Authors

Kelly Tung is a sophomore at Monta Vista High School and she joined Food Allergy Research & Education’s (FARE) Teen Advisory Group (TAG) in 2018. Kelly has worked extensively to serve the community by combining her leadership skills and the humanities to advocate for sustainability, inclusion, food allergy awareness, and change in the community. Kelly was the leader of FARE’s 2019 TAG “Be Brave, Be Thoughtful, and Be Kind” project. She led 14 TAG members and they created videos to raise awareness for food allergies. These videos encouraged people to be brave and confident regardless of their food allergies and educated others about how to be thoughtful, empathetic, and considerate towards people with food allergies. Kelly is honored to lead the "It's a Beautiful Life" TAG project in 2020. She believes that she and her team members’ stories will inspire other teens and change their lives. 

Kelly has vast leadership experience, such as being the Chair of City of Cupertino’s Teen Commission, the Founder and President of Youth Environmental Power Initiative (sponsored by Silicon Valley Clean Energy), the Founder of JFK Green Commuters (received City of Cupertino's Sustainability Commission Student Grant), and the President of DT4T Silicon Valley Chapter. Besides being actively involved in communities, Kelly is also actively involved in her school. Currently, she is on the ASB Student Life Leadership Commission at her school and is in charge of managing school clubs and Legislative Council with the goal of encouraging student interests on campus. Kelly believes empathy is a core value that helps build connections with others, appreciate individuals’ differences, bring people together, promote positive behaviors, and resolve problems such as social injustice, environmental injustice, and food allergy bullying. Kelly is allergic to nuts but she has never let her food allergy hold her back. 

Alexa Jordan is a government and economics major at Harvard University. She is currently a junior elected to the Harvard Student Government, the Director of Communications of Institute of Politics FSG, and the co-director and co-founder of the Harvard Leadership Institute for the FY Experience. She has been named as a John Harvard Scholar; she takes pride in her academics. Alexa is passionate about advocating for those with food allergies, and she has had a severe tree nut allergy since she was three years old.

Andrea Schmidt is 21 years old and from New Hampshire. She is a senior at Johns Hopkins University studying public health with a minor in environmental studies. She is severely allergic to dairy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish, kiwi, cumin, and seeds (sesame, chia, and poppy). Andrea was diagnosed with the first four allergies when she was six months old. Despite her allergies, she has been able to live in a dorm with roommates, eat in the college dining hall, travel with friends and family, and even study abroad in London. Her hobbies include baking, painting, and running. She has a younger brother who is allergic to dairy and eggs. She also has a Havanese dog named Rosie. 

Elise is not hindered by her food restrictions but is empowered to be a voice for change. She is a fierce advocate for inclusion, has worked with both FARE and members of Congress to usher in more substantial food allergy legislation. When she is not working for change, Elise is a passionate swimmer who loves to be in the water. 

Emily McElroy is 20 years old and from the California Bay Area. She was born with a severe nut allergy and has since developed allergies to several tree nuts, as well as an intolerance to gluten. She is currently a student at Scripps College, where she studies Public Policy and Economics and plays on the water polo team.

Alia O'Brien is a senior from Ohio. She is allergic to dairy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, kiwi, coconut, avocado, banana, and peas. She also avoids rice, oats, and chocolate. She's a proud band geek: Alia has played the flute since she was in sixth grade, and she has been in the marching band since her freshman year. This year she has the privilege of being the Drum Major! In her free time, she also enjoys reading and writing, as well as swimming and keeping active. She's also a part of the blog ‘Food Allergic Teens’, which is run by a bunch of teenagers all living with food allergies!

Arjin Claire is a Junior at Sacramento Country Day School. An avid food allergy activist, Arjin has been a TAG Member since 2019. He loves supporting Liverpool Football Club and playing soccer for his local competitive team. He always seems to have a ball handy to either juggle or ready for a pick-up game. And if he’s not with a ball at his feet that may be because his head is buried in a good book, or he’s come up with some project and “experiment” of some kind because “he learned something new he needs to test”. In addition, he also loves spending time with family and friends, playing video games, drawing, sleeping, going to theme parks, and occasionally buying clothes and shoes he doesn’t always need.

Himal Bamzai-Workhlu is a high school sophomore from Gainesville, Florida. Since she was a baby, she has had allergies to eggs, nuts, and fish, and in later years, she has developed oral allergy syndrome for various fruits and vegetables. She aspires to learn more about the genetics behind allergies and immunology. In her free time, she enjoys freelance gymnastics, competitive math, and calligraphy!  Himal hopes that sharing the story of how she has dealt with her food allergies will inspire other allergic teens to feel empowered to always prioritize their safety. 

Sophie Meade is a high school student involved in FARE’s teen advisory group. She has been managing peanut and tree nut allergies ever since she was diagnosed with them at age 4. She presented at the 2019 FARE Innovation Tank and has participated in multiple TAG projects. Aside from using her pen to educate others about food allergies, she can usually be found active on the tennis courts or curled up with a good book and a jar of sun butter.

Danielle Huli lives in Delmar, New York, and is a senior in high school. She enjoys playing tennis and is the captain of her school’s varsity tennis team. Danielle suffers from a life-threatening peanut allergy. She hopes to be able to educate people about food allergies and help people with food allergies through FARE’s TAG. 

Emily Sheridan is allergic to tree nuts and peanuts. She has been a part of FARE’s Teen Advisory Group since 2020, and she also runs the food allergy blog “nallergy.” She hopes to make the world a better place for people with food allergies by advocating for food allergic individuals like herself. When she's not advocating for individuals with food allergies, you can find her traveling, baking, singing, playing piano and ukulele, reading, or coding.

Jacqueline See-Tho is a 15-year-old sophomore at Gunn High School in Palo Alto, California. She has lived with food allergies to eggs, milk, tree nuts, and peanuts her entire life. She is Filipino, Malaysian-Chinese, and German. Growing up in an area that is booming with research regarding allergies has made her very lucky. About three years ago, she was fortunate enough to become part of a clinical trial, a multi-food OIT program that used Xolair. She did this with my older brother who also has severe food allergies. As she continues to undergo treatment, her food world has opened up and she now feels more comfortable with the food that she encounters. She loves to cook, bake, and test new recipes. Learning how to make good food with allergies is essential. Some of her other passions include traveling, dance (she does ballet and contemporary), singing (she’s in her school choir), and acting (she takes theatre classes at school and participates in shows). In her free time, she likes to listen to music, play with her dog (a Goldendoodle), read, and write. This is her first year being on FARE’s Teen Advisory Group (2020), and she’s really excited to be working alongside so many supportive, dedicated, and hardworking individuals. She hopes to provide some insight into what life is like with food allergies as well as some of the struggles she has faced and the accomplishments she has made! She is very grateful to her family and the food allergy community for supporting her!