My ADA

Rachel K. Johnson, PhD, MPH, RD

Dean and Professor of Nutrition, The University of Vermont; Senior Nutrition Advisor, Eating Well Magazine, Colchester, VT.

ADA Leadership Highlights: National - FNCE Program Planning Committee; Task Force to develop ADA’s position on the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the USDA Food Guide Pyramid 2004-2005; BOD: Director-at-large; CDR: Competency Assurance Panel; Chair; Council on Professional Issues, representing research; Council on Professional Issues Chair; Health Services Research Committee; Federal Child Nutrition Legislation Reauthorization Task Force; Journal of the American Dietetic Association Restucture Task Force; Legislative and Public Policy Committee; Champion Team for Health Care Reform Co-Chair 1994-96. Vermont Dietetic Association: Legislative Network Coordinator; Hawaii Dietetic Association: HOD Delegate; President. Pediatric Nutrition Practice Group: Chair.

Other Professional Activities: American Medical Association Expert Committee on the Assessment, Prevention and Management of Child and Adolescent Overweight and Obesity; Pennsylvania State University, Nutrition and Dietetics Alumni Society Advisory Board; American Society for Nutrition Sciences Nominating Committee; Center for Research on Vermont; Vermont Cancer Center Associate Member; Advisor Penn State Student Dietetic Association; Board of Directors Hawaii Breastfeeding Resource Center.

Awards: Pennsylvania State University, Nutrition and Dietetics Alumni Society, Outstanding Alumni Award; The University of Vermont, University Scholar; American Dietetic Association Foundation Award for Excellence in Dietetic Research; Vermont Dietetic Association Outstanding Dietitian of the Year; ADA, Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Huddleson Award; The University of Vermont College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Bickford Scholar Award; The University of Vermont College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Joseph E. Carrigan Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching; The Pennsylvania State University Alumni Society College of Health and Human Development Emerging Professional Award; Golden Key National Honor Society Honorary Member; ADA Pediatric Nutrition Practice Group Published Research Award; Hawaii Recognized Young Dietitian of the Year.

Education: PhD, Nutrition, The Pennsylvania State University; MPH, Public Health Nutrition, The University of Hawaii; Dietetic Internship, The Indiana University Medical Center; BS, Nutrition Emphasis Medical Dietetics, The Pennsylvania State University.

What related experience and skills have you obtained to prepare you to be an ADA leader?
I have had a very successful career and know I would not be where I am without ADA. Now it is time for me to give back. I think of the saying, “When you get to the top, don’t forget to send the elevator back down and bring others up”. I wish to serve on the Nominating Committee to give others the opportunity to reach the top of our profession through service to ADA.

What do you perceive as an important issue impacting the dietetics profession today?
Today's generation of children will, in all likelihood, be the first generation in over a century to not live as long as their parents. This is due to the pandemic of childhood obesity. Dietetic professionals are being looked to for leadership as our nation seeks solutions to this public health crisis. We need evidence-based practice guidelines for the prevention, assessment and treatment of childhood overweight and obesity.

How would you encourage and promote diversity if elected? I am committed to creating a diverse, nondiscriminatory environment for ADA by promoting inclusion, respect and equity for volunteer leaders. It is important to look at what people do not just what they say about diversity. I have an excellent track record of promoting diversity in my position as Dean at the University of Vermont. Currently five of our college’s six department chairs are women. This is unheard of in a College of Agriculture.

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