Advisory Board

Jill M. Pollack, LCSW, BCD, is a licensed Clinical Social Workers. She is a graduate of the Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University. She has been working in the field of eating disorders for over two decades. In 1998, she became a member of the CSAB Executive Committee and was the director of CSAB from 2001-2016. During her tenure, CSAB’s psychodynamic training program was revamped to include behavioral techniques to create an integrated program including CBT and DBT. Also during this time, CSAB became an active participant in many eating disorder awareness weeks. She also set up CSAB’s Advisory Board. The most recent project includes a webinar series which is now in its fourth year. Our participants for these webinars are clinicians from all over the world i.e. Japan, Zimbabwe, Australia, Switzerland, Canada, Italy, and (South American country). In 2014 we will expand with a joint program to train registered dieticians in the techniques of psychotherapy for eating disorders. This program is a joint effort of CSAB and BALANCE eating disorder treatment center. Ms. Pollack is an active member of AED, IAEDP, NEDA, AAPCSW, and  NYSSCSW. 

 Maria Gambino is a licensed Mental Health Counselor who attended NYU and Hunter College, who also completed CSAB’s training program to become a certified Eating Disorder Specialist. Maria tends to treat clients within a Psychodynamic framework, while incorporating Interpersonal, Relational and Cognitive Behavioral Techniques. She is a staff and Intake therapist at CSAB as well as a member of CSAB’s Executive and Junior Committees. Maria also works in her private practice in Union Square.

Lauren Palumbo currently serves as a Team Leader with the Puerto Rican Family Institute where she oversees a division of the Coordination of Care and Mental Health Services program.  Previously, Lauren worked with the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy where she was a pivotal Program Administrator for the Center for the Study of Anorexia & Bulimia and the Family & Couples Treatment Services Division, helping both programs to grow exponentially during her tenure.  Presently, Lauren sits on both the Advisory Board as well as the Junior Committee for the CSAB division in order to stay connected to CSAB’s mission to bring responsible and accessible treatment and education to the community, a cause close to her heart.  Lauren received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Criminal Justice from Northeastern University and her Masters in Public Administration from Baruch School of Public Affairs where she was inducted into Pi Alpha Alpha National Honors Society for Public Affairs in 2011.  Having specialized in Policy Analysis and Evaluation while at Baruch, Lauren has conducted independent research on policies affecting the mental health community, specifically those in areas of concentrated poverty and re-entry populations.

Judith Ruskay Rabinor PhD is the founder and director of the American Eating Disorder Center, a supervisor at Center for the Study of Anorexia and Bulimia, and on Renfrew Center Conferrence Committee . She lectures, leads seminars and gives workshops on eating and body image disorders and co-parenting after divorce. She is the author of  A  Starving Madness: Tales of Hunger, Hope and Healing in Psychotherapy (Gurze Books 2002) and Befriending Your Ex: Making Life Better for You, Your Kids and Yes, Your Ex (New Harbinger Publications, 2013)