STAFF

KELLYN STAFF

Meagan L. Grega, MD, FACLM, DipABLM, DipABFM

Co-Founder, Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Meagan Grega is the Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer of Kellyn Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit dedicated to making the Healthy Choice the Easy Choice. Kellyn provides school-based healthy lifestyle education and “Garden as a Classroom” programs; supports access to nutrient-dense produce via the Eat Real Food Mobile Market; engages participants in hands-on, plant-based cooking classes in community settings and offers intensive therapeutic lifestyle change interventions for individuals and families.

Dr. Grega earned her MD degree from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School and spent several years as a medical officer in the United States Navy. She is honored to serve as faculty for the St. Luke’s University Health Network Anderson Campus Family Medicine and Internal Medicine Residency programs, Clinical Assistant Professor for the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University and as the faculty advisor for the LKSOM/SLUHN medical student Lifestyle Medicine Interest Group. She serves as a member of several national task force groups dedicated to the expansion of evidence-based lifestyle medicine services and is the current conference chair for the American College of Lifestyle Medicine Annual Meeting. She is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians, a Fellow of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, serves as a Director of the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine and the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, and is board certified in both Family Medicine and Lifestyle Medicine.

Eric Ruth

Co-Founder, CEO
Eric J. Ruth is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Kellyn Foundation. The well-being of children raised in today's world has been a major influence on his life. Raising three children, teaching thousands more and seeing the habits, pressures and influences on our children and families, has led Eric to co-found the Kellyn Foundation.

Mr. Ruth is a graduate of the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts. Eric served fifteen years in the accounting field focused on the management and operational side of business, rising to C-Level positions. The combination of a strong management, financial, and marketing background provides Eric with unique, wide-ranging business expertise.

Eric is responsible for providing the vision and the resources to sustain the initiatives for Kellyn. He also loves spending time in the neighborhoods with community members or interacting with groups of children or families. In partnership with co-founder Meagan Grega, MD, they provide the leadership for the Kellyn “Healthy Neighborhood Immersion Strategy”

Amanda Pietrobono

Director of Operations & Culinary Medicine
Amanda Pietrobono is the Director of Operations & Culinary Medicine at Kellyn Foundation. She is a magna cum laude graduate of The Culinary Institute of America, with an Associate Degree in Baking and Pastry Arts and Bachelor’s Degrees in Applied Food Studies and in Business Management.

As the Director of Operations and Culinary Medicine at Kellyn, Amanda oversees the staff in support of Kellyn’s “Healthy Neighborhood Immersion” Initiatives, while directly focusing on developing and evolving the culinary “Food as Medicine” initiatives.

A longtime lover of food, Chef Amanda spent years working in the food industry and became frustrated with society's current relationship with what we eat and how it negatively affects the health of individuals, families, and our nation. She believes the food that nourishes our bodies should taste just as amazing or better than “The Standard American Diet.”

Chef Amanda collaborates with local farmers, community partners, medical students, and resident physicians to improve the health and vitality of the community, one plant-based meal at a time. She is determined to develop and inspire healthy recipes and meals that have exceptional taste, are affordable, and convenient that allow individuals and families of all income levels to easily change to a plant-forward diet.

Andrew Pietrobono

Executive Chef
Andrew is the Executive Chef of Kellyn and an experienced foodie with a passion for driving himself and others to new heights. He graduated from the Culinary Institute of America with an Associate Degree in Culinary Arts and embarked on a journey to acquire knowledge essential for running a successful culinary business. Andrew has worked in multiple restaurants throughout his life and held positions at a few of the biggest names in the customer service industry, including Wegmans and Walt Disney World.

As Executive Chef, Andrew manages the purchasing and complete backend of Kellyn Kitchen, ensuring the business runs to its full potential by continually seeking ways to improve both the team and their systems of operation. With over 12+ years of experience in the culinary world, Andrew now strives to make healthier food not only the easiest choice but also the best-tasting option on the table.

Andrew has led Kellyn into catering, excelling in large-scale as well as intimate fine dining catering with plant-forward menus, creating healthy dishes that not only look amazing, but taste great too. Chef Andrew looks forward to continually engaging more people to understand the health value and the wonderful tastes of whole food plant forward eating, as Kellyn expands into prescription vouchers and medically tailored meals.

Trevor Smith

Sous Chef
Trevor Smith, our dedicated Sous Chef, joined the Kellyn team full-time in spring 2021, bringing extensive experience from both our kitchen crew and mobile market. Originally from the Lehigh Valley, he finds joy in outdoor pursuits like hiking and fishing. With a deep-rooted love for food, he now enjoys sharing his culinary talents with the community.

In the kitchen, Trevor excels in maintaining rigorous food safety standards, meticulous organization, and profound product knowledge, particularly in the realm of plant-based cuisine. His expertise ensures that every dish not only meets Kellyn's high culinary standards but also embodies our commitment to health and sustainability.

Inspired by Kellyn's mission of culinary medicine, he thrives on crafting innovative plant-based dishes in Kellyn Kitchen. His dedication extends beyond the kitchen as he educates others on the benefits of wholesome eating, echoing Amanda Pietrobono's mission to revolutionize community health through food. Together with local farmers and healthcare professionals, he contributes to Kellyn's "Healthy Neighborhood Immersion" initiatives, striving to make nutritious, delicious meals accessible to all.

Patrick Henning

Healthy Lifestyle Instructor, Mobile Market Manager
Patrick Henning is a native Lehigh Valley resident who has worked with the Kellyn Foundation since 2016 as a healthy lifestyle educator, school garden coordinator, and mobile market manager. His interest in health and wellness has been motivated by his effort to live as healthy as possible with autoimmune diseases and their associated ails, applying this experience in hope of helping others.

Adrian Bachman

Healthy Lifestyle Instructor, Garden Coordinator
Adrian Bachman has a background in the healthcare field and is currently furthering her studies in Bio-Behavioral Health. While volunteering with Kellyn in 2019, she took an interest in community and public health which led to her joining the Kellyn Team as a staff member in 2021. She enjoys the preventative side of the healthcare model and enjoys collaborating with people in her community. Adrian believes strongly in the education, connections, and the overall support that Kellyn implements and initiates with individuals out in the community. Adrian enjoys connecting and collaborating with all of the community members that Kellyn partners with and she hopes to be a growth catalyst for others in taking action towards a healthy lifestyle.

Lowell Knerr

Kellyn Kitchen Cook
Lowe is a dedicated cook at Kellyn Kitchens, bringing a wealth of experience from both his military service and academic background. He graduated magna cum laude from DeSales University with a dual degree in Criminal Justice and Social Work. Prior to his academic pursuits, Lowe honorably served in the United States Army as a Food Service Specialist, where he was responsible for meal preparation and adherence to strict food safety protocols—ensuring optimal nutrition for service members, particularly during his deployment in the Persian Gulf War.

Lowe’s passion for healthy eating and wellness was ignited through the Kellyn Lifestyle Medicine Program, which he attended alongside his lovely wife, Heather, as part of the Bethlehem Area School District initiative. Heather, an elementary school principal within the district, is a strong advocate for Kellyn’s programs, sharing Lowe’s commitment to promoting health and nutrition.

Outside of the kitchen, Lowe enjoys listening to music and watching television shows like The Rookie. He cherishes family vacations to Long Beach Island and road trips with his wife and son, Zeke—adventures often centered around discovering amazing food and unique culinary experiences.

Purvi Bhojani

Healthy Lifestyle Instructor
Purvi Bhojani has been involved with the Kellyn Foundation since 2014, when she first encountered their school program in her son's 4th-grade class. She was deeply impressed by its impact on his lifestyle and well-being.

Originally from India, Purvi holds a degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering. She moved to the U.S. in 2000 and spent 11 years in the IT field before taking a break to focus on raising her children. As a lifelong vegetarian, she has always been passionate about providing her family with a nutritionally balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. Her desire to learn more and empower others with knowledge about plant-based nutrition and wellness led her to become an integral part of the Kellyn team.