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Mary Gray Hixson, MPH, RD, CSOWM, LDN (Chair)
Mary Gray Hixson, MPH, RD, CSOWM, LDN is a graduate of NC State University where she studied food science and nutrition. She then received her Masters of Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has been providing nutrition therapy and education in the Raleigh area since 2008, in private practice and then at UNC Healthcare. She has a passion for helping patients struggling with the disease of obesity. She enjoys facilitating group classes, grocery store tours and cooking demonstrations and loves building relationships with her patients to help them achieve their long-term health goals. She has been an active member of the Weight Management Dietetic Practice Group since 2016, and has enjoyed each leadership role that she has held, including the bariatric subunit director and membership director positions. She looks forward to her time in the chair-elect position. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family by the water.
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Melissa Majumdar, MS, RD, CSOWM, LDN (Past Chair) is bariatric coordinator at Emory University Hospital Midtown. Majumdar served as Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Spokesperson for six years and was chair of the ASMBS IH program planning committee. Majumdar is co-editor of the Pocket Guide to Bariatric Surgery, 3rd edition, and is the 2022 recipient of the ASMBSF Excellence in Nutrition Lead Award. Melissa lives near Atlanta with her husband and two kids where you can find her enjoying local beers and running. |
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Sarah T. Henes, PhD, RD, LD (Chair Elect) has been a Registered Dietitian (RD) for over 27 years and currently serves as the University of Georgia (UGA) State Program Coordinator for EFNEP (Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program). She has expertise in clinical and community nutrition practice and research in family based weight management and nutrition education, and in promoting nutrition behavior change with youth and families, especially limited resource audiences.
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Leslie Sedon, RDN (Secretary) With over 15 years of experience as a nutrition professional and educator, Leslie Sedon is dedicated to supporting individuals on their health journeys. As a licensed and registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) in Florida since 2021, she specializes in clinical nutrition, weight management, and diabetes care. Leslie is on a mission to provide practical, evidence-based solutions that will optimize health, improve overall quality of life, and lead to sustainable results for the people in her care.
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Janet Peterson, DrPH, RDN, FACSM (Treasurer)
Dr. Peterson is a professor of health and human performance and nutrition and a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine. She holds a doctorate in public health from Loma Linda University and a master's in exercise science from California State University, Northridge. She is a licensed registered dietitian nutritionist, a certified clinical exercise physiologist, and a wilderness medicine instructor. Janet’s research interests include reducing chronic disease risk through primary prevention and education, body composition and immune function, and high-altitude illness awareness and prevention. Janet co-founded a nonprofit aimed at providing nutrition education and physical activity opportunities for local youth and their families. Janet’s entrepreneurial adventures include co-founding a wilderness medicine education company and running her own private dietetics practice.
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Kellene Isom, PhD, MS, RD, CAGS (Delegate)
Dr. Isom is an Assistant Professor at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. She is past director of the bariatric surgery program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, having worked in bariatric surgery, weight management, dietetics, and higher education for over a decade. She has held multiple roles on regional and national executive committees for the Academy, including CDR’s Obesity Certificate Program Advisory Group. She also holds roles with the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). Her clinical and research interests include GI health, bariatrics, micronutrients, obesity advocacy, plant-based diets, and nutrition education.
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Tina Alexander, RDN, LDN, CDCES (Nominating Committee Director)
Tina is passionate about integrating nutrition, physical activity, adequate sleep, proper hydration and stress management to assist individuals in achieving optimal health. Her passion roots from a family history of diabetes and heart disease, which has driven her to become a Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist and obtain her Certificate in Obesity and Weight Management and a Certified Trauma Specialist in Nutrition and Integrative Care.
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