Ellen Haas
Writer, WebMD, Inc.
Ellen Haas is chairman and CEO of the FoodFit Co. A top veteran consumer leader who also ran the nation's nutrition programs for four years, Haas has spent more than 20 years promoting healthy living. Her achievements range from overseeing a complete revision of the school lunch program to writing Fit Food: Eating Well for Life (2005) and Great Adventures in Food (1999).
Haas' career began in the 1970s as the mother of two small children searching for better nutrition information. She invited a few friends over, and together they started the Maryland Citizens Consumer Council. She went on to run the consumer division of the Community Nutrition Institute from 1976 to 1982.
A five-time president of the Consumer Federation of America, she also founded Public Voice for Food and Health Policy in 1982, a national organization that played an important role in successful efforts to improve seafood safety, food labeling and beef grading. In 1993, President Clinton appointed Haas to run the federal government's nutrition programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She served as undersecretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services for four years.
Among her many accomplishments at the USDA was an overhaul of the nation's school lunch program so that for the first time in 50 years, school meals met dietary guidelines. Throughout her career, Haas has built effective and long-lasting relationships with all sectors of the food and health system, including growers, manufacturers and grocers, public health practitioners and their associations and advocates, and the food and health media.
FoodFit.com is a marketing services company that helps businesses reach health-conscious customers while helping consumers with reliable and useful nutrition, cooking, and fitness information. The site integrates more than 50 features and interactive tools, 1,700 recipes, and tips from 100 nationally recognized chefs as well as from experts in nutrition and fitness.