Meet the Team

Carolyn is owner and founder of the Upstate New York Eating Disorder Service which includes partial hospitalization program, Sol Stone Center, and outpatient program Nutrition Services of Upstate New York. She opened one of the first eating disorder clinics, The Nutrition Clinic, in upstate New York over 30 years ago. While providing outpatient services she soon realized the need for more intensive treatment programs. Since 2004 she has opened two partial hospitalization programs in Elmira and Syracuse and three additional satellite outpatient programs in Ithaca, Liverpool (Syracuse), and Vestal (Binghamton). Carolyn has always been passionate about the nutritional care of individuals and specialized in nutritional support early in her career. She began working with metabolic testing (indirect calorimetry) and body composition analysis over 30 years ago. She pioneered using metabolic testing and body composition analysis in the treatment of individuals struggling with an eating disorder and other nutritional concerns using a Health at Every Size approach while addressing the nutritional needs of the body. She championed the use of this technology at national and international conferences. She co-authored “Measuring Health From The Inside” with Annika Kahm, MS and co-authored a chapter in “Trauma-Informed Approaches To Eating Disorders” with Edward Tyson, MD. She is committed to educating clinicians, community, clients, and family members in the field of eating disorder care and has co-sponsored the annual conference, Erin Leah Robarge Memorial Seminar for 20 years. She consulted for the Cornell Healthy Eating Program, initially helping develop the program and providing nutritional care and then working with high risk clients and those needing higher level of care. Carolyn enjoys keeping active. Travel, golf and skiing have always been popular and more recently lake time and enjoying her dog Benji who is often seen at her clinic, are other leisure favorites. She received her undergraduate degree from SUC Oneonta and her Master’s degree from Marywood College. She has been a presenter at regional, national, and international conferences. She is a member of IAEDP, AED, AND, IFEDD and STDA.

Dr. Bezirganian has been Medical Director of Sol Stone Center partial hospitalization program for 15 years. She received a MPH from Columbia University, did her residency in Psychiatry and Neuropsychiatry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and received her medical degree from Medical College of Pennsylvania. She has had a number of publications in the American Journal of Psychiatry and Pediatrics. She has worked with children, adolescents, and adults in a variety of mental health facilities. Most recently her work has focused on the treatment of adults with Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Binge Eating Disorder in a partial hospitalization setting. She is passionate about the process of psychiatry which focuses on healing patients by being mindful of their stories. Effective management of the patient allows them to discover their own strengths and achieve their personal goals. She is dedicated to providing high quality patient-centered care. In her spare time she can be found on the ski slopes in upstate New York or out west.

Allison is the Program Director of Sol Stone Center partial hospitalization program and additional satellite outpatient programs. Allison is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who joined Sol Stone as a Mental Health Therapist in 2019. Allison received her Bachelor’s degree from Mansfield University and Master’s degree from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, both in the field of Social Work. Allison is a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist (CEDS) who received her certification through the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals. Allison has additional training in Internal Family Systems (IFS), Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), and Dialectal Behavioral Therapy (DBT) and Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART). Her experience includes individual, group, and family therapy as well as multidisciplinary team collaboration and case management services. Allison is passionate about helping others and working collaboratively with individuals to set and achieve goals at a pace that feels safe. Allison’s mission is to guide individuals in developing greater self-awareness and helping them build healthier relationships with their bodies, food, and movement. In her spare time, Allison enjoys crafting, spending time with loved ones, and playing with her two doodles.

Jamison joined Sol Stone in 2023 as a Mental Health Therapist. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Mansfield University and Master's degree from Pennsylvania Western University both in the field of Social Work. During her 18 years of experience in the social work field which included 6 years of treating substance use disorders, she has had training in evidence-based theories including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), and Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART). She has worked with children, adolescents, and adults providing individual, family, and group therapy as well as crisis intervention and case management services. Jamison’s passion as a social worker is to support others through their individualized recovery journey.

Cas is a Registered Dietitian who earned her undergraduate degree in Dietetics from Mansfield University, Master’s degree in Applied Nutrition through Sage Colleges of Albany, and her dietetic internship with University of Delaware. Cas has extensive experience in an array of nutrition focused fields including clinical nutrition, community nutrition, and food service. She has professional training in Stage of Change and Motivational Interviewing. Cas enjoys working hands on with clients both in office and in the kitchen to set and achieve individualized goals. Outside of work she enjoys spending time outside no matter the weather, gardening and maintaining her fruit farm, playing games and experimenting in the kitchen.

Andrea joined Sol Stone in 2022 as the Program Nurse and Utilization Review. She obtained her Licensed Practical Nurse from Elmira BOCES in 2005. Over the past 18 years she has worked in skilled nursing, OBGYN, Urology, Internal Medicine, and most recently Utilization Management. Andrea is devoted to helping and caring for others. In her spare time, she can be found at her kids sports being their biggest fan, playing with her dogs, going for walks, and just enjoying the outdoors.

Bruce is a Registered Dietitian who earned his Bachelor’s degree in Nutrition and Institutional Management from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana. A Master’s degree in Nutrition was earned from Marywood University, Scranton PA. He has had a long career focused on both food and nutrition with the enjoyment of food. Bruce has had much work in creating a positive food experience both in the hospital and hospitality settings as well as having owned an operated a fine dining restaurant focused on enjoyment of food with the farm to table focus. He has also had a wide range of clinical experience having worked in both psychiatric hospitals as well as acute medical hospitals. Bruce has been with Upstate New York Eating Disorder Service since 2004. He was previously the Nutrition Director for Sol Stone Center/Elmira, and most recently has been an outpatient nutrition counselor with the Nutrition Clinic and the Nutrition Service of Upstate New York. Passionate about food and food being good, Bruce works with individuals helping them make peace with food and helping them find smiles and laughter and peace in creating meals for themselves to feed body, mind and soul. As a long time resident of the Finger Lakes, Bruce has a love of the water and also a love of gardening and exploring the gardens and the bounty of the Finger Lakes.

Lauren is a Registered Dietitian who earned her Bachelor’s degree in Nutrition and completed her internship at Marywood University, Scranton PA. She furthered her education, receiving a Master’s degree in Nutrition at Boston University. Lauren began her career working in long term care supporting the geriatric population. With the desire to expand her client population, she started working as an outpatient dietitian at a primary care location. She was able to help individuals reach their nutrition goals and create a healthy relationship with food. Lauren lead individual and group diabetes education classes, supporting individuals through their journey. When Lauren is not working, she enjoys running, reading, and trying different restaurants.

Abby joined Sol Stone in 2024 as the Therapeutic Intake Coordinator. She obtained her Bachelor's Degree in Social Work from Mansfield University and completed her internship with Family Service Society. She was able to gain experience in many different areas of social work such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), the healthy use of coping skills, and motivational interviewing (MI). Abby is excited to step into this role to better help individuals struggling with an eating disorder. In her free time, Abby enjoys spending time with her family and friends, playing guitar, reading and helping others.