Our Company

Equip is transforming the landscape of eating disorder treatment.

Our 100% virtual, evidence-based treatment model makes recovery possible for everyone affected by an eating disorder.

Our mission

is to make sure everyone with an eating disorder gets treatment that works.

Our story

Who we are and why we do it

After her anorexia diagnosis at 10, Kristina Saffran spent years in and out of hospitals and treatment centers until her family discovered family-based treatment (FBT) and she finally recovered. Dr. Erin Parks, meanwhile, saw the success of FBT and other evidence-based eating disorder approaches while working with patients at the UCSD Eating Disorders Center. Both were encouraged by the effectiveness of evidence-based eating disorder treatment, but frustrated at how few people had access to it. After combined decades of personal, professional, and clinical experience in the field, Kristina and Erin knew that the treatment landscape was broken. They’d worked with thousands of families and seen them struggle to get diagnosed, find treatment, and afford care—and often, that care didn’t lead to lasting recovery. Rather than continuing to plug holes in a broken system, they joined forces to create the treatment model that needed to exist—one that was both effective and accessible. In 2019, they built Equip, doing so with a clear, ambitious, and urgent mission: to provide eating disorder treatment that works to everyone who needs it.

Since recovering from anorexia as a teenager, Kristina has been on a mission to ensure that all families have access to eating disorder treatment that works. Prior to Equip, Kristina founded Project HEAL, a leading grassroots eating disorder non-profit dedicated to treatment access. Kristina is an Ashoka Fellow, a Forbes 30 under 30 social entrepreneur, and an honoree on Inc.’s Female Founders 100, Fortune’s 40 under 40, and INSIDER’s 30 under 40 in Healthcare recognition lists. Kristina graduated from Harvard College with a bachelor's degree in psychology.

Dr. Erin Parks is a clinical psychologist, researcher, and co-founder of Equip. Dr. Parks has over 15 years of experience working with adolescents and adults in various eating disorder treatment settings. Before co-founding Equip, she was a faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry at UC San Diego. There, she established the first pediatric eating disorder clinic for children aged 6-12 and later focused on business development for the Center's five eating disorder programs. Dr. Parks graduated from Northwestern University and UC San Diego.

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Meet our leadership

Kristina SaffranCEO & Co-Founder

Kristina Saffran is the CEO of Equip and co-founded Equip based on her previous experience recovering from anorexia. She also co-founded Project Heal, a non-profit organization to help break down barriers to eating disorder treatment. She’s a Forbes 30 Under 30 and Inc. Female Founders 100 honoree. Read more.

Erin Parks, PhDChief Clinical Officer & Co-Founder

Co-Founder and CCO of Equip, Dr. Erin Parks is a renowned clinical psychologist, researcher, and entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience in the field of mental health, specializing in evidence-based treatment for eating disorders. Read more.

Nikia BerganPresident

An experienced executive with a demonstrated history of working in the information technology and services industry, Nikia is the current president of Equip and past Get Well executive with 20 years in the health tech industry.

Jay WuellnerChief Financial Officer

With over 20 years in the healthcare industry, Jay Wuellner leads Equip’s financial strategy, ensuring the company’s long-term financial health and its ability to continue offering transformative care for eating disorders.

Chris JenkinsChief People Officer

Chris Jenkins has 20+ years of experience leading global Talent and People teams across various industries, including companies such as LinkedIn, McKinsey & Company, Relativity, and Deloitte. His focus areas have included talent acquisition, workforce planning, and organizational design. Now serving as Chief People Officer at Equip, Chris brings a values-driven, data-informed approach to cultivating culture, enabling growth, and aligning people strategy with business outcomes.

Smita NairChief Product & Technology Officer

A former Google Health product executive, Smita Nair heads product development and technology at Equip, working to enhance the virtual platform’s capabilities and ensure it meets the evolving needs of patients and families.

Candace DaleSVP, Care Operations

With over 15 years experience building and operating healthcare companies, Candace Dale leads Equip's Care Delivery and Care Experience teams ensuring our operational strategy supports the demand and needs of our patients and families.

Brooke UnalSenior Vice President, Growth

As SVP of Growth at Equip, Brooke Unal leads Equip's Payor Partnerships, Marketing, Patient Acquisition, and Admissions teams on our mission to deliver eating disorder treatment that works to every person who needs it. Read more.

Janice TamChief Legal Officer

Janice Tam is a HIPAA & telehealth regulatory expert who oversees legal and compliance matters at Equip, ensuring the company meets all regulatory requirements while supporting its mission to provide accessible eating disorder treatment.

Chelsea GriffinChief of Staff

Chelsea Griffin serves as the Chief of Staff at Equip, where she plays a key role in working closely with leadership to ensure Equip's internal operations run smoothly and ultimately further the company mission.

Kristina SaffranCEO & Co-Founder

Erin Parks, PhDChief Clinical Officer & Co-Founder

Nikia BerganPresident

Jay WuellnerChief Financial Officer

Chris JenkinsChief People Officer

Smita NairChief Product & Technology Officer

Candace DaleSVP, Care Operations

Brooke UnalSenior Vice President, Growth

Janice TamChief Legal Officer

Chelsea GriffinChief of Staff

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Our work is getting attention

What's being said about Equip in the press

Equip is Saffran’s brainchild, created in collaboration with cofounder Erin Parks, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and researcher. Traditional mental health does not yet differentiate between treatment that feels good and treatment that actually works. The fully virtual platform is designed to make [treatment] accessible for anyone who has an eating disorder.

Feb 2021Read More

Eating disorder survivors are some of the best advocates and may be our best hope for long-term healing. Kristina Saffron—who, as a teenager, founded Project HEAL, a non-profit that helps people find treatment and helps pay for it—went on to create Equip Health, an online treatment that takes insurance and provides patients with a five-person care team.

Mar 2023Read More

Instead of removing the patient from the home, Equip uses a virtual, family-based treatment model to build recovery into daily schedules.

Mar 2022Read More

It has been really the privilege of our lifetimes to start Equip and watch people get better. The lights are coming back on. Kids are remembering who they are outside their eating disorder.

Apr 2022Read More

During the pandemic, eating disorders skyrocketed among teens. Now, investors are putting their money behind a startup that hopes to help kids and young adults work with their families to recover from this ailment.

Feb 2022Read More

We took the vital core of FBT—empowering families to get their loved one into recovery— and made it virtual so it can work with the schedules of busy families.

Feb 2021

What patients say about Equip

Kendra

This program is a must have for any family dealing with an eating disorder. The staff goes above and beyond to train families on how to win the battle, using love, compassion and research based strategies. Your 5 person team is readily available and there are numerous group classes offered. I tell every doctor, school counselor, and struggling family about this program.

Sarah

This program has made the difference for both my daughter and my family. After several years of doing FBT at home this is the support we needed to finally start to feel like we can beat this disease and that recovery is a possiblity. Our team is excellent, responsive and really listens to provide needed advice every week.

Elena

It supported my son and me thru his journey of his ARFID recovery. We know its the beginning but it has helped us gain tools and learn strategies to help us figure out which way to help him get better.

Sharadee

My daughter has had multiple food issues since birth, and they began to really take over her life once she hit puberty. After over 15 years of having our concerns dismissed by doctors, psychologists, and other medical professionals ("she'll grow out of it"), we finally found a team willing to listen to our concerns and observations and take a closer look at her situation. After looking at growth charts, reviewing her eating habits from her shaky beginning throughout her life, and carefully asking the right questions, she was diagnosed with ARFID, and a holistic plan of treatment was proposed for not only our daughter but for the whole family. We feel so heard and hopeful that our daughter can overcome these challenges - and our family can better support her - with the help of our EQUIP team.

Cindy

As a parent I found the interactions with the dietician, physician, and groups beneficial. They were informative and gave me additional tools needed to support my daughter. The sessions with the therapist were also good, although my daughter only participated in a few because we also have in-person local support (physician, psychologist whom she was already seeing for OCD & anxiety, and a nutritionist). We felt as thoughh my daughter was an outlier with the speed at which she recovered and that the program moved too slowly for her. We also felt that it wasn't tailored to her specific needs. She was receiving communications that were not related to her behaviors.

Brett M

My experience at Equip Health was life-changing. Before admission, I had struggled with an eating disorder for nearly three years. Recovery seemed impossible, until my first session at Equip. I contacted many treatment centers, but the accessibility of virtual care made Equip an easy decision. I was amazed by the idea of being "equipped" with a multidisciplinary team. My therapist, dietician, peer mentor, and nurse practitioner welcomed and valued me not as a patient, but as a member of a team. My journey at Equip was a learning experience for many reasons. I described recovery as a "self-reflective process" to both my therapist and dietician. I learnt about my values, worldviews, personal, and cultural beliefs, and how these factors related to the etiology of my disordered eating. Above all, I was impressed with the knowledge and awareness that each member held. I would recommend anyone to Equip. The center houses passionate, intelligent, humorous, and down-to-Earth people. As someone who is studying to be a counselor, I hope to one day be employed as a therapist at Equip. Thank you, Equip. You positively changed my life.

Anonymous

Do this for yourself! You have no idea how happy you'll be on the other side. My care team helped me take a step back and understand the anxiety I had built up around food and how I had cultivated my poor eating patterns. They reminded me time and again to trust the process and they were right. I use the tools I learned from this program whenever I get stuck. Once you see Equip working, you can't unsee it.

Mia C

I love equip!!!! It has an amazing therapist who is funny, kind and outgoing. Tiffany helps me with everything and I can always count on her. A dietician who is super kind hearted and guides us. A peer mentor who can connect with me and a good place to talk. An OCD specialist who is so amazing.

Colton

Equip was an incredibly helpful program. I was in a place where I was scared and confused. I didn't know what was happening to me. Equip helped me work through my eating disorder issues in a way that was flexible and unique to the individual. I felt validated and respected. Everyone was so friendly, and I genuinely felt like everyone cared about my success. I was able to build skills to navigate through an incredibly scary time in my life. If you need a virtual and flexible treatment option, I highly recommend Equip. If I find myself needing more intensive care in the future, Equip will be the first program I seek out.

Elena

I have really enjoyed our journey with EQUIP, the staff is great!

Meredith D

Equip was a lifeline for our family in working through our child's eating disorder. Having a support team that was helping us from every angle was critical to our success as it removed my partner and me from playing the role of provider and treatment coordination. Instead, we were able to focus on supporting our child.

Anonymous

Equip provides absolutely amazing care to their clients. It is amazing how smoothly everything runs and how flexible they are with scheduling treatments around the clients life. It was a pleasure meeting with Brooke Eriss in the South Florida division.

Lisa K

Equip made me feel so validated during my five months of treatment. The virtual aspect was incredibly accommodating to my non-conventional work hours, and the fact that my company insurance covered treatment was a huge plus. I really appreciated the TEAM aspect of how equip operates, and having the peer mentor there for me who has been through an ED themselves really made me feel like I belong here. I am 28, and having been through Equip's program has been the best thing I've done in being able to finally live my life, for the first time in 20 years.

Marley V

Equip helped us in our recovery journey for arfid. Would definitely recommend to anyone thinking about it!

T.H.

When we went to Equip, we were overwhelmed and lost trying to help our daughter overcome her eating disorder. We were seeing specialists through our regular healthcare provider but they were not helping us and our daughter was not getting better. That all changed when we went to Equip. Family-centered therapy and their team approach made all the difference. They were on our side against the disorder. They had all kinds of help for our daughter, a therapist, a nutritionist, groups, and a doctor, who were all on the same page, incredibly helpful, and well informed. We also found their family mentors invaluable for us, so we could give our daughter the care she needed at home. She is better now and I would hate to think where we would be if we didn't go to Equip. We are very grateful to everyone there for the care that we received.

Lara F

After developing Binge Eating Disorder in middle age, I struggled to find a treatment program that fit my needs and lifestyle. Equip’s fully virtual format was a game-changer, allowing me to receive comprehensive, evidence-based care without having to step away from my job or daily responsibilities. The accessibility and flexibility of their program made getting help possible in a way that traditional in-patient treatment never could. I was initially apprehensive about joining Equip, as I wasn’t sure if a program often associated with younger patients would be the right fit for me, especially given my other health considerations. However, from day one, the entire Equip team met me exactly where I was, tailoring their approach to my specific needs and challenges. Their expertise, compassion, and commitment to individualized care made me feel truly seen and supported throughout my recovery journey. Looking back, my time with Equip was nothing short of transformative. Their team and approach gave me the tools, confidence, and understanding I needed to heal my relationship with food and myself. The journey was challenging but incredibly rewarding, and I cannot recommend Equip’s people and processes highly enough for anyone seeking real, lasting recovery.

Rebecca C

Everyone I had contact with was great. They verified insurance and gave me a quote before I signed up and they explained the intake process. I was in the program for several months and loved the amount of support. Equip's philosophy and content was new to me but incredibly life-changing. Though I had to drop early when I lost insurance, I would definitely rejoin if given the chance and would recommend it to anyone. They were very understanding when I had to exit the program and made sure I was set up as much as possible for success afterwards.

Molly

My daughter was struggling with an eating disorder, and despite seeing doctors and therapists, her condition worsened. It wasn't until she returned home from college that I realized the severity of her illness. I researched eating disorder treatments and discovered Equip, and then researched which insurance companies would fully cover FBT with Equip. Magellan covered her fully and also gave her multiple extensions. Equip held our hand through the process of helping my daughter recover. Recovering from anorexia is nearly impossible without support; your child needs their whole family by their side, and Equip provides the necessary strength, guidance, and expertise to help you get there. I fully recommend Equip!

Anonymous

Strengths The Dietician and the Family Mentor were steadfast allies in our battle with the ED. They exercised consistent messaging and a light touch handling parental misalignment. The therapists were all helpful. The program was effective, insofar as we are much better off than before we started. My daughter is still struggling, but the situation is 10x better than it was 18 months ago. I am grateful that my daughter's medical provider prescribed EQUIP for us and that my insurance provider authorized payment for the service. Weaknesses We experienced high turnover in the team, regarding the peer mentor and therapist. My daughter had 3 peer mentors and 3 therapists, and 2 medical staff during her first 12 months at Equip. She connected well with the first peer mentor, but she barely met with the second and she never even met with the third. Scheduling was difficult because of the time difference between us and all the providers. My daughter was not able to find any group meetings that occurred outside school hours, so she never joined a support group. The dietician and therapy appointments usually took place in the car right after school ended or at 6 am because of the schedule. This added a layer of challenge onto an already-challenging process. The first medical team member was not knowledgable about lab results (blood nutrient levels) and misinterpreted test results over a protracted period of time. The improper interpretation caused an incredible amount of stress for parents and patient. Specifically, she told us that our daugther was too ill to travel when in fact her nutrient levels were all in the normal range. She had relied upon the Kaiser lab's textual designation (which were based on adult physiology); she did not have independent knowledge of the appropriate concentration values for pediatric physiology. I learned this when I reached out to my daughter's pediatrician for help interpreting the lab results. When the medical provider was reassigned off our team, she informed us it was because of a regional reorganization of job duties. She never apologized for the errors. The net result was a decrease in our confidence about the medical side of EQUIP. The weight values displayed in the web portal are improperly and inadequately plotted. The x-axis values are shown evenly spaced even when the measurements are not collected at equal time increments. The number of measurements shown is limited, making it difficult to track trends over time. I have other small quibbles, but these are the major impressions.

Anonymous

Equip helped us get into a routine where I learned techniques on how to get my daughter to eat.

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