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January 14, 2021

CGF Welcomes New Members Margo Wootan, Allison Schnieders, and Shweta Patira to its Board of Directors

CATCH Global Foundation Board Members

Press Release

CATCH Global Foundation, a nonprofit focused on improving Whole Child health through evidence-based nutrition, physical education and vaping prevention programs – which extend to the lunchroom, the classroom, and the home in order to influence a child’s choices in school and throughout life – is pleased to announce the appointment of three new board members: Allison Schnieders with FAIR Health in New York, Margo Wootan with MXG Strategies in Washington, D.C., and Shweta Patira with LinkedIn in New York.

“This is an exciting day for us all at CATCH Global Foundation. Our Board of Directors is an exceptional group of individuals committed to our mission to provide Whole Child health education resources to all kids across the globe, and we are honored to have Allison, Margo, and Shweta lend their expertise and vision to this work,” said Duncan Van Dusen, CATCH Global Foundation Founder & CEO. “We know that they will each contribute greatly to the effectiveness and strategic growth of CATCH in the years to come.”

Allison Schnieders, Esq.

Allison Schnieders, Esq., is Deputy General Counsel for FAIR Health, Inc. in New York, a national, independent nonprofit organization dedicated to healthcare cost transparency. Allison has a wide range of responsibilities including supporting attorneys across the country using claims data in healthcare dispute resolution, complex licensing projects, compliance and federal and state regulatory and legislative initiatives. Prior to joining FAIR Health, Allison worked as a litigator in New York and Washington, D.C. with the firms McKenna & Cuneo (now Dentons) and Morrison & Foerster. Allison earned a BA, magna cum laude, from Georgetown University and a JD from the University of Washington. In addition to her experience as a litigator, Allison is also trained as a healthcare mediator by the American Arbitration Association and is a certified Leadership Professional in Ethics and Compliance. She is fluent in French, and the proud mother of three teenagers. Allison is currently completing a three year term as an appointed member of the Health Law Committee of the New York City Bar Association.

Margo Wootan, DSc

Margo Wootan, DSc, is the President of MXG Strategies and has been named one of the Most Innovative Women in Food and Drink by Fortune Magazine and recognized by Harvard School of Public Health for her leadership in public policy. Dr. Wootan led the successful effort to require trans fat labeling on packaged foods, which significantly contributed to an 80% decline in trans fat consumption in the U.S. She coordinated efforts of the National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity to support passage of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which included improving school meals and removing soda and unhealthy snacks from school vending machines, a la carte lines, school stores, and fundraisers. She led the effort to pass two dozen state and local policies and national legislation to require calorie labeling in fast-food and other chain restaurants. She worked on expanding nutrition and physical activity promotion and funding at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and passage of over a dozen state and local healthy restaurant kids’ meal policies. Dr. Wootan is quoted regularly in the nation’s major media and appeared in the movies Super Size Me, Fed Up, and Killer at Large. She has testified before Congress and state legislatures and been invited to speak by federal and state agencies including at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, the National Nutrition Summit, and the Surgeon General’s Listening Session for the National Action Plan on Overweight and Obesity. Dr. Wootan received her B.S. in nutrition science from Cornell University and her doctorate in nutrition from Harvard University’s School of Public Health. She has published over 50 reports, articles, and scholarly papers in the areas of communications, social marketing, national nutrition programs, school food, retail marketing, food marketing to children, restaurant foods, labeling, and nutrition education.

Shweta Patira

Shweta Patira is a technology leader at LinkedIn overseeing part of their Video Engineering organization. With more than 12 years of experience working in software, Shweta has also held roles at Microsoft (search engine and augmented reality products), HBO (leading media and technology across their U.S. offices) and Coupang (leading multi-million dollar digital Ads organization across Seattle and South Korea). Recently, Shweta served on the leadership team for Lean In’s Seattle chapter, where she worked on the Gender Pay Equity initiative for women in Seattle. She has also served in a leadership role on the Grace Hopper Technology Conference Core Committee. She holds a Master’s Degree from Georgia Tech. Shweta spent her formative years in India and the Middle East and outside of work is a diver, a professional makeup artist, and an aspiring marathoner.

 

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