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BY ASHLEY M. CASEY

Thei! OwnA celebration of women sparks lifelong memories.

With no particular objective other than bringing women together, the annual Room

Full of Sisters gathering has been foster-ing sisterhood in Auburn for nearly 20

years. In addition to a delicious luncheon and

live entertainment, the connections forged by guests have kept this tradi-tion going strong.

RFOS began as a sim-ple celebration of female

friends and colleagues during Women’s History Month in March 1994.

“My business partner at the time [Gwen Webber McLeod] and I thought it would be a really wonderful time to gather cli-ents and women friends in sisterhood,” recalled Melina Carnicelli, co-founder of RFOS. A! er Webber McLeod’s depar-ture, Carnicelli has produced the event with JoAnn Blake since 2009. “We made

a reservation for 35 people and 97 people showed up!”

Webber McLeod named the event a! er reading the poem “Room Full of Sisters” by Dr. Mona Lake Jones, an educator and Seattle’s poet laureate. She and Carnicelli contacted Jones to ask permission, and Jones o" ered to speak at the event.

Speaking of authors, at 9:30 a.m. at the 17th annual luncheon, early birds can meet humorist and speaker Yvonne Conte, who will be signing copies of her new release Cry, Laugh, Cook! and her bestselling Serious Laughter.

# is year’s event commemorates the 100th anniversary of the death of Har-riet Tubman, who is buried in Auburn. Two of Tubman’s descendants — Pauline Copes-Johnson, 85, and Danielle Fedi-gan, 20 — will speak during the Sage Words event. # is year’s speakers range in age from 10 to 103 years old.

It is the unexpected yet organic connec-tions created by bonding with a table mate or drying tears at a touching story that keep this event alive. In its 19 years of existence, RFOS has only missed two years.

“My granddaughter, who is now 13, said she can’t imagine a year in her life with-out [the event],” said Carnicelli, adding, “I have had several women over the years say the event has been transform-ing for them.”

RoomIF YOU GO WHAT: 17th Annual Room Full of Sisters Luncheon Celebration

WHERE: Holiday Inn Conference Center, 75 North Street, Auburn

WHEN: 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., May 9

INFO: Visit www.roomfullofsisters.com or call Melina Carnicelli 315-277-0271.

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How has your own struggle with an eating disorder infl uenced your work? First and foremost, it has taught me that full recovery is absolutely possible. I struggled a long time with my eating disorder, which went untreated for many years. My experience has helped me have insight into and compassion for the $ erceness of the battle as well as encouragement that the work can be done and recovery achieved. Cynthia Bulik, in her new book Midlife Eating Disorders: Your Journey to Recovery, says, “Everyone’s eating disorder is unique. Eating disorders don’t $ t into nice little boxes.” I love the complexity of the work, and I suppose I do have a so! spot for individuals in midlife who are either just coming forward or have just developed an eating disorder.

What is most rewarding about your job? I am able to join individuals and families on their journey as they seek recovery. It may be watching teens have an “aha”

moment while talking with them about body image and rede$ ning beauty, or talking with older individuals who are just now coming forward for help, or listening to a grandparent who shares with me that their grandchild has made tremendous progress since starting services accessed through Ophelia’s Place.

Just recently we had one of our new volunteers share that a friend of hers came to Ophelia’s Place back when we were in the little house on First Street, and that she is now doing so well. For me, it is the individual stories that keep me excited about my work.

What is the biggest obstacle to success for Ophelia’s Place? # e biggest challenge to operating Ophelia’s Place is still the funding piece. Café at 407 has certainly helped us in this area, but because our services are provided free of charge, we must constantly look for funding sources. Grant monies are di% cult to receive, as they are usually targeted toward very speci$ c outcomes which do not fall into the area of service we provide. Recent changes in the tax laws will impact some of our donors.

What are your top three tricks to maintaining a positive outlook in business and in life? # e $ rst is my faith in and love for Jesus Christ and His unconditional love for me. # e second is that my children and my two grandsons bring me great joy,

and when I feel like everything is going badly or I am stressed, I just remember them. I visit and spend time with them and get my perspective back in place.# e third is that I must play! My Harley — her name is Anna Jean — is still sleeping all covered up in the garage. But spring is here, and riding season is around the corner. Anna Jean is my therapy!

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Q&AJodie Wilson-Dougherty

her business

Jodie Wilson-Dougherty is this month’s Women TIES’ Inspirational Entrepreneur. Women TIES President Tracy Higginbotham can be reached at www.womenties.com or 315-708-4288.

Jodi" Wilson-Doughert#This month’s Women TIES’ Inspirational Entrepreneur

According to the National Eating Disorders Association, 30 million Americans will su" er from an eating disorder during their lifetime. Two-thirds of them are women.

Since 2002, Ophelia’s Place, based in Liverpool, has o" ered support groups and other resources for eating disorder su" erers and their loved ones. Café at 407 was created to raise money for Ophelia’s Place and foster a new way of looking at beauty.

Jodie Wilson-Dougherty, a licensed clinical social worker who has recovered from an eating disorder of her own, has worked with Ophelia’s Place since its 2002 opening. She $ rst volunteered to run a support group and continued to work with the organization in both part-time and full-time capacities for 10 years. She was named executive director in January 2012 and also runs a private practice dedicated to counseling those with eating disorders. She is also this month’s Women TIES’ Inspirational entrepreneur.

BY ASHLEY M. CASEY

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her passion

BY ASHLEY M. CASEY | PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIMBERLY COOK

From Atkins to the Zone, many women have tried every fad diet that pops up on their radar. But according to Kimberly Caird, this one-size-$ ts-all approach isn’t & attering to any body. Caird, a certi$ ed holistic health and wellness coach, would know — a! er years of yo-yo dieting, depression and a myriad of other health problems, she $ nally learned how to feed her body and soul to feel her very best.

Caird is the owner of Food Restores, a health consultation company she founded in December 2012. Based in Adams, N.Y., Caird advises a largely female client base on how to lose weight, manage stress and maintain a healthy lifestyle overall. A! er master-ing the balance in her own life — she is an administrator for BOCES on top of running Food Restores — Caird wanted to share with her clients the healthy strategies she’s learned to apply to herself.

“Unlike what you hear from a dietician or a nutritionist, I’m a certi$ ed health counselor,” Caird explained. “Food is not the only focus — I’m helping them [my clients] with other things.”

Make no mistake — Caird is not look-ing to replace medical professionals, but she seeks to help her clients trans-late their suggestions into everyday life. A physician may tell someone to lose weight or eat healthier, but many are at a loss when it comes to implement-ing that advice. Caird seeks to support people and help them learn to make their own health decisions.

“It’s really not competing with doc-tors or nutritionists,” Caird said of the relatively new profession of health counselor. “It’s a complement — how do they make the changes the doctor suggested? Overall, it’s just my commit-ment to them as an individual to help them reach their goals.”

# e Institute of Integrative Nutrition, which Caird attended online, described the role of a health coach as more of a supporter than a leader: “While the role of a physician to a patient tends to be authoritative, the role of a coach to a player is more supportive. # e term ‘health coach’ conveys the position as a motivating, supportive, action-oriented and ongoing ally to our clients.”

Having o% cially graduated from the Institute on April 12, Caird partici-pated in a one-year program to become a certi$ ed health coach and began seeing clients in December 2012. “As part of the program, they work with us to begin working with clients prior to graduation. Halfway through the program, they provide certi$ cation,” she explained.

Teaching comes naturally to Caird, given her background in educational administration. She strives to teach her clients that they can take charge of their own nutrition and health. Her philoso-phy rests on each person’s individuality: the diet that allows one woman to shed pounds may not necessarily be for her sister or friend.

“Every person is unique. # at holds true for the foods they eat. For example,

some can tolerate gluten, but it’s up to the individual body,” Caird said. She works with her clients to determine the speci$ c diet that’s best for them. “It’s not a prescription, it’s a collaboration,” she added.

Clients work with Caird for a six-month program in which Caird meets with them by phone twice a month. Each session covers a di" erent topic and goals to reach, determined by the client with Caird’s help. Between ses-sions, Caird corresponds with clients via email, o" ering support, information about juice and meal cleanses, indi-vidualized research and recipes. O! en, the primary goal is to lose weight, but Caird said that clients get much more out of it.

“Ultimately, it’s possible for you as an individual to take back your health. You are in control of your health,” she stressed. While many people are used to relying on doctors to control their well-being and ailments, Caird strives to show her clients that they are agents in their own health.

She said that seeing her clients’ progress is rewarding: “Not only the weight loss — it’s bigger than that. # ey realize that weight loss gives them more con$ dence throughout life. # ey seem happier; they’re healthier overall.”

As a mother of two with a full-time job in addition to running Food Restores, Caird is constantly balancing the per-sonal with the professional.

“# at’s a daily struggle,” she admitted. “I have a full-time job, I have this busi-

SOUL FOODHealth coach Kimberly Caird helps clients rediscover balance in life.

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“ Ultimately, it’s possible for you as an individual to take back your health. You are in control of your health.”

Kimberly Caird

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ness, I have two children. My health comes before all that because I couldn’t do that without [maintaining my own health].”

Making time for breathing exercises, yoga and massages (“all those thing we love as women,” she said) keeps Caird balanced and sane. “When I take my quiet time, I’m a much better parent and more successful in my career,” she added.

According to the Institute of Integra-tive Nutrition, many health coaches work with chiropractors, spas, gyms or doctor’s o% ces. Some, like Caird, work from their own homes, but she is hop-ing to make Food Restores a full-time venture.

“Making that happen is de$ nitely a challenge,” she admitted. “My thoughts have been focused currently on how to

make the transition from my full-time BOCES position into health coaching — the work I love — without $ nancially burdening my family.”

To accomplish that transition, Caird is weighing o" ers from a local spa and a chiropractor, who have o" ered her time and space in their o% ces. “Currently, I am attempting to make a plan based on my options in order to determine how to make this happen. Ideally, I would love to make Food Restores full-time, but I have some hurdles to overcome before doing so,” she said.

# e struggle for balance is one of wom-en’s greatest concerns today, according to Caird. “Stress is a major factor for women and moms,” she said, adding that women are at risk for heart disease and certain cancers. “Disease manage-ment and prevention is at the forefront. # e focus on what they’re eating is a big

part of it — you’re preventing disease with food.”

Another major tenet of Caird’s Food Restores philosophy is the idea of “primary foods.” No, they’re not carbs, meat or dairy. Primary foods are the personal components of one’s life such as relationships, spirituality, regular physical exercise and a gratifying career. In addition to o" ering nutrition advice, Caird helps her clients repri-oritize their lives so they can feel as ful$ lled as possible.

When it comes to Caird’s own primary foods, she has quite the pyramid. “I have a family, so relationships are very important to me. # e stress in my life and being able to manage that, physical activity and my career — making sure I’m healthy in each of these areas will keep me healthy long-term, I hope,” she said. “I truly try to live what I teach.”

1. Know yourselfLearn what [rechargesg yoy u]. FoFor sr omeome pep ople it’s breathing exercises. . For ottherhers s it’st’s sp spende ing timewith friends, practicing yoga g or r medmedititation. Learn what works for you!

2. Tune into your diettFine-tuning will infl uene ce e your mr moodood. Refi nedcarbs (white bread and bbakea d d goodoods) increasecortisol levels. Omega-3-3 fa fattytty ac acidsids ( (fatty fi sh,fl afl flfl xseed) may keep the s stretress s horhormonmone in check.AlsAlsAlslsso co utting back on caffeifeine ne maymay h help you avoid conontintitintinually stimulating youur ssystystem.em

3. 3 Just sayayy NNO N NIf you’re coonsnstnnn antly doing anand gig vinvingg you will be toot depleted totototo be the bestt wo workerker,r, parparent, friendnd ororor oo spouse you cu cccan aaa be. Thinknk tw twicece bebeforo e taking g oonon n newne tasks.

4. . GeGet t st sst t omeo exercrciseeeeeIIt’s aaaaa fa ffa f ct c that physhy icaaaaallyllylll activive pe peopeople le feef l lessess aanxa iouuuuss s as as s nd deppresresseddddd. E. .. xerrciscise ie incrncreaseses thehehohoro monnnne te tee hat heelpslps us dddddeal witth sh streress ss mormore e effeffectee iveveely.ylyly.y.y So S S S , mmovove! EEveveeen better, r, dodo it witwith ah a frifrfrfriendend or whhhileileeileile lilii li listestes ninn g tttoo mo usic.

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KIM’S TOP FIVE DE-STRESS SECRETS