Member Spotlight

Deborah Wendt, RD is the WM DPG Obesity Society Annual Scientific Meeting (TOS) $1000 stipend winner for 2009!

"I'm excited to receive this stipend because it means that I will be able to hear firsthand about the effects of obesity and pregnancy outcomes since much of the work I deal with involve pregnant women. I am also very interested in learning more about how stress affects a person's appetite and the importance of physical activity. This information will be incorporated into the nutrition education programs and used to elevate the importance of preventive health care services for public health recipients and providers."

Sheryl Williams, RD is the WM DPG American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) $1000 stipend winner for 2009

"I am looking forward to attending the 26Th ASMBS Annual Meeting where I will be exposed to the most current research and up-to-date, directly applicable information regarding Bariatric nutrition. Attending courses to facilitate the identification and treatment of postoperative medications and nutritional issues, to integrated postgraduate advanced practice information pertaining to medical and nutritional management of the postoperative bariatric patient, will further my knowledge base, hone my skills and provide scientific support within my career as a Bariatric Dietitian. This professional stipend has made it possible for me to attend and I am grateful for the opportunity."

For more information about the WMDPG Stipend program please click here.

Weight Management Fellowship Awarded to Dr. Delores James

In 2008, leaders within ARAMARK and the Weight Management Practice Group met and began the conception of the Weight Management Fellowship. The Fellowship, fully sponsored by ARAMARK, was created to actively engage a registered dietitian and support the professional development for a service learning project that promotes healthy lifestyle changes with respect to weight management. The Fellow would devote 15% of their time on the service learning project and develop a product that would be shared with all WM DPG members. In return, the Fellow would be awarded $10,000. This year, in the first year of offering, there were eight, outstanding applications and we are proud to announce that the first Weight Management Fellowship was awarded to Delores James, PhD.

Delores C.S. James is an associate professor in the Department of Health Education and Behavior at the University of Florida. She received her B.S. in Allied Health with a Major in Medical Dietetics from The Ohio State University. Her graduate work was done at the University of Florida where she obtained a master’s degree in health science education and a PhD in health and human performance. Dr. James is both a registered dietitian and a health educator and her research areas include obesity and weight management, nutrition education technology, and health literacy.

Molly Gee, MEd, RD, LD is the 2008-09 winner of the Excellence in Weight Management Outcomes Research Award sponsored by McNeil Nutritionals, LLC to be awarded at the 2009 WM/DCE Symposium

“The Excellence in Weight Management Outcomes Research Award sponsored by McNeil Nutritionals, LLC is another demonstration of the commitment of our WMDPG to outcomes research. I am deeply honored by this generous recognition of my work from the WMDPG that Becky Reeves and I got started in 2002 with the help of so many dedicated friends. This award represents the years of collaborations I’ve been privileged to be part of. I gratefully accept this award on behalf of my fellow dietitians who conduct critical research each day and the dietitians who apply the evidence-based practice that sets our profession apart from others. This honor makes me proud to be doing obesity research and I hope that others will join me in this exciting career path. Let’s really make a difference.”

Sue Cummings, MS, RD, LDN is the winner of the Excellence in Weight Management Practice Award sponsored by Slim-Fast

“I have been in clinical practice for over two decades specializing in overweight and obesity. Over the years, I have had extensive training in tools and techniques of behavioral counseling including cognitive behavioral therapy and motivational interviewing. However, it has been the research advances made in the past 20 years that have shed light on our understanding of the weight regulatory system and the influences of genetics and the environment on the development of overweight and obesity, that have kept me fascinated and deeply passionate about working in this field. To date, we don’t have all the pieces to the puzzle, but we now can combine our unique skills as dietitians with the available scientific knowledge to provide evidence-based practice to our patients in an area that for too long had such a paucity of research. Evidence-based clinical practice allows us to provide help and not hype to our patients; allows us to offer hope with realism. The WMDPG has provided a forum for all dietitians as passionate as I am about this field, to join together, to share expertise and resources and to even, at times, debate the issues. The officers of this DPG past and present are hard working, dedicated individuals for whom I am so proud to be affiliated with. To be recognized by such a distinguished group and its members, is beyond exciting to me, I am honored and humbled to accept this award.”

Mallory Blake, RD is the $1000 stipend winner for the 2009 WM/DCE Syposium!

"Receiving this stipend is allowing me to continue to expand by knowledge in the field of weight management and diabetes. I am very grateful for the opportunity to be able to network with other dietitians around the country that are passionate about the same things as I am. With this generous stipend I will be able to listen to distinguished speakers in the field and educate myself further on the skills needed to treat obesity and diabetes. Many thanks to the Weight Management DPG!"

Congratulations to the following WM DPG members honored at FNCE in 2008!

Marjorie Hulsizer Copher Award
Judith L. Dodd, MS, RD, FADA, LDN

Medallion Award
Kathleen F. Dodd, MS, RD, CD/N
Robert Earl, MPH, RD, LD
Susan L. Roberts, JD, RD, LD

Excellence in Dietetic Education
Gail Frank, DrPh, RD, CHES

Congratulations to our 50 Year Members!

New 50-year ADA members are recognized at FNCE each year. Congratulations to our fellow WM DPGers who have reached this important milestone!

• Clara M. Browning Baity
• Annie B. Jelks
• Yvonne R. Stephens

Congratulations to the following students who received $100 travel stipends from the WM DPG to attend FNCE.

• Ciara McGowan, Purdue University
  
• Mara Weber
• Jenna Kauffman
• Jessica Stecklein, Kansas State University
  
• Sara Lustic, Ohio University