Executive Director: Abigail Saponaro, MS, RDN, LD
Abby Saponaro started her career in healthcare as a Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) after she graduated with a BS in Neuroscience and Psychology from Allegheny College. She worked as a CNA at Namaste Alzheimer Center and a Rehab Tech at Penrose St. Francis Hospital in Colorado Springs, CO. In these roles, she developed a passion for prevention and wellness and decided to pursue a career as a Registered Dietitian.
Abby received an MS in Public Health Nutrition from Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) where she also completed her dietetic internship. During her time at CWRU, Abby gained nutrition and dietetic experience in a wide variety of settings: Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute, Prevention Research Center, Solon City School District Food Service Management, Diabetes Partnership of Cleveland, Southwest General Health Center and Seidman Cancer Center, WIC, Centers for Dialysis Care, and the California Department of Public Health, Maternal Child and Adolescent Division.
Abby currently functions as the Director of Nutrition Services at Be Well Solutions. In this role, Abby develops and oversees all nutrition services and is also responsible for managing the wellness dietitians of BWS. The nutrition services include educational seminars, nutrition content for the monthly wellness newsletter, individual and group nutrition counseling, nutrition blogging, general health coaching, reviewing biometric results with individuals and providing nutrition recommendations for improvements, cooking demonstrations and development and implementation of nutrition related wellness campaigns. She also facilitates continuing education of internal BWS team members such as health coaches, wellness dietitians, nurses and medical assistants.
Abby also works as a diabetes educator for University Hospitals where she provides Medical Nutrition Therapy to patients with type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes.
Along with her nutrition and wellness expertise, Abby utilizes the philosophy of mindful eating throughout her practice. Abby’s interests and hobbies include running, any type of hiking, Vinyasa Yoga, lifting weights, cooking, and spending quality time with friends and family.
Program Director: Katie Bigart, MS, RDN, LD
Katie completed her undergraduate degree in Biology and Psychology at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) in Cleveland, Ohio. She earned a Masters Degree in Public Health Nutrition and completed her dietetic internship at CWRU. During her graduate experience Katie worked as a Research Assistant in the Department of Community Dentistry at CWRU, where she studied the effectiveness of motivational interviewing in adolescents, helping guide them toward proper nutritional goals and action plans. During her time at CWRU, Katie also gained nutrition and dietetic experience in a variety of practice settings.
Katie began her career as a K-12 school nutrition consultant for Pisanick Partners, LLC in Cleveland, OH, where she developed, analyzed, and implemented USDA compliant menus for 13 Northeast Ohio School Districts. She also provided Administrative Review preparation for school kitchen audits and trained staff on Professional Standards for State and Local Nutrition Programs.
Katie then joined Be Well Solutions as an Account Manager and Wellness Dietitian. During this time she helped to develop worksite wellness programs for a variety of corporate, public and municipal clients. Katie coordinated and managed health screenings, performed individual nutritional consultations, group presentations and served and facilitated client wellness committee meetings.
Katie is a certified Health Coach through the American College of Exercise and embraces the balance of an active and healthy lifestyle, filled with hiking, weightlifting, cooking and movies. She loves spending quality time with her husband, boy/girl twins and two dogs.
Associate Program Director: Suzi Hinck, MS, RDN, LD
Suzi Hinck completed her undergraduate degree in chemistry and biomedical studies at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. During her undergraduate experience, she was a Research Associate at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, MN focusing on building patient demographic databases. She also was chosen to be a Mayo Scholar through the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN during which her team conducted research focusing on the medical and financial feasibility of orthopedic surgical devices. She also completed research in physical chemistry focusing on protein stability.
Suzi began her career in health care at Midwest Eye Banks (now named Eversight) in Chicago, IL. In her role, she facilitated cornea donation in a multitude of ways including procuring, processing, completing eligibility, and shipping donations nationwide. She also served as quality improvement coordinator, where she ensured regulatory compliance for the company’s Chicago division. While living in Chicago, Suzi developed a passion for health and wellness and had the opportunity to serve as a volunteer chef focusing on clean and healthy eating strategies and oversight of corporate wellness training.
After moving to Cleveland, OH Suzi began her graduate studies at Case Western Reserve University in Public Health Nutrition. She completed a masters in nutrition and a dietetic internship through CWRU. In addition to her classroom studies, Suzi’s rotations included Lake Health System, Berea City Schools, Cuyahoga County WIC Program, Prevention Research Center for Healthy Neighborhoods, Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute, DaVita Dialysis, and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health – Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children.
Suzi began her dietetic career as a Dietitian and School Nutrition Systems Analyst at Pisanick Partners in Cleveland, OH. During her year there she developed, analyzed, and implemented USDA compliant school nutrition programs for twelve school districts in Northeast Ohio. Since joining Be Well Solutions as a Wellness Dietitian she has continued her commitment to public health by providing individual nutritional assessments, group presentations and demonstrations, reviewing biometric results with individuals and groups as well as providing nutrition specific suggestions for improvements leading to a healthy lifestyle.
Suzi strives to live a healthy and active life. In her free time, she enjoys running, road bicycling, yoga, cooking, and spending time with her husband and two delightful daughters.