Member Spotlights

Karen Kafer, the March Spotlight Member, has dedicated her career to improving youth wellness and school nutrition through roles in healthcare, foodservice, and nonprofits. Now retired, she continues her impactful work as a consultant and as the SNS DPG Awards & Scholarship Chair, fostering the next generation of school nutrition professionals.

Read her story!

This month, we’re excited to feature Lauren Krohn, MS, RDN—a passionate advocate for school nutrition and local food systems who’s also celebrating her birthday! As the owner and lead consultant of her business, Sprout & Savor Nutrition, Lauren is working tirelessly to break down barriers to help school districts embrace scratch cooking and incorporate more locally sourced foods into their meal programs.

Read her story!

Our November Member Spotlight is Oliver Gonzalez-Yoakum, RDN. Oliver’s journey from San Francisco to New York City reflects his passion for nutrition and community health. After a career shift during the pandemic, he now focuses on improving school nutrition in NYC, while inspiring future health professionals through his teaching and research.

Learn more about Oliver!

Meet Shannan, a dedicated registered dietitian with a remarkable 30-year career spanning local, state, federal, and international levels in school food and nutrition education. Her journey is one of commitment to public health, food systems transformation, and empowering communities through education.

Read Shannan’s story!

Get to know the incoming SNS DPG Chair, Meghan Martinson! Meghan is committed to engaging school nutrition professionals in the SNS DPG and listening to the voices of the membership. Her journey to school nutrition began from the flexibility of the role, and continues as she creates her own path in the field.

Read her story!

Amy Virus (pronounced VE-rus) , Manager of Administrative and Supportive Services for the School District of Philadelphia, knows her way around an excel spreadsheet and dragon boat racing. A woman of many talents, it’s no surprise she is our feature spotlight this month. Ask her about the merits of a cabbage pierogi, and you may spark a lively debate that’s been carried on through the years thanks to her grandmother’s tradition of homemade pierogies.

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Meet Jennifer Bailey, MS, MPH, RDN, LDN, SNS! Jennifer has built her career in school nutrition from the ground up, working her way up through local and state levels of school meals, while bringing her passions and hobbies along for the ride.

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Get to know Jeanne Reilly, NDTR, SNS! Jeanne has been a vital member of the SNS DPG, being a critical player in communicating and engaging with numerous school nutrition professionals.

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Get to know Garrett Berdan, RDN! Garrett’s distinct path into our beloved school nutrition niche is one to watch and sure to ignite your culinary passion. His time completing his culinary studies in his own version of the American west coast Hogwarts to crafting culinary training for the Institute of Child Nutrition is worth the read.

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This month, we feature a nutrition expert excelling in a unique space, Kelly Bristow, MS, RDN, LD! Kelly’s path working with school nutrition and efforts in supporting and engaging with Farm-To-School initiatives has led her to her current role working in Global Nutrition Affairs with Bayer’s Crop Science division.

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This month, we feature Tandy Blackwell, DHPE, RDN, SNS! Tandy is the Coordinator of Child Nutrition in Athens, Alabama. Tandy is who you want sitting next to you at the next CNP conference or meeting. She will get to know you and become your best CNP friend! Read more about her upbringing and what she brings to her role!

Named a 2023 Outstanding Preceptor by the Academy, Julie Raway, MPH, RDN, CDN, SNS, FAND is worthy of the award nomination. In 12 years of serving as a preceptor, Julie has made a lasting impression on a plethora of future dietitians from numerous internship programs, all recognizing the value Julie holds with her wealth of experience and knowledge.

Read about Julie’s journey!

This month, we feature Tandy Blackwell, DHPE, RDN, SNS! Tandy is the Coordinator of Child Nutrition in Athens, Alabama. Tandy is who you want sitting next to you at the next CNP conference or meeting. She will get to know you and become your best CNP friend! Read more about her upbringing and what she brings to her role!

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Would you let a coin flip decide your future? Rachel did. Rachel Findley, MS, RDN, LDN, a School Nutrition Director turned Didactic Program Director, is a kind and caring individual whose passion for feeding the future merged into teaching future dietitians. Dive into Rachel’s story and see where the fate of a coin flip led her!

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This month we focus on FNCE®! See our The Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo® feature and all the happenings from the conference.

Read the FNCE® Feature Here

This month’s spotlight Whitney Ellersick, MS, RDN is no stranger in the garden or in the kitchen. Growing up in a family with a passion for gardening, alongside a strong generation of dairy farmers, excellent cooks and bakers, Whitney’s path towards school nutrition took shape. She was awarded the 2022 International Fresh Produce Association’s Produce Excellence in Food Service award winner for the K-12 sector!

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Meet your new 2022-2023 SNS DPG Chair, Dr. Sandy Curwood, PhD, RDN! We are so fortunate to have one great leader after another in this critical role. A big thank you to outgoing chair, Jocelyn Karbo, MBA, RDN, SNS, for the dedication and hard work that she committed to 2021- 2022.

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To hear Melani Duffrin, Ph.D, RDN, tell it, the founding of the FoodMASTER Initiative was serendipitous. A couple of colleagues met up to collaborate, and boom! A 20-year project providing free mathematics and science curriculum with nutrition themes was born.

Read more about Melani and the FoodMASTER Initiative.

Robyn Douglas Scholar, MPP, RDN, SNS is the Manager of Nutrition, Compliance and Partnerships for District of Columbia Public Schools. With a love of public policy and varied experience as a Clinical Dietitian, Dining Services Manager and Clinical Nutrition Manager, she eventually found her way to school nutrition and has never looked back. DC Public Schools has a unique dynamic which utilizes her knowledge of public policy, management, and love of school nutrition. Click here to learn more about Robyn.

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