Today’s Dietitian
Vol. 28 No. 2 P. 34
Making connections. Building bridges. Fostering unity. Whichever way you choose to refer to the art of integrating people, disciplines, science, and ideas to elevate the nutrition profession and its impact on health care, the dietitians we profile in this 16th annual showcase all believe this synergy is vital to the effectiveness and future of the profession. As is always the case, selecting only 10 RDs to honor out of the hundreds our readers nominated to be part of this year’s Today’s Dietitian TD10 was a daunting prospect and showcased the profession we are proud to recognize during National Nutrition Month® and on Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Day.
Wendy Bazilian, DrPH, MA, RDN, ACSM-EP
CEO/President
Bazilian, Inc.
San Diego, California
“Our life’s currency is the great equalizer. No one gets more minutes. You can’t bank them. But finding 30 minutes within 1,000 [to practice a healthy habit] seems reasonable,” Wendy Bazilian says.
Bazilian translates science into practical choices and draws on her background in literary and cultural studies to bridge nutrition and everyday choices with the overarching goal of “being a healthy and whole person.”
Today, she conveys her messages about healthy living on her 1,000 Waking Minutes podcast, where she leans into her colorful, varied career and love of storytelling and science to share ways to spend waking moments meaningfully.
For two decades, Bazilian has explored the depths of what it means to be a dietitian, transitioning from clinical and community nutrition to education, communications, and media. “I’m still in all those spaces, but it’s been an evolution,” she says, viewing the media as a classroom where she learned “the importance of being precise but warm, leading with curiosity, and speaking the language of science.”
Bazilian is committed to advancing the profession and establishing dietitians on multidisciplinary care teams. She’s given over 1,000 presentations to 50-plus organizations worldwide, many of which were continuing education sessions. As a consultant for health care groups, she also provides continuing education for medical providers, has worked as a bilingual clinical editor, and has authored hundreds of articles for patient education while maintaining CDC-based health literacy scoring.
As a California Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation Board Director-at-Large, Bazilian collaboratively works to increase scholarship funds for future practitioners through industry support and grants.
“Continuing education and mentorship connect us,” she says. “These environments bring us together to advance together, and that’s much bigger than participating in my space on my own.”
Nina Crowley, PhD, RDN, LD
Director of Clinical Education and Partnerships
seca medical body composition
Charleston, South Carolina
Nina Crowley thrives on educating clinicians, leveraging webinars, podcasts, presentations, and interdisciplinary collaboration to build community and move the field forward. She brings dietitians together to create spaces for shared learning and honest conversation across obesity care, metabolic health, and industry.
A passion for long-term patient relationships led her to outpatient care counseling for bariatric surgery patients, where she recognized a critical skill gap. “I knew I didn’t have enough psychology training to be the best dietitian for the patients who had lived with obesity their whole lives,” she says.
She ultimately pursued a PhD in health psychology while continuing clinical work. This dual path shaped her holistic approach and allowed Crowley to see obesity care through biological, behavioral, emotional, and social lenses. She was an early voice for weight bias and stigma awareness and developed counseling strategies that blended evidence-based nutrition with psychological insight.
“The common thread was leaning into what I loved and was passionate about; just doing it even though it didn’t necessarily make sense at the time,” she says.
She spent six years as director of the Medical University of South Carolina’s bariatric program, championing evidence-driven, person-centered care based on the knowledge that her patients’ challenges emerged from a blend of behavior, biology, and lived experience. Crowley brought that philosophy to her role at seca, translating complex body composition data into meaningful conversations about health, behavior change, and long-term outcomes.
At the heart of Crowley’s work is a belief that progress in nutrition and obesity care happens through connection—between clinicians, across disciplines, and in partnership with patients. At the core of her philosophy is a simple truth: evidence and provider experience matter, but patient values matter most.
“It’s much more of a dance, a conversation, and a back-and-forth,” she says.
Drew Hemler, MSc, RD, CDN, FAND
Consultant
Nutrition by Drew, PLLC
Toronto, Ontario
Drew Hemler wants to redefine what it means to be a dietitian in a world increasingly shaped by AI, cultural humility, and inclusive care. An educator and consultant, he has become a leading voice on how AI can strengthen human relationships at the core of dietetics.
AI can reshape nutrition workflows, accelerate ideation, and expand what RDs can create, from education materials to service models. Predictive modeling and analytics are transforming clinical and operational decision-making.
“If we allow AI—with safeguards in place—to take over some of our low-stakes standard operating procedures, it frees up time for the relationship-based care we provide,” he says. “Less pencilpushing, more time to speak about the nuance, the complexity of the psyche, and respond in real time.”
To help dietitians evaluate AI tools, Hemler developed the B.E.A.S.T.I.E. Framework: Bias, Explainability, Accountability, Security, Transparency, Interoperability, and Environmental impact. His goal is to prepare RDs to guide colleagues in a digital landscape.
He applies that same sense of stewardship to advancing LGBTQ+ diversity and competence in dietetics, where a representation gap contributes to clinical challenges, noting that, for example, three-quarters of transgender individuals have delayed health care due to anticipated mistreatment.
Through education grounded in physiology, language, and cultural humility, Hemler teaches dietitians to provide inclusive care that reduces harm and improves access.
He sees the future of dietetics as one where innovation and humanity advance together. “AI democratizes knowledge, and RDs help curate, contextualize, and personalize that knowledge,” Hemler says. “Being guides helps build trust and access. I’m teaching these tools and ethics to help dietitians lead this shift.”
Kristen Hicks-Roof, PhD, RDN, LDN, FAND, FNAP
Director of Human Nutrition
National Pork Board
Mesa, Arizona
From academics and research to clinical practice and commodity boards, Kristen Hicks-Roof has dedicated herself to fostering connections and collaborations that elevate the profession.
“I want to showcase how nutrition and health can be at the forefront, and how dietitians can pave the way in every sector of public health, whether it’s corporate, food service, food industry, or academia,” she says.
At the National Pork Board, she leads a national nutrition research strategy to ensure pork is fairly and accurately represented. Her focus is on producing credible evidence about pork’s nutritional benefits and “bridging that into conversations” with nutritionists and other stakeholders.
“We’re bringing evidence-based messaging, and we’re doing it in fun and creative ways that allow us to build relationships and help people to trust the information we’re providing,” she says.
Fun and creativity are integral to her approach to elevating the profession through science. At the University of North Florida, Hicks-Roof taught students to connect their interests with science, for example, a love of gardening with food forestry research. She parlayed her personal quest to advance the role of dietitians on interprofessional teams into research that led to the development of a virtual interprofessional clinic model, including telerobotics. The model, she says, “builds a bridge to make sure that nutrition professionals are on health care teams.”
Hicks-Roof also bridges the professional divide through the RD Mentorship Program, which she coestablished nearly a decade ago. The free, volunteer-based program has connected more than 10,000 RDs and nutrition students nationwide, “opening [their] eyes to other areas of the profession and building a bigger professional network,” she says. “That is super powerful. If we can bridge and build that mentoring experience, it will create a more cohesive profession.”
Victoria Lee, RD, CSO, LD
Senior Clinical Dietitian
Department of Clinical Nutrition
MD Anderson Cancer Center/Ambulatory Thoracic Clinic
Houston, Texas
The risk of malnutrition is high among oncology patients. That’s why RDs have become essential members of multidisciplinary cancer care teams—a role Victoria Lee is committed to advancing.
Lee says RDs bring a unique perspective to the patient’s clinical team, one that influences treatment success. “What drew me to thoracic oncology was opportunity,” she says. “What’s kept me here is seeing the many ways I’ve had a positive impact at various stages of a patient’s cancer journey.”
Lee started as a pharmacy technician, but in searching for a better fit over time, found her calling in nutrition, which “is as rewarding as it is challenging to my creative and analytical thinking skills.”
At MD Anderson, she discovered her passion for thoracic oncology and a knack for solving complex clinical puzzles. When one patient became dependent on tube feeding due to unexplained weight loss, Lee recognized signs of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency and recommended enzyme therapy that helped him transition off tube feeds. In another case, her collaboration with a gastroenterologist led to the diagnosis and treatment of a rare condition causing severe gastrointestinal symptoms in a two-time cancer survivor.
“I ask clarifying questions and listen at least a hundred times more than I educate. It’s the best way to get to the root of the problem,” she says. For Lee, the ability to improve patients’ quality of life makes oncology nutrition incredibly rewarding.
“Just like dietetics, oncology is a continuously evolving science, so there’s always more to learn and improve upon in your practice,” she says. “I learn from my patients as much as I learn from my colleagues.”
Veronica Perez-Hernandez, RD
PACE Registered Dietitian
St. Paul’s PACE
San Diego, California
Food insecurity is a significant challenge for vulnerable seniors. It’s why Veronica Perez-Hernandez brings the food pantry to her clients at St. Paul Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). Each month, she distributes 600 to 800 lbs of fresh fruit and produce at two supported living residences.
“Most have struggled or are struggling with some type of addiction, or they were previously homeless [or] don’t have transportation, so simply having access to healthy food is not a priority,” she says.
She also goes door-to-door with produce bags for clients whose mobility issues prevent them from reaching the distribution site, noting, “This is a great way for people to have access to fruits and vegetables, and we usually give away 45 to 50 bags each time, so it is very impactful in our community.”
Cognitive impairment and mobility limitations compound nutrition challenges for PACE seniors, many of whom live alone and are unable or unwilling to cook. The interdisciplinary PACE model helps Perez-Hernandez ensure they receive needed support. Home health nurses assist with eating and health reminders, social workers coordinate meal deliveries and grocery trips, and day programs offer socialization.
The team also supports the diabetes self-management program she leads, providing a 10-week series covering healthy shopping, label reading, meal planning, stress management, glucose and medication management, and more. Raffles help keep clients engaged, and outcomes such as weight loss and improved A1c levels reinforce the program’s value.
As Perez-Hernandez notes, “it’s hard to focus on making dietary changes when you’re not sure when your next meal will be. I’m lucky enough to have the support to continue to do what I love, which is working as a dietitian and making a positive impact on our community.”
Kristen Rasmussen, MS, RDN
Assistant Director of Health & Sustainability Programs
The Culinary Institute of America Program Director and Lecturer for Berkeley Study Abroad
Nutritional Sciences & Toxicology, UC Berkeley
Northern California
Kristen Rasmussen inspires food, nutrition, and health care professionals to view their work through a lens of environmental stewardship, cultural respect, and culinary creativity. She connects science and the culinary arts to advance understanding of how food and nutrition influence health and sustainability.
At the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), Rasmussen plans the Healthy Kitchen, Healthy Lives summit, leading hundreds of medical, food, and nutrition professionals in conversations about the power of nutrition. She’s also planning the inaugural Food is Life, Food is Health summit with the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, which will enable chefs and health care professionals to explore the culinary angles of the future of health care.
At Berkeley, Rasmussen developed a wildly popular study-abroad program that guides students through Greece’s foodways. Her global ventures also include work in Oaxaca, Mexico, and at Copenhagen’s Nordic Food Lab.
“Educators and nutritionists are no longer merely imparting knowledge,” she says. “We curate reliable, evidence-based sources and translate them through real-world examples.”
She adds, “Dietitians are trained in evidence-based practice. We know where to look for information that is true [and how to] put it into practice. We can and should lead with culinary joy and show that [healthy] foods can be incredibly delicious.”
Rasmussen frequently presents on sustainable nutrition and develops CIA programs to shift institutional menus toward health and sustainability. She draws inspiration from nourishing, sustainable foods from around the globe and is committed to elevating wild, biodiverse foods, including conceiving “West Coast Nordic” pop-up restaurants—often cooking with food she foraged herself.
Wild foods “are an untapped resource,” Rasmussen says. “Most are highly sustainable, nutritious in ways we’re just beginning to understand, and, on a social level, foraging wild foods makes you more connected to your environment. Plus, it’s fun.”
Geeta Sikand, MA, RDN, FAND, FNLA, CLS
Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine (Cardiology)
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, California
Each dollar spent on MNT saves $3 to $4 in health care costs for patients with dyslipidemia. Those findings in two seminal studies by Geeta Sikand marked the first time a cost-benefit analysis demonstrated the value of dietitians’ contributions to patient care.1,2
Published in 1998 and 2000, the studies were part of Sikand’s role with the University of California, Irvine, when she served as chief lipid research dietitian at its teaching hospital, the VA Medical Center in Long Beach. They were a lifeline for the profession and led to Sikand receiving two Mary Huddleson Awards from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation.
“Dietitians needed to show outcomes data because managed care was taking over the health care industry at this time. Fortunately, we had the data,” Sikand says.
While chairing the Academy’s MNT Outcomes Workgroup, Sikand and her colleagues continued to publish studies reconfirming her original findings, even as the medication landscape evolved. Today, she is actively involved in the push to pass the Expanded MNT Act (HR 6199) to extend MNT coverage under Medicare.
Educating health care providers and the public about the impact of MNT on health outcomes is a passion of Sikand’s, who is a fellow of the Academy and serves as a Policy and Advocacy Leader for the cardiovascular health and wellbeing dietetic practice group. She is also a fellow and at-large board member of the National Lipid Association, cochairs its nutrition taskforce, and helped create its multiethnic and multilingual Clinician’s Lifestyle Modification Toolkit.3
“When dietitians counsel patients, we do not just tell them what to eat or what not to eat. We partner with them [and use] our communication tools to understand the ‘what, why, and how’ of diet and lifestyle behaviors and barriers to adherence,” Sikand says.
Roniece A. Weaver, MS, RDN, LDN
Founding Partner and Director of Agency Operations
Hebni Nutrition Consultants, Inc
Orlando, Florida
Growing up, Roniece Weaver saw how diabetes, heart disease, and kidney disease—preventable conditions influenced by practical nutrition knowledge and small, sustainable changes—were taking root in her community. The shock of seeing foods her father was told to exclude from his diet following his diabetes diagnosis—pigeon peas, rice, black beans, plantains, and other staples of her Caribbean culture—showed her the importance of culturally relevant guidance.
“I wanted to be a part of a solution, especially when you look at minority populations that did not see a dietitian of color or someone from their same background,” she says.
She cofounded Hebni Nutrition Consultants, a nonprofit dedicated to improving health outcomes for underserved populations through culturally tailored nutrition education. It offers innovative programs such as partnerships with neighborhood grocers to teach residents how to navigate aisles, read labels, and stretch food budgets. Another distinctive service is the “Fresh Stop” mobile farmers’ market, a bus that brings fresh produce, cooking demonstrations, and nutrition education to neighborhoods. A recent donation from Sprouts Farmers Market allowed Hebni to purchase a second bus to continue the program.
“We’ve been the first to do a lot of things. We created the soul food pyramid [and] the soul food plate. We were the first to take an old building in an underserved neighborhood and restore [it] to teach nutrition classes,” Weaver says.
In addition to Hebni, Weaver, along with her cofounder, Fabiola Gaines, and twin sister, Rojean Williams, are committed to increasing the diversity of the nutrition profession through roles in the National Organization of Blacks in Dietetics and Nutrition.
“Many people have never met a Black dietitian,” Weaver says. “I want them to understand my journey and my food story because it allows me to elevate the visibility of Black dietitians.”
Jasmine Westbrooks-Figaro, MS, RD/LDN, CDCES
Cofounder and Director
EatWell Exchange, Inc
Raleigh, North Carolina
Jasmine Westbrooks-Figaro was a nutrition student working for WIC when she first recognized the nutrition literacy gap between her Black clients and those of other ethnicities—and the harm it created.
“For people who look like me, there was a lack of access to proper education for prevention and support for creating [healthy] lifestyle habits that were more culturally focused,” she says. Recommended foods weren’t always culturally representative or even available in neighborhood grocery stores.
That realization inspired her to cofound EatWell Exchange, a nonprofit centered on cultural food traditions, their role in health, and honoring heritage while promoting healthier choices. “We knew that we wanted to make a difference because in every person we saw, we saw a piece of our family.”
EatWell makes nutrition relatable, affordable, and culturally inclusive through cooking and nutrition classes, demonstrations, and culturally focused education for communities and health care providers. Its food access initiative pairs food distribution with guidance on nutritional value and use.
We “get people intrigued while giving them back their food dignity,” says Westbrooks-Figaro, noting that EatWell has served more than 65,000 people since 2017. “That’s massive to think about, and our team is constantly growing.”
Increasing diversity within the nutrition profession is another priority. Fewer than 3% of dietitians identify as Black, and the group is heterogeneous. She is addressing the problem through mentoring and teaching the next generation of professionals, conference presentations, and media coverage.
Diversity “helps to create that safe space [and] build trust. It validates life experiences … Representation through cultural foods, stressors, and realities brings the connection of a relationship [that’s] going to improve health outcomes,” she says, adding that her own mentor gave her the confidence to pursue her goals, and “I want to do that for others who come along.”
— Elizabeth S. Goar is a freelance health writer based in Benton, Wisconsin.
References
1. Sikand G, Kashyap ML, Yang I. Medical nutrition therapy lowers serum cholesterol and saves medication costs in men with hypercholesterolemia. J Am Diet Assoc. 1998;98(8):889-894.
2. Sikand G, Kashyap ML, Wong ND, Hsu JC. Dietitian intervention improves lipid values and saves medication costs in men with combined hyperlipidemia and a history of niacin noncompliance. J Am Diet Assoc. 2000;100(2):218-224.
3. Clinician’s lifestyle modification toolkit. National Lipid Association website. https://www.lipid.org/CLMT/.