06/01/99 American Dietetic Association Names 1999-2000 Board of Directors

American Dietetic Association Names 1999-2000 Board of Directors

Press Release

June 1, 1999

Contact: Tom Ryan, Doris Acosta or M. Johnna Thomas
E-mail: media@eatright.org
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AMERICAN DIETETIC ASSOCIATION NAMES 1999-2000 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

CHICAGO -- Sixteen national leaders with a wide range of experience in nutrition and public health will serve as the 1999-2000 board of directors of The American Dietetic Association. The board, which takes office June 1 and will serve until May 31, 2000, is responsible for strategic planning, policy development and fiscal management for the Chicago-based ADA, the world's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. The 70,000-member ADA serves the public by promoting optimal nutrition, health and well-being. The 1999-2000 directors are:

Kathleen Cobb, MS, RD, CD/N, Old Saybrook, Conn., Commission on Dietetic Registration representative. Since 1985, Cobb has been senior nutrition consultant for the Connecticut Department of Public Health, where she develops and directs statewide nutrition planning; coordinates the state's national nutrition Five-A-Day program; and works with health-care and child-care providers, educators, community residents and groups, industry and the media. Cobb is a former faculty member in the department of nutrition and resource management, St. Joseph College, West Hartford, serving as chairperson in 1985. She has also worked as a nutrition education consultant and director of the Connecticut office of the New England Dairy and Food Council, and as nutrition educator for the Waterbury Health Department.

Marianne Smith Edge, MS, RD, LD, FADA, Owensboro, Ky., speaker-elect, ADA House of Delegates. Edge is president of Management Systems, Etc., a food-service and nutrition-management consulting firm in Owensboro. She is also a health-care marketing consultant for Diamond Crystal/Menu Magic Foods, Inc. A registered dietitian and a member of the 1997-98 ADA board, Edge chaired the ADA’s member initiative committee, served on the association's position and quality assurance committees and served in the ADA's House of Delegates. Edge is active in the Kentucky Dietetic Association, where she has chaired the continuing education and quality assurance committees. She also serves on the board of her local community college foundation, county hospital and hospice, symphony orchestra and Chamber of Commerce.

Karen M. Fiedler, PhD, RD, LD, FADA, Cleveland, Ohio, director-at-large. Fiedler is associate professor and coordinator of the dietetic internship/master's degree program in the department of nutrition at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland. She previously taught at Otterbein College, Miami (Ohio) University and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. A registered dietitian, Fiedler served on the ADA board of directors in 1996-97, chairing the Commission on Accreditation and Approval for Dietetics Education. She has served in the ADA House of Delegates and on the nominating committee and leadership initiative task force, among others. Fiedler is a former president of the Ohio Dietetic Association.

Polly A. Fitz, MA, RD, Branford, Conn., chairman of the ADA Foundation board. Fitz, co-owner of Health Training Resources, which specializes in training programs and products for health professionals, was ADA president in 1997-98. She is former dean of the School of Allied Health Professions at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, where she specialized in developing and implementing programs in aging, allied health, dietetics and health promotion. She has been a member of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Health Professions Advisory Committee and chair of ADA's Commission on Dietetic Registration. A former ADA board member, Fitz has been director and president of the American Society of Allied Health Professions; member and vice chair of the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences; commissioner of the American Physical Therapy Accreditation Agency; and chair of the Connecticut Department of Health's public health advisory council.

Julie A. Flik, Mamaroneck, N.Y., public director-at-large. Flik is executive vice president of Compass Group, North American Division. Compass Group is the world's largest foodservice management company. In 1971, she co-founded of Flik International Corp., a foodservice company that now has 200 clients in 18 states, selling the company to Compass Group in 1995. Flik has served since 1995 on the board of directors of the National Restaurant Association and is president of the Society for Foodservice Management. She is a past member of the board and vice president of the Roundtable for Women in Foodservice Inc. and recipient of the organization's 1991 PaceSetter Award. Flik previously worked with Pan American Airlines, the Sheraton Hotel Corp. and Hilton Hotel Corp.

Molly Gee, MEd, RD, LD, Houston, Texas, secretary/treasurer-elect. Gee is assistant manager and communications specialist at the Institute for Preventive Medicine at Methodist Hospital, Houston, and is an instructor in the department of internal medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine. A registered dietitian, Gee supervises outpatient behavioral medicine programs in nutrition, smoking cessation and stress management. She works as a health/nutrition reporter at Houston's KTRK-TV and for eight years was a Houston-based media spokesperson for the ADA. Gee has served on the ADA's membership and affirmative action committees and is a former president of the Texas and Houston dietetic associations.

Barbara Ann Hughes, PhD, RD, LDN, FADA, Raleigh, N.C., director-at-large. Since 1989, Hughes has been president of B.A. Hughes & Associates, a medical nutrition consulting firm whose clients include health-maintenance organizations, home-health agencies, private corporations, government agencies and individuals. For 16 years she was director and branch head of nutrition and dietary services in the North Carolina department of human resources. Hughes helped create and for 11 years headed the state's WIC program. She served in ADA's House of Delegates and on numerous state, local and national committees and task forces, many specializing in public health, public policy and legislation. A past president of the North Carolina Dietetic Association, Hughes chaired ADA's legislation and public policy committee and was heavily involved in establishing ADA's Washington, D.C., governmental affairs office. She taught at Wake Technical College and has been an adjunct faculty member at the University of North Carolina and Case Western Reserve University.

Shirley E. Kellie, MD, MSc, Plymouth, Mich., public director-at-large. An expert on disease prevention and health promotion, Kellie is principal clinical coordinator at the Michigan Peer Review Organization. She is the former associate medical director in the Office of Clinical Evaluation and physician epidemiologist in the Core Methods Team at the Medstat Group, Ann Arbor. A former faculty member at Northwestern University and the University of Illinois at Chicago, Kellie was an epidemiologist with John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co. and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. She was a scientific advisor to the Blue Cross-Blue Shield Association and a senior scientist at the American Medical Association.

Susan H. Laramee, MS, RD, FADA, CNSD, Rockport, Mass., director-at-large. Laramee is district support manager for Sodexho Marriott Services, providing consultation and systems support in the areas of clinical nutrition management, patient services and dietetic education, and conducts training programs for clinical dietitians. Laramee is also clinical nutrition manager for Northeast Health Systems, managing clinical nutrition and patient services for inpatient facilities totaling 425 beds including acute, sub-acute and long-term care and mental health services. Previously she was manager of quality assurance and the enteral feeding unit, manager of food and nutrition services and a staff dietitian at the hospital at Massachusetts General Hospital. Laramee serves on ADA's House of Delegates Managed Care task Force and was a member of the ADA Board's Policy Initiative team. She is a past president of the Massachusetts Dietetic Association and received ADA's 1996 Medallion Award, among many other honors, for her service to the dietetics profession.

Rebecca S. Reeves, DrPH, RD, FADA, Houston, Texas, ADA House of Delegates speaker. Reeves is an associate professor in the department of medicine at the Behavioral Medicine Research Center and the department of community medicine at the Baylor University College of Medicine, Houston. She specializes in nutrition as it relates to cardiovascular disease and obesity and in teaching people how to change their eating habits and attitudes. Her research includes studies of heart disease prevention in older women and cancer prevention among Mexican-Americans. A registered dietitian, Reeves has served in the ADA House of Delegates and as president of the Texas and South Texas dietetic associations. Reeves has been a member of national and state dietetic association committees including public relations, career guidance, scholarship, education, community nutrition and nominations.

Connie L. Rivera, Chicago, Ill., ADA chief executive officer. Rivera is a health-care management executive with more than 20 years of experience in developing operations and increasing the impact of organizations in the non-profit sector. She has headed ADA since November 1998, providing leadership to the association's members and staff and directing ADA's extensive initiatives in public policy, consumer affairs and research at the national and international levels. For nine years, Rivera was executive vice president and chief operating officer at the Alzheimer's Association, where she led information, education and fundraising efforts to raise public awareness of Alzheimer's disease and set global standards for treatment, prevention and support to people with the disease. Previously, she directed United Way chapters in Michigan and Pennsylvania. Rivera is an active volunteer with the National Health Council and Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations and serves on the board of the Chicago Park District's Parkways Foundation.

Jane K. Ross, PhD, RD, Burlington, Vt., Commission on Accreditation/Approval for Dietetics Education representative. Since 1985, Ross has been associate professor in the department of nutritional sciences and the Vermont Agricultural Station at the University of Vermont. She is also director of the didactic program in dietetics at the university, where she has worked since 1979. A specialist in dietetics education, Ross received ADA's 1997 Outstanding Educator Award and the University of Vermont's 1993 Joseph E. Carrigan Award for excellence in undergraduate teaching. Her courses include food preparation, diet and disease and management of eating disorders. She is a two-term former president of the Vermont Dietetic Association, where she has held numerous other offices and committee memberships. Ross has published scientific research on such areas as dietary fiber, weight cycling and diet and cancer.

Carlene Russell, MS, RD, LD, FADA, Mason City, Iowa, director-at-large. Russell, a registered dietitian, is a consultant dietitian at North Iowa Mercy Health Center in Mason City, Iowa. For more than two decades she has worked with home clients and nursing homes and in community case management for the frail elderly. Russell developed a manual, and a video based on it, titled "Dining Skills: Practical Interventions for the Caregivers of Eating Disabled Older Adults." She has presented workshops on the topic throughout the United States and in Europe. Russell was president of the Iowa Dietetic Association from 1993 to 1994 and in 1996 was named Iowa's outstanding dietitian.

Margaret H. Tate, MS, RD, Richmond, Va., secretary/treasurer. Tate is director of the Division of Chronic Disease Prevention and Nutrition at the Virginia Department of Health. She has also served as acting director of the Office of Family Health Services; director of the Division of Public Health nutrition; state WIC nutrition coordinator; and regional program supervisor and training and development coordinator in the Division of Public Health Nutrition. A registered dietitian, Tate previously served on the ADA's board of directors in 1992-94; chaired the council on practice, the division of community dietetics, the primary-care providers task force and the public health nutrition practice group; served in the ADA's House of Delegates and served on the health-care reform advisory committee.

Jane V. White, PhD, RD, Knoxville, Tenn., president-elect. Since 1993, White has been professor in the department of family medicine at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Knoxville and Memphis. She has worked at the University of Tennessee since 1975. In a long association with ADA, White has been a member of the association's board of directors, speaker of the House of Delegates and a member of numerous committees, task forces and research councils. She received ADA's Medallion Award for outstanding service in 1996. An authority on physician nutrition education and on the role of nutrition in treating illness and chronic diseases, especially among the elderly, White has published numerous scholarly research articles, chapters and books and is a frequent lecturer at scientific meetings. White will serve as ADA president in 2000-2001.

Elaine G. Williams, PhD, RD, Cerritos, Calif., director-at-large. Williams is associate professor and interim dean of the College of Allied Health at Drew University of Medicine and Science. A specialist in health promotion and nutrition among African-Americans, Williams is past president of the National Society of Allied Health. She has worked as a consultant to the Physician Assistant Advocacy Network's National Health Service Corps; served on the minority support group of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute's national high blood pressure education program; and is a member of the executive advisory committee of the National AIDS Minority Information and Education Program. Williams has served on the ADA's council on practice, the continuing education committee, committee on dietetic registration and the appeals committee.