Most of you know that all of the information on www.beyondceliac.org is available free of charge and to all comers. The site covers lots of topics from “What is Celiac Disease?” to “Can I eat spelt on a gluten-free diet?” to getting the scoop on the latest research in the field.

But, from time to time, you just need to ask someone who can and will respond to you directly and personally. Enter the marvelous ladies who have volunteered to answer the questions coming to NFCA via [email protected].

Last month while I was visiting my family in Virginia, I slipped away to Washington, DC, to have lunch with one of these amazing women. Gayle Wald has been ‘manning’ the [email protected] account for over three years, come rain or come shine. She has helped to train the new kids on the block and, undoubtedly, has dispensed answers and information to hundreds of writers with questions about their own situations.

When Gayle is not helping fellow celiac patients, she works as a professor at The George Washington University in Washington, DC, and is Chair of the Department of English there. She lives in the District with her husband and son.

At Gayle’s suggestion, we had a healthy and delicious lunch at Founding Farmers, a restaurant specializing in farm-to-table fare just a few blocks from the White House vegetable garden. And, yes, they serve gluten-free dishes.

Gayle Wald, just one of NFCA’s wonderful volunteers

Unbelievably, this was the first time that I had met Gayle personally. It was great fun getting to know the woman behind the email address. The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA) is extremely fortunate to have the benefit of her experience, along with the true care and concern that all of the ‘Women of [email protected]’ bring to this program. I truly look forward to meeting each one personally, a neat trick as they live across the country from Pittsburgh to Wyoming to Iowa and beyond.

So, when you send NFCA an email, you will encounter one of these very special volunteers:

Kerry Doyle-Gundlach
Emma Lemon
Lori Magee
Rebecca Podio
Yana Thaker
Rebecca Lownes Urbano
Gayle Wald

A huge thanks to them all –and to Joanne Gallagher for keeping their “on duty” schedules straight. They are maaahvelous!

– Nancy