The Portland show will have several presenters, including food writers, authors, and Gluten Free & More editors and contributors. Meet some of our presenters below. You can view the complete presentation schedule here.

 

Dr. Samantha Brody ND

Dr Samantha Brody is a licensed naturopathic physician, acupuncturist, owner of Evergreen Natural Health Center in Portland, OR and curator at GlutenFreePortland.org. When she’s not seeing patients, working on the site or blogging recipes and health tips at DrSamantha.com/blog you can find her educating and writing on health, gluten-free living, and integrative medicine. She’s a powerhouse speaker and has been a featured expert in numerous publications including the Wall Street Journal, Shape, Livestrong, and more. For news, resources and quick healthy recipes, connect with Dr Samantha on Facebook and Twitter or sign up for her newsletter and free gluten-free breakfast e-book at DrSamantha.com.

 

Laura B. Russell

Laura is a food writer and recipe developer based in Portland, Oregon. She is an Oregonian “FoodDay” columnist, author of Brassicas (Ten Speed Press 2014) and The Gluten-Free Asian Kitchen, and former associate editor of the cookbook division of Food & Wine. Laura has contributed articles and recipes to many food publications, among them Delicious Living, Natural Health, Edible Communities, Prevention, Living Without, Easy Eats, NW Palate, and Portland’s MIX magazine.

At the show, Laura will be lecturing about “Identifying Gluten in Common Asian Ingredients”. She will also discuss ingredients commonly used in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai and Vietnamese cuisines, plus grocery shopping tips and hints for dining safely in Asian restaurants.

She will be signing cookbooks before and after her presentation at the “Authors Corner”.

 

Kyra Bussanich

Kyra Bussanich, a three-time winner of the Food Network’s Cupcake Wars, spent eight years suffering from an autoimmune disease greatly exacerbated by gluten intolerance.

After years of hospital visits and drastic drug treatments and the threat of surgery to remove part of her intestines, Kyra’s symptoms greatly improved within three days of going gluten-free– and totally abated within seven months.

As a dedicated dessert lover, Kyra shed many tears over the prospect of only being able to eat thedry and tasteless gluten-free goodies that were available at the time. She determined to challenge the status quo, attending the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu patisserie program and figuring out how to apply classical French baking techniques to her extensive kitchen experimentation with alternative gluten-free flours.

The result: a bakery in Portland, Oregon with more than 125 varieties of treats, and baked goods that are even more delicious than their traditional flour-based counterparts and have gained notice from Huffington Post, USA Today, The Today Show, Food and Wine Magazine, and more.

Kyra’s favorite part of the job is playing with textures and flavors and developing exotic yet approachable pastries that delight everyone who eat them.

 

Jules Shepard

Jules Shepard is associate editor of Gluten Free & More and a contributor to many other publications like Gluten-Free Living and Prevention.com. She is the author of three highly-regarded published books and numerous e-books on gluten-free living and cooking. She is a featured “Celebrity Chef” in Living Without’s Best Gluten Free Cookbook and is a featured contributor to Dr. Alessio Fasano’s 2014 book, Gluten Freedom. She has been featured in national media including The Washington Post, USA Today, Forbes and Fox and Friends.

In addition, she founded and runs a gluten-free flour company (gfJules) and logs tens of thousands of miles a year speaking to, teaching and encouraging gluten-free consumers around the country. As an industry consultant, she helps companies in their transition to offering safe gluten- and allergen-free foods, and she has also spoken at numerous industry and retailer events, including Natural Products Expo education seminars and Healthy Baking Seminars.

She also co-founded 1in133.org, which built the World’s Tallest Gluten Free Cake in Washington, DC, and was credited with successfully pressuring the FDA to issue gluten free food labeling regulations which became final in 2014.

Jules hosts a popular internet radio show, personally pens one of the community’s most active gluten-free blogs (gfJules.com), oversees the annual Gluten-Free Cookie Swap, and personally moderates her Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and Google+ presences.  Jules can be found at gfJules.com and @THEgfJules.

 

Nadine Grzeskowiak

Nadine Grzeskowiak, RN, BSN, CEN, began her nursing career in emergency departments and trauma centers across Oregon in 1992. Then, in October 2006, she was diagnosed with celiac disease. At the time Nadine received this correct diagnosis, she had been so ill she expected to only live six months – or less.

Additionally, she had been an ER nurse for 17 years and had consulted with many doctors but, until this point, had found no answer to what was killing her. Within just two weeks of being on a gluten free diet, Nadine’s health took a remarkable turn for the better and Nadine’s career also took a dramatic change.

Presently Nadine is a national expert and speaker for the recognition and treatment of gluten intolerance and celiac disease. Nadine’s first book, DOUGH NATION: A Nurse’s Memoir of Celiac Disease From Missed Diagnosis to Food and Health Activism is now available nationwide. Additionally she is also the CEO of three independent nurse businesses, RN on call, Inc., Gluten Free RN, and Celiac Nurse Consulting.

Nadine is first and foremost a patient advocate and an educator. Her mission is to educate people globally about gluten intolerance and celiac disease: empowering them to improve their health and quality of life with food. She is available for professional speaking engagements focusing on gluten intolerance and celiac disease and is also available for private consultations, professional speaking engagements, and seminars for healthcare professionals.

 

Kristine Kidd

Kristine was the food editor at Bon Appétit magazine for 20 years, where she was responsible for filling its pages with delicious recipes. The dishes she created for many covers and feature stories were so popular, they are republished in the Bon Appétit cookbooks. She is currently writing her eighth cookbook, Gluten-Free Baking. Her seventh book, Weeknight Gluten Free,came out last year. It is a good companion to her previous book, Williams-Sonoma Weeknight Fresh and Fast. She enjoys inspiring people to cook simple, fresh food on her blog, www.kristinekidd.com.

Kristine is the food editor for the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch website, and also works as a culinary consultant. Even though she is busy, Kristine prepares fresh meals at home almost every night. She shops at farmers’ markets, and uses local and sustainable ingredients whenever practical.

 

Dr. Theresa Nicassio

Dr. Theresa Nicassio is a Registered Psychologist (#1541) and author in Vancouver, Canada. She received her PhD in Counseling Psychology from The Ohio State University in 1991, then worked at the Counseling Center at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas until she moved to Canada in 1994 to work at the University of British Columbia.

Along her professional journey, Theresa found herself confronted with significant personal health challenges that she later discovered were related to gluten and other food sensitivities. Prompted by these challenges, her appreciation of the human experience and holistic healing deepened, leading her to became a Certified Integrative Energy Healing Practitioner from Langara College, Vancouver, as well as a Certified Gourmet Raw Food Chef and Instructor and Certified Advanced Raw Food Nutrition Educator from the Living Light Culinary Institute in Fort Bragg, California.

Feeling called to empower others with dietary restrictions and those who just want to live a healthier life, Theresa has written YUM: plant-based recipes for a gluten-free diet as a comprehensive and compassionate resource of new possibilities for living deliciously. Theresa has been an avid student of mind-body therapies such as osteopathy for over 20 years and contributes to public awareness of holistic health through her blog (www.yumfoodforliving.com), Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media outlets.

In addition to working and spending time with her family, Theresa is a health, environmental and humanitarian activist who loves immersing herself in nature, meditating and relishing in the precious moments that life has to offer.

 

Jenna Drew

Jenna Drew is a passionate advocate for Celiac Disease, the gluten free lifestyle and real food transformations, and has traveled over 10,000 miles for Celiac Awareness.

Even after eating gluten free for years however, Jenna was still exhausted all the time and experienced bloating that never seemed to go away. On top of Celiac Disease, she also has asthma that stems from chronic inflammation. She was tired of relying on her inhaler and having low energy all the time – it was time to take control of her struggling health.

Through research she discovered the many ways the body works and how mindset plays a role in our health. As a Certified Mind Body Fitness Coach and Essential Oil Expert, she helps her clients “Get that Gluten Free Glow” and transform their lives through lifestyle coaching and natural solutions like essential oils and real foods.

She invites you to grab her brand new eBook Love Your Gut: 3 Essential Steps to a Healthier Gut (it’s free!) at JennaDrew.com that includes exclusive tips and recipes she only shares with her gluten free community.

 

Scratch & Grain Baking Co

Scratch & Grain Baking Co. was started by an unfortunate baking experience, which led to two moms on a mission to make homemade baking fun and easy. Taya and Leah met in Portland, Oregon as neighbors.

Taya had been talking about starting a business after she had her first son Lincoln. So, after Leah spent 3 hours in the kitchen baking cardboard cookies with her daughters, she sent Taya a text message and said “I have this business idea, want to come over and talk about it?,” Taya said “sure.” As we discussed the concept of the product as well as the vision for the company, we knew it was something that could really happen.

We wanted to make homemade baking fun, delicious, easy and as a little healthier. So we went to work creating a baking kit that had all the BEST ingredients measured out individually so you know what is in your food, and made it a fun and easy experience.

You may have noticed we have a few gluten-free products. Neither of us are gluten-free, but we both have close family members that are, including Leah’s mom and daughter who have Celiac. Neither of us are fans of most gluten-free products either. We knew we had to make a few gluten-free products, at the least for our families, so our number one goal when creating the recipes was to make the cookies taste amazingly delicious – as if they were made from whole wheat pastry flour too. After all, we certainly don’t want to make a product we wouldn’t even eat. Just to make sure the gluten-free kits were just as good, we did a blind test and sent out kits that were not labeled gluten-free to testers. Not one person thought they tasted anything but delicious! In fact Taya’s favorite kit is the Chocolate Truffle Cookie Kit, which is completely gluten-free.

The kits use all-natural and GMO-Free ingredients, because they taste better. In fact most of the ingredients are certified Organic!