no sesame. we got this.

Belay's Mission

Belay is a healthcare company dedicated to finding solutions for the unmet needs of children and families affected by life-threatening food allergies.

Belay wants to change the way we live with food allergies.

A Partnership For Change

Belay and The Elijah-Alavi Partnership

Belay partnered with the Elijah-Alavi foundation to create the gold standard in food allergy training. Belay proudly donates a portion of all training proceeds back to the Elijah-Alavi Foundation.

Meet Our Team

The Belay team is made up of allergists, pediatricians, psychologists, psychiatrists,
dieticians, nutritionists, engineers, designers, and experts in early childhood education.
But most importantly, we are parents of children with food allergies.

Dr. Abby Herzig

Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder

Dr. Abby Herzig developed her career around the drive to help children in need. After receiving her doctorate degree in Child and Adult Clinical Psychology, she continued to study child development and parent-child mental health at NYU Medical Center and Columbia University in New York City. Abby spent many years actively involved with UNICEF, traveling to Southeast Asia and Africa visiting hospitals, schools, and orphanages, and advising UNICEF in child development and proper interventions for children and families at risk. Driven by her passion to help children, and a parent of a child with life-threatening food allergies, Abby co-founded Belay to find solutions for the unmet needs of children and families affected by the food-allergy epidemic.

Sam Herschkowitz, MD

Chairman and Co-Founder

Since 1982, Samuel Herschkowitz, M.D. has been a known leader in the area of biotechnology, healthcare devices, and pharmaceutical development. Throughout his career, Sam has participated in the development and financing of many biotechnology innovations and the creation of early healthcare companies, as well as having an advisory role in more than 25 biotechnology and healthcare companies. As a parent of a teenager with severe food allergies, Sam has long been looking for meaningful solutions to help families manage this issue.

Deborah Adler

Creative Director

Deborah Adler is a designer and entrepreneur who brings innovative ideas to market. Deborah uses design to delight people, solve problems, and change outcomes. At the core of her work is the desire to make people’s lives easier and safer, a standard she applies to new directions for products, branding, and information systems. Her work is in the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and has been shown at the Cooper Hewitt as part of the National Design Triennial. She currently serves on the AIGA National Board of Directors.

Eric Freitag

Product Director

Eric has more than 15 years of experience developing innovative products, including designing physical-digital ecosystems that deliver effective patient adherence platforms. Eric is a senior leader of creative competencies in strategy and prod­uct development, with expertise in the healthcare sector, as well as FDA regulatory requirements.

We are committed to protecting those living with food allergies.

Advisory Board

Elise Bates

Free From Market
End Allergies Together (E.A.T)

Kate Groff, MSN, RN, FNP-BC

Nurse Practitioner, Pediatrics

Payel Gupta, MD

Allergist & Immunologist

Ruchi Gupta, MD

Pediatrician
Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine

Tammi Hatch

Health Coordinator Head Start / Early Start

Brian Murray, MD

NYS Medical Society

Syed Shahzad Mustafa, MD 

Allergy Immunology & Rheumatology, Rochester General

Carina Venter, RD

Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Allergy/Immunology Children’s Hospital Colorado and University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine.