Shirley spent six years at the Food Network, most recently as the sole nutritionist in the culinary department. There, she wrote scripts for television shows, analyzed recipes for nutritional content, contributed to cookbooks, and was part of the team that launched Food Network Magazine. She worked on recipes for Food Network-branded food at the new Yankee Stadium and developed the curriculum for Food Network cooking classes at the Art Institutes of Atlanta. For a number of years, she was also content producer for the networks website, FoodNetwork.com. Her work includes developing, testing, and analyzing recipes in celebrity chef cookbooks including a #1 New York Times Bestseller. She has also created health-conscious recipes for Tyson Foods, Mars Foods Inc., iVillage.com, and has worked on recipes for The Arthur Avenue Cookbook and magazines such as Whole Living, Details, and Food Network. She has contributed content to New York Times bestsellers The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger and Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives by Guy Fieri, and has written articles for a number of online publications, incluidng RealSimple, iVillage, and Glamour. She has been a contributor to Gatorade's website. Shirley graduated from Wesleyan University and received her masters degree in clinical nutrition from New York University. She is a registered dietitian (RD) and holds a culinary arts diploma from the Institute of Culinary Education. She honed her culinary skills under the tutelage of Floyd Cardoz at the legendary three-star restaurant Tabla in New York. She is the recipient of scholarships from the James Beard Foundation and the American Dietetic Association. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and son.
