helps manage website and app projects. Born and raised in New York, Cristina now lives in the (very cold) state of Michigan with her husband, daughter, and crazy, cuddly corgi George. She enjoys all things Disney, spending time with family, and collecting absurd amounts of fluffy socks and blankets.
Lucy created the brand identity for Solid Starts and oversees its implementation across all media. She has over a decade of experience in graphic design and is passionate about making approachable, but sophisticated, idea-driven work.
Nikki Silvestri is the founder and CEO of Soil and Shadow, a coaching and consulting firm serving social and environmental entrepreneurs. A nationally-recognized thought leader, Nikki's received numerous accolades for her work and was named among The Root’s 100 Most Influential African Americans.
As Solid Starts’ DEI coach, Nikki guides conversations about this work in the field of baby food and child nutrition and is advising Solid Starts as it becomes a thought leader in this space. Nikki has a master's degree in African American Studies from UCLA. She lives in Oakland with her husband, son and daughter.
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