Tom and Doris Smeltzer are Andrea’s parents. Tom with a Master's Degree in Education and Doris with a Master's in Counseling Psychology are career educators—he at the elementary and community college level, she throughout the K-12 and adult education spectrum. When illness forced Tom to leave his position as an elementary school principal he took up the therapeutic art of welding.  He now coordinates the Welding Technology Program at Napa Valley College in Northern California where he teaches Welding as an art form and profession and Technical Mathematics.

When Andrea died, Doris chose to leave her classroom teaching assignment. For the next 10 years (1999-Sept. 2009) she worked as a Teacher on Special Assignment with the local school district training high school students on body image issues and eating disorder prevention. Doris is a Registered MFT Intern and the author of Andrea's Voice: Silenced by Bulimia and the Gürze Books “Advice for Parents” blog. She hosted the 14-week VoiceAmerica Radio Show, Savor Yourself...beyond skin deep and is in the process of creating a "Family & Friends Support Group Curriculum" video series. Doris also co-authored with Tom and two others Chapter 21 in the book, Treatment of Eating Disorders: Bridging the Research-Practice Gap, Edited by: Maine, Bunnell, & McGilley (Elsevier, August 17, 2010).