Member Spotlight

Linda M. Delahanty, MS, RD, LDN is the 2010 Excellence in Weight Management Outcomes Research Award Winner sponsored by McNeil Nutritionals

Congratulations to Linda M. Delahanty, MS, RD, LDN who has been selected as the Excellence in Weight Management Outcomes Research Award Winner which is sponsored by McNeil Nutritionals.

Ms. Delahanty has been a member of the weight management (WM) dietetic practice group (DPG) since its inception and has been a pioneer in our field for over 25 years. She is currently an Instructor in the Department of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Chief Dietitian at the Massachusetts General Hospital Diabetes Clinic and Director of Nutrition and Behavioral Research at the MGH Diabetes Research Center. Ms Delahanty has been a Co-investigator for the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT), Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), Look AHEAD (Action for HEAlth in Diabetes) and the TODAY (Treatment Options for Diabetes in Adolescents and Youth) study. She was Chair of the Dietitians Committee for the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) and served on the Intervention Committees that planned the evidence based lifestyle interventions for DPP, Look AHEAD and the TODAY study.

Linda Delahanty received a BS in Food Science and Nutrition from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and an MS in Clinical Nutrition from Boston University. She has written many articles promoting an expanded role for dietitians in research emphasizing their critical importance in advancing the evidence base for nutrition and lifestyle interventions, maximizing retention in clinical trials and translating the evidence to clinical practice. She has authored both professional and lay articles on the role of nutrition and lifestyle in achieving weight loss and improved glycemic control and has been providing medical nutrition therapy to patients for weight management and diabetes for over 25 years.

Lynn Umbreit, MS, RD, LD is the 2010 Excellence in Weight Management Practice Award Winner sponsored by Slim-Fast

Congratulations to Lynn Umbreit, MS, RD, LD who has been selected as the Excellence in Weight Management Practice Award Winner which is sponsored by Slim-Fast.

Ms. Umbreit has been a leader and innovator in our field for more than 30 years. She is a registered dietitian specializing in obesity, weight management, behavior and lifestyle change. She is currently a professional weight management coach and care manager for the Southwest Endocrinology Weight Management Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Previously she was on the staff at Clinical Nutrition Center in Denver, the Diet Modification Clinic and the Methodist Hospital in Houston, TX and St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Phoenix, AZ.

Lynn Umbreit has been a leader in the health care field for more than three decades as a registered dietitian/licensed nutritionist working with individuals, special population groups, health clubs and corporate clients to promote healthy weight and health through healthy eating and physical activity. Since 1979, she has worked with medical doctors and clinics specializing in medically-supervised weight management. Lynn has served as a nutrition counselor, consultant, speaker, author, and educator to numerous individual and corporate clients, health clubs, schools, universities and medical facilities during her career. As a leader in her profession, she has served as chair for the Weight Management (WM) and Sports, Cardiovascular & Wellness (SCAN) Practice Groups (DPGs).

Leslie Anders, MS, RD is the 2010-2011 WM DPG Fellow

Congratulations to Leslie Anders, MS, RD who has been selected at the WM DPG fellow for 2010 which is sponsored by ARAMARK.

Ms Anders project is titled "IDEA for Teenage Girls." She has structured a project aimed at helping to reduce obesity among fourteen to eighteen year-old girls in an ethnically diverse and economically depressed school district by focusing on effectively improving their eating and exercise habits, as well as providing education, counseling and guidance to them AND the influential members of their environment their parents/caregivers and the food service providers in their school. This "three prong" approach provides separate and appropriate support to the primary participants (the female students) as well as their integral supportive "team" members through the use of an "IDEA" program—Incentives, Demonstrations, Education (and evaluation), and Assessment (and appreciation for healthier lifestyles). The student/participants in the program will receive interactive group education at the school as well as periodic individual counseling. Separate and interactive meetings will be provided to parents/care givers that will include nutrition education (mirroring what the students are taught), skills and exploring local resources.The head chef/food director at the high school will be given a stipend to attend 1-4 classes at a cooking school such as the Natural Gourmet Institute (NYC) focusing on either vegetarian cooking techniques and/or basic healthy food preparation methods for students in order to provide them with healthy but tasty options for breakfast and lunch.

Leslie Anders received an MS in Nutrition from New York Medical College, is a Registered Dietitian and Certified Dietitian Nutritionist, and has been an adjunct professor of nutrition at Westchester Community College. She has been in private practice in Westchester, New York for over 14 years and has been a member of the Weight Management Dietetic Practice Group of the American Dietetic Association for 7 years. She provides nutrition counseling to patients for a Scarsdale-based pediatric medical group, and regularly works with a wide range of children, adolescents and adults in the areas of weight control, healthy lifestyle modification, cholesterol abnormalities, diabetes, hypertension, eating disorders, IBD, IBS, food sensitivities/allergies, and eating disorders, among other conditions. She is presently a member and nominating chair for the Westchester Rockland Dietetic Association, a local ADA chapter, and is the nutrition advisor for her school district's wellness committee.

Amber Seewald, RD is the WM DPG American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) $1000 stipend winner for 2010

"“As a new Bariatric Dietitian, winning this year’s stipend to attend the 27th Annual Meeting of the ASMBS is exceptionally meaningful to me as it will allow me to expand my knowledge and skills in the field of bariatric medicine.  Thanks to the Weight Management DPG and this award, I will be able to more effectively care for the bariatric population that I see on a daily basis.”

Nina Crowley, MS, RD is of the WM DPG Public Policy Workshop (PPW) $500 stipend winner for 2010

"As the President Elect for Charleston’s affiliate of the South Carolina Dietetic Association, I have been excited about getting involved in policy at the state and national level. With the $500 stipend from the Weight Management DPG, we were able to host the kick-off party for ADA’s Public Policy Workshop and cater our CEU event to get several of our members to attend. "