Our Team
We’ve got you covered. Whether it’s with one of our dedicated therapists or in conjunction with one of our partner organizations, your unique needs will be cared for every step of the way.
Our team is your team
Our licensed dietitians and therapists, together with our psychiatric prescribers, bring extensive clinical and behavioral counseling experience. Through personalized, insightful, hands-on counseling and programming, they’ll empower you to make impactful and sustainable lifestyle changes.
LEADERSHIP
Amy Gardner
Founder/ CEO
Amy is the founder / Chief Executive Officer of Metrowest Collaborative Care and author of the book iMove, Helping Your Clients Heal from Compulsive Exercise. She has over 25 years of experience working with eating disorders at all levels of care.
Lacey McClure
Clinical Director
Lacey brings 16 years of clinical and leadership experience spanning community mental health, integrated healthcare systems, and private practice specializing in eating disorders. She has led multidisciplinary teams, developed emerging leaders, and helped bring new behavioral health programs to life.
Jocelyn Gregory
Operations Manager
Jocelyn brings experience in healthcare operations, biotech research, event planning, and community leadership. With thoughtful communication and creative problem-solving, she keeps our practice running smoothly and helps clients and clinicians feel supported.
THERAPISTS
Annie LaRochelle
Licensed Independent Social Worker
Annie holds a Master’s in Social Work from Simmons University and has over six years of clinical experience. She works with clients navigating eating disorders, trauma, grief, anxiety, depression, ADHD, OCD, substance use, perinatal mood disorders, and LGBTQIA+ concerns. Her collaborative, supportive approach draws from IFS, CBT, DBT, psychodynamic therapy, and grief counseling to create a safe, empowering space for growth.
Chris Nemergut
Mental Health Counselor
Chris has extensive experience with individual and group psychotherapy to clients for eating disorders, substance use disorders, depression, anxiety, and trauma. He works to create a proactive, compassionate, and safe space for clients to share and process their feelings and emotions while working towards developing skills to help improve distress tolerance, emotion regulation, self-esteem, self-compassion, and body acceptance.
Joanna Bunker
Licensed Independent Social Worker, Clinical Supervisor
Joanna is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Bay Path University, and a Master’s degree focused in Justice-Based Social Work from Wheelock College (now, part of Boston University).
Nicole Rivers
Mental Health Counselor
Nicole is a HAES-aligned licensed psychotherapist specializing in the treatment of eating disorders. From her field experience and education, Nicole utilizes a trauma-informed approach and various evidence-based treatments such as Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Motivational Interviewing (MI).
Nina Sachs
Licensed Social Worker
Nina is a Licensed Certified Social Worker who works with adolescents and adults navigating eating disorders, trauma, anxiety, depression, grief, and identity. Drawing from IFS, ACT, DBT, and trauma-focused approaches, Nina brings warmth, curiosity, humor, and collaboration to therapy. She practices from a Health at Every Size (HAES) perspective and particularly welcomes opportunities to support LGBTQIA+ clients.
Samantha Millette
Licensed Independent Social Worker
Samantha completed her undergraduate degree at Lesley University double majoring in Expressive Arts Therapy and Mental Health Counseling. Her internship at Boston Children’s Hospital in the acute psychiatric unit was where she first developed an interest in eating disorder treatment. She went on to complete her master’s in social work at Simmons University and has worked in multiple levels of eating disorder treatment.
Tatum McShane
Mental Health Counselor
Tatum works with adolescents and young adults to build self-esteem, strengthen emotional awareness, navigate relationships, and develop a healthier relationship with food and their bodies. She takes a trauma-informed, Health at Every Size (HAES) approach and incorporates CBT, DBT, and Motivational Interviewing to support meaningful, lasting change.
DIETITIANS
Bella Denaro
Licensed Dietitian
Bella understands and appreciates that everyone has their own unique relationship with food. She works with clients to translate complex science into simple and relatable terms, while also cultivating a space for people to discover more confidence and peace with food. Bella approaches counseling through a Health at Every Size (HAES) lens and would like to make nutrition accessible to as many people as possible.
Carolyn Dubnik
Licensed Dietitian
Carolyn has over two years of experience working with clients with eating disorders at the inpatient and residential levels of care. She is excited to continue her work with the eating disorder population and is passionate about helping others heal their relationships with food and movement. She finds joy in helping clients rediscover their love for foods they used to enjoy.
Heather Lavery
Licensed Dietitian
Heather is passionate about helping athletes and active individuals challenge diet culture and heal disordered eating patterns in order to nourish and fuel their bodies. She utilizes a HAES-aligned approach, empowering her clients to establish lifelong patterns that fit their busy lives and training goals.
Julie Farrer
Licensed Dietitian
Julie Farrer is a registered dietitian passionate about helping clients build a peaceful, sustainable relationship with food and their bodies. Grounded in science—not fads—she partners with clients to cultivate health, self-acceptance, and lasting wellbeing. With a background in biotechnology and advanced training through Boston University, Julie has extensive experience in eating disorder treatment and outpatient nutrition care, where she focuses on individualized, one-on-one support.
Katelyn Morley
Licensed Dietitian
Katelyn has over 10 years of experience working with individuals with eating disorders. She enjoys working with people across the life span and believes it’s never too late to explore and heal your relationship with food and body. She’s also a firm believer that there is no “right” pace or “perfect” pathway to healing. She’s patient, collaborative, and nonjudgmental, eager to celebrate every step forward, no matter how small, with her patients.
Katie Epstein-Candler
Licensed Dietitian
Katie has been interested in how the human body works since her early days as a dancer and understanding that our bodies need consistent, adequate fuel was a lived experience. Her love for food and cooking led to a career in nutrition and dietetics. Katie believes that everybody deserves to enjoy their relationship with food. She champions HAES-aligned healthcare practices, breaking down diet culture, and helping individuals with eating disorders. Katie enjoys cooking and baking, spending time with her dog and husband, seeing theatrical productions, and trying out new craft projects.
Laura Foresta
Licensed Dietitian
Laura has over 20 years of experience working with clients around behavior change. She compassionately guides her clients through a natural change process, respecting all aspects of their health and wellbeing.
Meg Gilbar
Licensed Dietitian
Meg is a dietitian specializing in eating disorder treatment with experience across all levels of care, including inpatient, residential, PHP, and IOP. She practices from a compassionate, trauma-informed, and evidence-based approach to support sustainable healing and trust with food and the body.
Megan Gamerman
Licensed Dietitian
Megan has over 10 years of experience working with individuals with eating disorders at all levels of care. She was the Food and Nutrition Services Director at a local residential and partial eating disorder program where she earned the moniker “Director of Food Positivity”.
Perry Smizer
Licensed Dietitian
Perry practices from a HAES® and Intuitive Eating approach to help clients of all ages heal their relationship with food. She particularly enjoys working with kids, families and adolescents to support positive feeding practices and enjoyable experiences with food.
Perry Smizer
Rebecca Aslam
Rebecca is driven to help her clients develop a healthy relationship with food. She offers a safe, inclusive, compassionate space for her clients to learn about mindful and intuitive eating, to break down old thinking patterns and diet culture mentality, and to empower clients to make lasting, positive changes in their lives.
PRESCRIBERS
Kayla Thomas
Mental health Nurse Practitioner
Kayla is a board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner with experience providing outpatient psychiatric evaluations and medication management to children, adolescents, and adults. She trained at UMass Chan Medical School and has a background in nutrition and integrative human physiology. Her clinical work includes collaboration with medical providers around mental health care during pregnancy and postpartum.
Robyn Kievit
Clinical Consultant
Robyn is a psychiatric and hormone therapy consultant & NP clinical supervisor for Metrowest Collaborative Care. She is an experienced nurse practitioner with expertise in eating disorders, perimenopause and menopause. She provides clinical supervision and consultation to nurse practitioners at Metrowest Nutrition and Therapy, supporting thoughtful care for clients with complex needs.
CARE TEAM
Bethany Nickerson
Billing Coordinator
Bethany brings over a decade of experience managing billing and client accounts in the outpatient healthcare field. She leads each client interaction with empathy, kindness, and respect, ensuring that every person feels supported and well-informed throughout their care experience.
Alexa Riccio
Client Care Coordinator/Mental Health Counselor
As a member of our administrative team, Alexa manages all new client intakes, taking time to understand each person’s needs, preferences, and goals. She brings skill and care to matching prospective clients with clinicians in our practice, helping people feel welcomed and understood from their first conversation.
Testimonials
“The staff is exceptional and incredibly knowledgeable. You are seen as an individual and not just another patient. I have worked with other nutritionists in the past but they are unparalleled to the care and support I’ve received at Metrowest.”
— Reagham O’Brien
— Reagham O’Brien
