Meet Lianne
In 2013, following a negative travel experience with her family, Lianne founded nonuttraveler.com — an advocacy website for food allergic flyers. Her goal is to increase awareness of the seriousness of life-threatening food allergies with an emphasis on air travel. The site provides resources and tools so that food allergic passengers can make informed decisions in choosing airlines and mitigate their risk.
In 2022, Lianne took No Nut Traveler to a new level, forming a 501c4. The mission statement of the nonprofit is simple: To use grass roots organizing, advocacy and education to improve the safety and quality of life of individuals with food allergies both in the air and on the ground.
Lianne is a noted public speaker and writer on the topic of food allergies. She has participated in many conferences in the US and internationally to increase awareness of the seriousness of life-threatening food allergies and lobby for a safer flying environment.
Lianne is a featured contributor for Huffington Post, The Mighty, KevinMD and is the Airline Correspondent for Allergic Living e-magazine, and to date, has published over 58 articles. Her tips for flying with a food allergy were featured in a piece for the Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy Research at Stanford. She was the recipient of the FARE 2013 Leadership Award, and the 2017 FARE Vision Award.
Lianne has also spoken about the challenges of flying with a food allergy in multiple forums including International Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Alliance (IFAAA) Meeting, Food Allergy Fund Summit, Food Allergy Research & Education Summit, Food Allergy Conference for Education and Science (FACES), Global Food Allergy Summit and the Mary H. Weiser Food Allergy Center.
Lianne is sought out for her expertise and has most recently participated in the corporate council meeting for the American College of Allergy Asthma and Immunology as a speaker to encourage collaboration in food allergy with interested stakeholders and she was a panelist for Medscape as an expert in the food allergy space to discuss the state of Emergency Medical Kits on Planes.
Lianne has also participated in focus groups to stimulate investment in the food allergy research arena and the need for FDA approved treatment options for the food allergy consumer. She is frequently contacted to comment by the press on the topic of flying with a food allergy.
Lianne collects and shares testimonials regarding flying experiences from food allergic families on No Nut Traveler. She shares these testimonials with lawmakers, media, and other food allergy advocacy groups to influence the airlines and government to create food allergy airline policies that are fair and evenly promulgated throughout the airline industry.
Lianne has shared some of testimonials of life-threatening in-air allergic reactions on Capitol Hill. Along with food allergy experts and advocates, and with Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth offering key political support, bipartisan Congressional staff learned of the in-flight close calls with anaphylaxis. The panel included Dr. Paulo M. Alves, global medical director of aviation health at MedAire, and Dr. Jonathan Spergel, chief of the allergy program at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Lianne was part of a team that collaborated on the right to pre-board U.S. airlines as food allergy passengers under the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA). This effort yielded a successful Department of Transportation (DOT) ruling and importantly the recognition that food allergy is considered a disability under the ACAA.