About Eating Disorder Hope

Our Mission

Eating Disorder Hope’s mission is to offer hope, information, and resources to individual eating disorder sufferers, their family members, and treatment providers. The organization began with the help and advice of colleagues, professors, and other organizations specializing in eating disorders. EDH was founded in January 2005.

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Our Philosophy

Eating Disorder Hope promotes ending eating disordered behavior, embracing life and pursuing recovery. Our mission is to foster an appreciation of one’s uniqueness and value in the world, unrelated to appearance, achievement or applause.

Eating Disorder Hope is a leader in the online Pro-Recovery Movement. We are passionate about helping those in eating disorder recovery find hope, health, and healing. With the understanding that recovery allows you to fully participate in life and contribute to the world around you in meaningful ways, we are honored to support your journey and give you a platform to share your voice.

Your eating disorder might be strong, but you are stronger. We hope you will join us in our efforts to promote a safe online community for individuals in recovery to unite and thrive!

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Who’s Behind Eating Disorder Hope

Countless talented individuals have meaningfully contributed to the content and development of Eating Disorder Hope and its affiliated network.  It is their professionalism, integrity, and creativity that has fueled the success of EDH.  The organization is truly the expression of many wonderful hearts and minds collaborating to promote education, awareness, and treatment of eating disorders.


Baxter Ekern, MBA – President

Baxter & Cowgirl in ForestBaxter Ekern is the President of Eating Disorder Hope. He is responsible for the management and operations of Eating Disorder Hope.

Baxter has been lending his services to Eating Disorder Hope over the past several years, but he came on board as the full-time CEO in November of 2016.

Baxter began his college education at Texas Christian University and transferred to Texas A&M University where he received a BS degree in Journalism with a minor in Marketing. He then went on to earn his MBA from the University of Phoenix.

Baxter enjoys watching football, playing tennis, fishing, and spending time with his family. He also gives time to his church and immensely enjoys his Monday Night Football group.


Jacquelyn Ekern, MS, LPC – Founder

picture of Jacquelyn Ekern, MS, LPC

Founder of Eating Disorder Hope

Jacquelyn Ekern  is a licensed therapist with a counseling practice specializing in the treatment of eating disorders.

Jacquelyn founded Eating Disorder Hope in 2005, driven by a profound desire to help those struggling with anorexia, bulimia, and binge-eating disorder. This passion resulted from her battle with, and recovery from, an eating disorder.

Jacquelyn has a Bachelor of Science in Human Services degree from The University of Phoenix and a Masters degree in Counseling/Psychology, from Capella University.

She has extensive experience in the eating disorder field including advanced education in psychology, participation, and contributions to additional eating disorder groups, symposiums, and professional associations.

She is a member of the Academy of Eating Disorders (AED), the Eating Disorders Coalition (EDC) and the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals (iaedp).

Jacquelyn enjoys oil painting, hiking, working out, coffee, dogs, reading, bible study and spending time with family & friends.


Our Policies

Editorial Policies

We strive to present content in a professional and ethical manner that will serve this wide and diverse community while recognizing that a forum of this constituency may not always produce agreement and consensus among its members.

The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the various authors and forum participants on this web site do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of Eating Disorder Hope nor reflect official policies of Ekern Enterprises, Inc.

Unless otherwise indicated, the author(s) of each article published on this website owns his or her own words.

Disclosure of Funding Sources

Eating Disorder Hope, an S-corporation, generates operating revenue from the acceptance of advertisements, sponsorships, and membership fees. All applicants for advertisement are carefully screened for appropriate and useful reference for the Eating Disorder Hope website visitors. Banner ads throughout the site are paid advertisements. Additional advertising by treatment centers and healthcare practitioners are provided through the Eating Disorder Treatment Directory and the Eating Disorder Specialist Library, and occasionally by boxed ads clearly marked as an “advertisement”.  Advertising is also offered to Authors and Public Speakers on the Eating Disorder Hope site.  These are paid advertisers who must be approved  for inclusion on the eatingdisorderhope.com site. Eating Disorder Hope reserves the right to refuse to advertise to any business, organization or individual deemed inappropriate for the eatingdisorderhope.com site.

Advertising Policy

To further our mission of making reliable health information about eating disorders and related conditions available to the public, we accept ‘advertising’ and ‘sponsorship’ under strict guidelines. We will refuse any advertisement that we believe is incompatible with our mission. The presence of an ad on our site or in one of our newsletters does not imply endorsement of the advertised company or product. Advertisers and sponsors must not make unsubstantiated health claims or suggest that Eating Disorder Hope has endorsed a product. Advertising may be placed on the site adjacent content related to the advertiser or sponsor interest, and also may be targeted to users by using non-personal data.

Eating Disorder Hope maintains a distinct separation between advertising content and editorial content. All advertising content on Eating Disorder Hope’s information website or in one of our newsletters is clearly labeled as an advertisement. Sponsored areas of the site are labeled as such, and the sponsoring organizations are identified. Eating Disorder Hope, an S-corporation, generates operating revenue from the acceptance of advertisements and sponsorships.

‘Sponsorship’ is provided by Treatment Centers who pay a fee to be advertised as our Sponsor and to have access to a predetermined package of advertising available on the Eating Hope Website, blogs, social media, and newsletter. Sponsors may suggest for consideration various non profit organizations, events, conferences, etc. that they believe would benefit the site visitors of Eating Disorder Hope. It is the sole discretion of Eating Disorder Hope as to whether these suggested items will be publicized on the Eating Disorder Hope site. There is no authorship privilege given to any of the Sponsors or advertisers.

‘Advertising’ is provided by Treatment Centers and Individual Health Practitioners who pay a fee to advertise their services on the Eating Disorder Hope website, blogs, social media and newsletter. The advertisers purchase predetermined smaller advertising packages than what are offered to the Sponsors.