Tina Sheppard is a lifelong foodie, who was blessed to grow up eating at the tables of several generations of southern grandparents and aunties who were and are legends in the kitchen. Tina is a graduate of the Culinary Arts and Restaurant & Culinary Management programs at the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE), in addition to being a self-taught baker and cake decorator. She resides in Southern Maryland, with her sous chefs and taste-testers, aka her husband and children.

Clover is a retired certified nursing assistant, mother of two sets of twins, grandmother, and wife. She enjoys cooking for her family and creating new recipes. Having faced health challenges such as hypertension and prediabetes, Clover has taken drastic steps to change her diet by reducing sodium and increasing vegetables and healthy grains. Her daughter often describes her as a woman who loves to cook, cooks to love, loves to eat, and eats to live. Clover is originally from Jamacia and now resides in Philadelphia.

Michelle is the founder of Food at the Center. She is a medical sociologist and former college professor who was inspired by her mother’s determination to take charge of her health and life through food. Michelle used the framework of mindfulness to teach undergraduates at the University of Maryland. She has also used mindfulness to develop programs to improve the health and well-being of Black or African American women and their loved ones. Michelle was born in Jamaica and currently resides in Columbia, Maryland.