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About the founders |
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Wendy Oliver-Pyatt |
Dr. Wendy Oliver-Pyatt is a medically trained Board Certified Psychiatrist, with additional Board Certification in Addiction Psychiatry. She received her specialty training at New York University-Bellevue Hospital in New York City, where she served as Chief Resident. She has held faculty positions at New York University, Albert Einstein School of Medicine and University of Nevada School of Medicine. Dr. Oliver-Pyatt has been cofounder and clinical director of The Center for Hope of the Sierras and Cofounder and Director of the Eating Recovery and Wellness Center of Nevada. She served as the Medical Director for the State of Nevada Division of Mental Health and Disability Services, Medical Director and Chief of Staff of Northern Nevada Adult Mental Health and has received Senatorial Recognition for her commitment to the mental health community. As an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, she educates medical students and in-training psychiatry residents on the treatment and medical consequences for all forms of eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and exercise addiction.
Her book Fed Up! The Breakthrough Ten Step No Diet Fitness Plan—written to prevent dieting and disordered eating-- has been featured in a variety of national publications, including Family Circle, Psychology Today, Women’s Health and Fitness and Town and Country and has been reviewed in the Academy for Eating Disorder's Forum. She has given frequent presentations and interviews throughout the country and has been featured on WebMD.
Dr. Oliver-Pyatt is an active member of several professional organizations, including the Academy for Eating Disorders, National Eating Disorder Association, and International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals.
Described by colleagues as warm and wise, Dr. Oliver-Pyatt matches both her comprehensive training and education and her personal victory over food and body issues, with an unwavering belief in compassionate and scientifically sound treatment. She lives with her husband Michael, their two daughters, and several adored family pets.
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Michael Pyatt |
| Michael Pyatt, a former professional athlete, cofounded and served as former program coordinator for the Center for Hope of the Sierras, a residential facility for the comprehensive treatment of eating disorders. An accomplished international basketball player, Michael understands how a successful athlete’s intensity and drive for physical excellence can cross over into damaging behaviors and confusion about one’s identity. A graduate of Columbia University’s School of Social Work and a life-long sports enthusiast, Michael has coordinated numerous programs promoting mental health through positive recreational activity for people of all abilities and at all life stages. A witness to the devastating effects of inappropriate coaching, he works toward providing education and guidance to the athletic community via “Affirming Coaching,” an approach which supports the emotional and physical needs of athletes. Michael is a passionate youth advocate and has worked in the child welfare and mental health fields throughout his career in social work. Additionally, he has facilitated sports clinics, coaching workshops, and leadership programs for youth. Michael serves as a bridge between player and coach for our client athletes. He is married to Wendy Oliver-Pyatt, and has two daughters. |
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Vicki Kroviak |
| Vicki Kroviak is an established international television executive who has worked for 20 years in television programming and production in Hong Kong, Buenos Aires, Miami, and New York. She has worked for Star TV in Asia, Sky Latin America and MTV Networks, most recently for Nickelodeon’s preschool division. She has a passion for fostering culturally positive role models – with healthy and realistic body images -- in the media. Vicki, who recovered from an eating disorder herself, and Dr. Oliver-Pyatt are life-long friends and former college roommates. Together they envisioned creating the kind of treatment center that didn’t exist during their college years --one that would address the needs of those with food and body issues in a thoughtful and compassionate way. Vicki and her husband live in Westchester County, NY with their three daughters. |
