Our History

Our History

The Academy for Eating Disorders (AED) began on September 11, 1993 with a meeting organized by Craig Johnson, PhD, FAED, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA.


In total, 33 clinicians and researchers met to discuss concerns about the deleterious effects of managed care and other insurance practices on providing quality treatment for patients with eating disorders. This group saw the need for an organization of eating disorders professionals that embodied excellence in education, treatment and research that could advocate for patients with eating disorders, provide professional training and development and, in general, represent the field of eating disorders.



The AED was formed to meet these goals and today, the AED includes over 1,500 professionals from around the world who have joined together to support this mission. The current and past AED leadership has worked hard to ensure that this mission is met. 

AED Founders

In celebration of the our 21st birthday in 2014, the AED created a video that tells the story of how we came to be.

This video includes interviews with numerous founding members, as well as archived photos.

Black-and-white portrait of a smiling person with short curly hair and glasses

Pauline Powers, MD, FAED

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Black-and-white headshot of a woman with curly hair, looking directly at the camera.

Ruth Striegel Weissman, PhD, FAED

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Black-and-white portrait of a smiling man in a suit and tie

B. Timothy Walsh, MD, FAED

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Black-and-white portrait of a man in a suit and tie, facing the camera with a slight smile.

Joel Yager, MD, FAED

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Black-and-white portrait of a smiling woman in a dark blazer, facing slightly to the side.

Marsha Marcus, MD, FAED

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Black-and-white portrait of a smiling man in a collared shirt and tie.

Stephen Wonderlich, PhD, FAED

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Black-and-white portrait of a man in a suit and tie against a plain background

James Mitchell, PhD, FAED

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Black-and-white headshot of a man in a suit and tie, facing the camera.

Allan Kaplan, MD, FAED

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Black-and-white portrait of a smiling person in a blazer and patterned blouse.

Patricia Fallon, PHD, FAED

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Black-and-white portrait of a smiling woman with short light hair on a plain background

Cynthia Bulik, PHD, FAED

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Black-and-white portrait of a smiling man in a suit and tie against a plain background

Michael Devlin, MD, FAED

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Black-and-white portrait of a smiling man in a suit and tie against a plain background

Scott Crow, MD, FAED

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Black-and-white headshot of a man in a suit, looking slightly off-camera with a neutral expression

Eric van Furth, PhD, FAED

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Black-and-white portrait of a smiling woman with curly hair, facing the camera.

Kelly Klump, PHD, FAED

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Black-and-white headshot of a smiling woman in a blazer, facing forward on a plain background

Judith Banker, LLP, MA, FAED

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Smiling blonde woman with long hair in a black-and-white portrait

Susan Paxton, PHD, FAED

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Black-and-white headshot of a person with glasses and curly hair, wearing a collared shirt and jacket.

Debra K. Katzman, MD, FAED

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Black-and-white headshot of a smiling woman with shoulder-length hair

Anne Becker, MD, PhD, ScM

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Black-and-white portrait of a smiling person with short hair, facing the camera.

Dasha Nicholls, MBBS, MD (RES), MRCPSYCH, FAED

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Smiling woman in a patterned blouse, framed in a black-and-white portrait under an arched window.

Pamela Keel, PHD, FAED

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Smiling bald man with glasses resting his face on his hand by a window

Glenn Waller, DPHIL, FAED

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Black-and-white portrait of a woman with long dark hair, wearing a dark top and slight smile.

Carolyn Becker, PH.D., FAED

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Smiling woman with long dark hair in a button-up shirt, posed against a plain background

Eva Trujillo, MD, CEDS, FAED, FAAP, FIAEDP

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Portrait of a smiling woman in a gray sweater and red necklace against a soft blue background

Stephanie Bauer, PHD

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Portrait of a smiling man in a tan jacket, gray tie, and white shirt against a studio backdrop

Kyle De Young, PhD, FAED

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Smiling person with blue glasses and striped cardigan against a leafy green background

S. Bryn Austin, ScD, FAED

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Smiling woman in a patterned scarf and brown top against a gray background

Ursula F. Bailer, MD, FAED

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Portrait of a smiling person in a black top with a silver necklace against a gray background

Jenny Lundgren, PhD, FAED

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Smiling woman with dark hair, red lipstick, and pearl necklace against a gray background

Jenny Thomas, PhD, FAED

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Portrait of a smiling woman in a white blouse against a soft gray studio background

Kelly Bhatnagar, PhD, FAED

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Portrait of a woman with long dark hair, wearing a green top against a white background

Unna Danner, PhD, FAED

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Close-up portrait of a woman with brown hair, looking at the camera indoors

Gry kjærsdam tellÉus, PhD, FAED

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