About the First for Women Test Kitchen

Test Kitchen Manager Susan Chiusano’s love of food started from growing up Italian American with home cooked meals prepared every day by her Mom Lucy. After graduating from Fairleigh Dickinson University with an Accounting degree, Susan decided to pursue her passion for food and went to the New York Restaurant School. Her first job was in a classical French pastry shop. She worked in professional kitchens in the NY area cooking and baking for 19 years before transitioning to test kitchen work. In 2006, Susan joined the test kitchen at Woman’s World magazine. In 2012, she became test kitchen manager and in 2018, started developing recipes for First for Women and Celebrate magazines in addition to Woman’s World.  When not donning an apron, Susan enjoys hiking and dancing.

Julie Miltenberger, food director, oversees the food content for First for Women, Woman’s World, Celebrate with Woman’s World! and a slew of other special projects. She works with cookbook authors and celebrity chefs ranging from Paula Deen and Carnie Wilson to Guy Fieri and Carla Hall plus tastes as many of the recipes whipped up in the test kitchen as she possibly can. Before joining the a360Media team in 2020, Julie spent 20+ years in the food magazine industry, earning her chops in food photography, recipe testing, food styling and recipe development and editing for Family Circle, Sports Illustrated for Women and Shape. Julie has a bachelor’s degree from DePauw University.

Alexandria Brooks is a food writer and editor with over five years of experience contributing to both local and national publications. For the past three years, she has been a key part of the digital team at First for Women and Woman’s World, initially serving as an editorial assistant covering a variety of topics including entertainment, health and lifestyle hacks. Now, as a digital editor, her stories are primarily centered around recipes, unique cooking hacks, nutrition and other food and drink topics for each site’s online audience. Her bylines have appeared in other lifestyle, health and culture publications, including South Jersey Magazine, Healio, The Dinner Table Documentary and InClub Magazine. Her unwavering passion for cooking fuels her food-centric writing and has opened doors to on-camera opportunities, such as her appearance in the Food Network’s inaugural Chopped Teen Tournament. Notably, Brooks graduated summa cum laude from Rowan University’s College of Communication and Creative Arts.

Emily Boyette is an Associate Food Editor at First For Women, Woman’s World and Celebrate Magazines. She has been covering food recipes, trends and news for nearly 5 years. Formerly, she has worked as Editorial Content Producer for Food Network and Food.com. She has also written and produced content for Allrecipes, Savory Online, Tasting Table, and Eat This Not That. Boyette graduated from North Carolina State University, where she studied Agribusiness Management and started a food column in the features section of the college newspaper, The Technician. She gained her passion for cooking at a young age, and after college, started her career in the culinary world as a line cook before venturing into food media upon moving to New York City. 

Charles Grayauskie has been a food editor for Woman’s World, First for Women, and Celebrate for five-plus years, covering everything from recipe development and research to cookbooks and tips and tricks for the home cook. He has always had a passion for food. He grew up cooking and baking with his Italian grandmother, Frances. He later moved to NYC to pursue a career in the arts while he worked in several high-end restaurants. He eventually landed a job as associate director on the long-running daytime drama Guiding Light. After the show went off the air, he decided to continue his passion for food and enrolled at the Institute of Culinary Education. While in school, he worked at Williams-Sonoma, where he honed his knowledge of cookware. After graduation, Charles was hired at Rachael Ray Everyday magazine. He tested and developed recipes there for five years.