Kelsey is joined by special guests Dr Ruchi Gupta & Susie Hultquist to delve deeper into the scientific understanding of life-threatening allergies, key statistics, the importance of community & raising awareness, and to discuss the crucial & hopeful advancements being made in this field.

Dr Ruchi Gupta:
Ruchi Gupta, MD, MPH, is a Professor of Pediatrics & Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a Clinical Attending at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. Dr. Gupta has over 20 years of experience as a board-certified pediatrician & health researcher and currently serves as the founding director of the Center for Food Allergy & Asthma Research (CFAAR).  A mom of a 17-year-old daughter with food allergies, Dr. Gupta is world-renowned for her groundbreaking research in the areas of food allergy and asthma epidemiology, most notably for her research on the prevalence of pediatric and adult food allergy in the United States. She has also significantly contributed to academic research in the areas of food allergy prevention, socioeconomic disparities in care, and the daily management of these conditions. To reduce the burden of these diseases & improve health equity, she and her team develop, evaluate, and disseminate interventions for families and conduct work to inform local, national, and international health policy. Dr. Gupta is the author of the Food Allergy Experience and Food Without Fear, has written and co-authored over 200 peer-reviewed research manuscripts, and has had her work featured on major TV networks and in print media.

Yobee Skincare & Haircare
Prevention work
Education Guide

Susie Hultquist:
As a food allergy mom, Susie’s passion for supporting the food allergy community is deeply personal. At the heart of this former Wall Streeter turned entrepreneur is a desire to create an inclusive space where everyone has a seat at the table. Susie founded the Spokin app as a tool to empower individuals with food allergies & make sure they never feel alone and can easily find a world of safe places. A longtime and well-respected advocate in the food allergy awareness space, Susie was featured in “The Peanut Problem” episode of the six-part Netflix documentary series, Rotten. She also co-founded a successful fundraising & awareness event that raised $1.4MM & led to the establishment of Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) Chicago in 2008. Prior to  Spokin, Susie was a professional investor for close to 20-years. Most recently, she was a Portfolio Manager at Columbia Wanger Asset Management where she invested in public equities. At its peak, Susie managed a portfolio of Small and Mid-Cap Consumer Discretionary & Consumer Internet stocks worth $2B, & co-managed a $400M fund. Susie holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Illinois & earned an MBA from The University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.

Spokin App
Allergy Testing
Alyssa’s Story