The PICNIC Team
Dr Richard Ball: PICNIC NSW Manager (Mid North Coast)
Richard Ball is the founder and manager of the PICNIC project. Richard has worked as a dietitian for 20 years’ holding positions in remote Aboriginal communities in Cape York Australia, in forensic mental health in the United Kingdom and for the last 13 years in infant/child feeding on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales. Richard recently completed his PhD with the University of Newcastle, investigating outcomes from the PICNIC Project. Before retraining as a Dietitian Richard worked with youth at risk in child, youth and family services, and in alcohol and other drug services.
Rachel Gerathy: PICNIC Mid North Coast/PICNIC Supported Playgroups
Rachel is a dietitian working in health promotion and the PICNIC Operations Manager, with 15 years of experience and additional training in paediatric feeding. She leads PICNIC in Supported Playgroups and is currently evaluating the program to support priority population families as part of the HETI Rural Research Capacity Building Program.
Alison Walton: PICNIC Early Education (Mid North Coast)
Alison is a dietitian and Health Promotion Officer working in the Mid North Coast Local Health District. Alison is the PICNIC in Early Education lead and is currently evaluating the program’s effectiveness through HETI Rural Research Capacity Building Program.
Bri-Ellen Fussell: PICNIC Mid North Coast
Bri-Ellen has specialist training and over 10 years’ experience working as a Paediatric Dietitian. She is currently employed as a Health Promotion Officer on the Mid North Coast and the most recent addition to the MNC PICNIC team. She is passionate about supporting families in their child feeding journey, empowering parents and carers with practical, evidence-based guidance.
Emma Foster: PICNIC Western NSW
Emma is a Senior Dietitian in Health Promotion in Western NSW. She has been a dietitian for almost 10 years and has experience working across a variety of areas, with a particular interest in nutrition and feeding in the early years
Sophie Roberts: PICNIC Central Coast
Sophie is a Dietitian & Public Health Nutritionist at Nutrition Services, Central Coast Local Health District. She has been a dietitian for over 20 years, working in clinical, community and public health nutrition roles across all age groups. As part of the Public Health Nutrition Team, Sophie delivers the PICNIC Project for families living on the Central Coast, NSW.
Anuschka Steiner: PICNIC Southern NSW
Anuschka is a Senior Health Promotion Officer within the Population Health Team in Southern NSW. With a strong background in Nutrition and Public Health, she brings extensive experience and a deep passion for supporting communities and families to thrive, with a particular focus on the critical First 2000 Days of life.
Kate Collins: PICNIC Northern NSW
Kate is a Health Promotion Officer based in Northern NSW, bringing nearly 15 years of experience in early childhood and school-aged health promotion. With a background in dietetics, she is passionate about early life nutrition and specialises in translating evidence-based research into practical, achievable strategies for families.
Kerith Duncanson: PICNIC Research Investigator
Kerith Duncanson is an Accredited Practising Dietitian and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Newcastle. Kerith’s PhD studies investigated what and how parents feed their children and resulted in her ongoing involvement in PICNIC. Kerith’s current role with the PICNIC team involves researching the effectiveness of the many ways PICNIC is delivered with different parent groups and settings, including PICNIC Sweden, Cambodia and Lao PDR.
Dr Maria Henström Engblom: PICNIC Sweden
Dr Henström Engblom is an assistant professor (researcher) and nutritionist at the Karolinska Institutet (Sweden) and leads PICNIC Sweden. With a strong interest in child feeding and parent support interventions, Maria has been part of the PICNIC team since 2019, contributing to program development and evaluation. Following a recent pilot study, she is collaborating with Swedish parents and health professionals to adapt the program and will assess its effectiveness and implementation in the Swedish child healthcare setting, through a large randomised controlled trial.
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