The Guiding Star’s Team
Our team is composed of dedicated and passionate professionals with a range of expertise to help support the mission of the Guiding Stars Licensing Company.
Julie Greene
Director
Guiding Stars Licensing Company
With over 20 years in food retailing, 10 years in marketing, and an MPH, Julie brings a unique perspective to promoting healthier eating. In 2006, she led the launch of the world’s first storewide nutrition guidance program, Guiding Stars at Hannaford Supermarkets. In various roles at Ahold Delhaize, she oversaw Guiding Stars’ evolution from a simple shelf tag guide to a trusted standard for Food-as-Medicine nutrition incentives and ESG target setting. Julie is always looking for new ways for Guiding Stars to enable and reward consumers, manufacturers and retailers for selecting and preparing nourishing products.
Julie resides just outside of Portland, Maine with her husband, two college-age children and always-hungry beagle.
Elizabeth Marble
Brand & Nutrition Manager
Guiding Stars Licensing Company
Elizabeth manages and enhances relationships with a wide variety of new and existing clients. Elizabeth brings knowledge of nutrition and environmental sustainability to Guiding Stars. She is passionate about food: cooking, baking, consumption, and education on the balance between food choices and their role in human and environmental health. Elizabeth has experience in community, research, and clinical nutrition as well as food policy and sustainability.
Elizabeth lives in Portland, Maine with her two daughters.
Garrick Brown, MS, RD, LD
Product Manager
Guiding Stars Licensing Company
Garrick is a Registered Dietitian and joined the Guiding Stars team as a nutritionist in 2018. In his current role, Garrick works with Guiding Stars clients to ensure the program meets customer needs and contributes to strategic health goals of the company. He enjoys staying up to date on the latest nutrition trends, research, and food policy.
Garrick earned his bachelor’s in Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Maine and his master’s in Nutrition and Food Science at the University of Rhode Island. He lives in South Portland, Maine with his wife and two children.
Favorite Guiding Stars Recipe: Blackened Salmon Sandwich
Jada Wensman, MS
Brand & Nutrition Specialist,
Guiding Stars Licensing Company
Jada supports communications and relationships for Guiding Stars. She joined the Guiding Stars team in 2025, bringing her experience in nutrition education, food security, and community public health. Jada earned a master’s degree in Nutrition Interventions, Communication, and Behavior Change from the Friedman School at Tufts University, and a bachelor’s in Environmental Studies from Bowdoin College. Jada loves to cook and bake, and believes food is a connecting force for building community.
Favorite Guiding Stars Recipe: Weeknight Shakshuka
Michael Dow
Systems Manager
Guiding Stars Licensing Company
Mike Dow serves as Manager, Guiding Stars Systems, where he is responsible for the systems, data workflows, and operational processes that support the Guiding Stars program. He brings more than 20 years of experience in systems management, data integration, and process improvement, with a focus on building structured, reliable solutions.
Prior to joining Guiding Stars, Mike led business systems and data initiatives across complex environments, including ERP implementations, database management, and enterprise reporting. His work has consistently centered on improving data integrity, reducing operational friction, and aligning technology with business needs.
In his current role, Mike focuses on strengthening the systems and team structure that support Guiding Stars, with a focus on building a foundation that can support long-term scale and consistency across partners.
Karen Landis
Data Verifier
Guiding Stars Licensing Company
Karen has been part of the Guiding Stars Data Team since 2016, ensuring accurate product data and nutritional star ratings. Her primary focus has been store-prepared items and recipes for print and digital marketing. Over the years she’s been excited to see positive trends as consumers demand healthier and more sustainable options. After receiving her BA from Ohio University, Karen worked in book publishing. non-profit event production, and as a backcountry guide on horseback in Yosemite National Park. She currently lives in the Lakes Region of Maine, where she is thrilled to be continuing her work with horses.
Tricia Breeze
Senior Data Verifier
Guiding Star Licensing Company
Tricia thinks that Guiding Stars is an important program that can easily be used to allow people to eat better. It means a lot to her that her role as data collector and verifier contributes to helping others. She accurately enters product data and proper algorithm selection to ensure accurate ratings of client’s products, protect the integrity of the Guiding Stars program and accurately represent product in our Food Finder.
Favorite Guiding Stars Recipe: Italian Baked Cod
Allison Stowell, MS, RD, CDN
Guiding Stars Dietitian
Allison J Stowell MS, RD, CDN uses her background as a food and nutrition expert to help others adopt healthier living. She frequently speaks to community groups and leads seminars on nutrition, balanced diet, and disease prevention. As Guiding Stars’ Dietitian, Allison supports Guiding Stars partners in using Guiding Stars algorithms to educate the communities they serve.
Her thoughts on nutrition can be found in her Guiding Stars health and wellness blog. Allison also serves as a Retail Dietitian for Hannaford Supermarket, a Guiding Stars retail partner. Additionally, her professional journey includes maintaining a private practice that emphasizes a non-diet approach and increasing mindful eating to help her clients sustain positive health changes. She lives in Connecticut with her husband, two children and her dog Josie.
Kitty Broihier, MS, RD, LD
Scientific Advisor
Kitty is a member of the Guiding Stars Scientific Advisory Panel, a panel of experts in the fields of nutrition and public health, formed to develop a set of criteria which resulted in the design of a now patented algorithm used to analyze food products. Kitty is also a food and nutrition communications expert and the owner of NutriComm Inc., a marketing and communications company that services food manufacturers, trade groups and public relations firms nationwide.
Previously on the editorial staff at Good Housekeeping magazine, she has written many magazine articles and contributes regularly to a variety of publications and websites, including the Guiding Stars blog. Kitty is also the co-author of several cookbooks. A member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and several of the association’s practice groups, she served two terms of service as the president of the Maine Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Kitty is also an adjunct instructor in the nutrition department at Southern Maine Community College. A mother to two young adults, she resides in Lisbon, Maine with her husband.
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