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| 2010 FORUM SPONSORS:
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Feinberg Rozen, LLP
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Fischman Family – Nancy, Steve, Ben, Wendy, Laura
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John and Ann Grady
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Ms. Nancy Harris
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Harvard Business School
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Harvard Business School Retail & Apparel Club
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The Karp Family Foundation, Stephen, Jill, Douglass and Jana
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Neiman Marcus Boston
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Joe and Kathy O'Donnell
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State Street Global Advisors
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The June and Eliot Tatelman Family Foundation
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The Harris Center at Massachusetts General Hospital is dedicated to research, education and advocacy in the field of eating disorders. We seek to expand knowledge about eating disorders, their detection, treatment and prevention, and to share this knowledge with the community-at-large. Through our fellowship programs we train the future clinical and research leaders in the field of eating disorders. The Center is involved in advocacy efforts at the state and national levels and is the founder of the Eating Disorders Coalition for Research, Policy, & Action, which is based in Washington, D.C. In addition, the Harris Center maintains an active clinical practice to treat children, adolescents, adults, and families.
2010 Annual Public Forum
The Harris Center's Annual Public Forum disseminates information about eating disorders to the community, encourages discussion, and reduces stigma.
On Monday, March 22, 2010, nearly 1,000 people - students, parents, educators, and members of the press - joined us at Harvard Business School for our 13th Annual Public Forum: "Health Matters: Weight and Wellness in the World of Fashion." Moderated by Harris Center Director David B. Herzog, M.D., this year's panel discussion highlighted the American fashion industry's commitment to advocating healthy lifestyles for women and also its policies to protect dangerously thin fashion models.
The program opened with a short film illuminating the efforts currently under way in the fashion industry to promote healthy body images. Following this, the spotlight focused on our three illustrious panelists. Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour described how a health initiative created by the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) in 2007 is breaking the fashion industry’s longstanding “code of silence” surrounding the topic of unhealthy, too-thin models. After detailing the CFDA Health Initiative’s activities – which include establishing guidelines aimed at protecting the well-being of models – Wintour called for an industry-wide “celebration of all body types” and added that Vogue will help lead the way.
Next, Michael Kors, American fashion designer and judge on Lifetime Television’s Project Runway, pledged that he will follow the CFDA Health Initiative’s recommendation to stop hiring models who are under 16 years-old. He is the first prominent designer in the United States to make a personal commitment to this reform in front of a public audience. The age requirement, which Kors feels “must be a priority,” reflects the belief that body dissatisfaction among models may be partly due to the high percentage of girls who launch their careers in their early to mid-teens, when they are too young to cope with the highly competitive fashion world.
The third panelist, Russian model, actress and philanthropist Natalia Vodianova, offered an inspiring personal perspective. Looking back on her early career, she described how her increasing concerns about the size and shape of her body spiraled into anorexia nervosa in 2002, following the birth of her son. She went on to share her journey from eating disorder to health, recalling that psychotherapy played a key role in her recovery. Vodianova’s courage to seek help for her eating disorder at a time when these illnesses were not openly discussed by the fashion industry made her story all the more compelling.
After addressing questions from the audience, the program closed on an optimistic and energetic note. In his final remarks, Dr. Herzog commended all three panelists for the passion and insight they had brought to our Forum and for their initiatives in promoting healthy body images. “The fashion industry needs your leadership,” he emphasized.
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| 2010 Public Forum - Left to right: Dr. Herzog, Natalia Vodianova, Michael Kors, Anna Wintour |
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Left to right: Michael Kors, Anna Wintour, Isabel Farrington, Holly Heffernan, Callie McLaughlin
Both photos above by Roger Farrington |
View information about our 2011 Public Forum, which featured the prominent designer Diane von Furstenberg.
Be sure to visit our website for upcoming events. If you would like to inquire about the Harris Center; its programs, public forums, and giving opportunities please call 617-726-8470.
This page was updated on 3/14/11.
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