American Dietetic Association Presents 2006 Medallion Awards to Eight ADA Members for Service to Dietetics Profession

FOR RELEASE AUGUST 16, 2006

Media contacts:  Jennifer Starkey, Tom Ryan, Julia Dombrowski 
800/877-1600, ext. 4806, 4894, 4769   
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Editors: Please note local interest.

CHICAGO – The American Dietetic Association will present its prestigious Medallion Award September 17 to eight ADA members, recognizing their outstanding service and leadership to ADA and the dietetics profession. The winners will receive their awards during ADA’s annual Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo, which runs September 16-19 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Thousands of the nation’s top nutrition researchers, registered dietitians and other industry leaders will attend.

ADA’s Medallion Awards, given each year since 1976, honor those who have shown dedication to the high standards of the dietetics profession through active participation, leadership and devotion to serving others in dietetics and allied health fields. The following are ADA 2006 Medallion Award winners:

Christina K. Biesemeier, MA, RD, LDN, FADA, Franklin, Tenn., assistant director of nutrition services at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital since 1999. Biesemeier is respected as a leader throughout ADA and the dietetics profession. She has made significant contributions in clinical management, practice-based dietetics research and outcomes research, helping move dietetics toward an evidence-based approach to practice that has been cited as a model for other health professions. Biesemeier has worked in clinical nutrition services management for 30 years and has held numerous ADA leadership positions in clinical and quality management, managed care and health services research.

Anne E. Daly, MS, RD, BC-ADM, CDE, Springfield, Ill., director of nutrition and diabetes education at Springfield Diabetes and Endocrine Center since 1989. An ADA member for 33 years, Daly has served the Association as a member and chair of the Nominating, Industry Relations and Long-Range Planning committees and a member of the Scope of Practice Task Force. Daly has also held leadership positions with the American Diabetes Association and American Association of Diabetes Educators. She received ADA’s Diabetes Care and Education dietetic practice group’s Distinguished Service Award and was named the Illinois Dietetic Association’s 1989 Outstanding Dietitian of the Year.

Marion J. Franz, MS, RD, LD, CDE, Edina, Minn., nutrition and health consultant and owner of Nutrition Concepts by Franz Inc. A leader in diabetes research and treatment, Franz is a former faculty member at the University of Minnesota. She has published dozens of articles, books and chapters on diabetes and nutrition, nutritional requirements of the elderly, eating disorders, nutrition guidelines, the effectiveness of medical nutrition therapy in diabetes treatment and many other topics. In 2002, Franz delivered ADA’s prestigious Lenna Frances Cooper lecture, named for ADA’s co-founder, and is a past recipient of the ADA Foundation’s Award for Excellence in the Practice of Clinical Nutrition.

Charlette Gallagher-Allred, PhD, RD, Dublin, Ohio, retired manager of geriatrics and long-term care at Ross Products Division of Abbott Laboratories Inc. For more than 30 years, Gallagher-Allred has been a leader in dietetics practice in long-term health care. Among her books are Nutrition Care of the Terminally Ill (Aspen, 1989) and Nutrition and Hydration in Hospice Care (Haworth Press, 1997), both considered standard texts in their fields. She has been a volunteer at HomeReach Hospice, in Columbus, Ohio, since 1986 and is chair of the hospice’s advisory board. Within ADA, Gallagher-Allred recently chaired the Dietetics Education Task Force and has served on ADA’s Research and Association Positions committees and in the House of Delegates.

Edith H. Hogan, RD, LD, Washington, D.C., owner of Food and Nutrition Consulting Services and consultant to Porter Novelli Public Relations. For more than 40 years, Hogan has been an advocate for registered dietitians and ADA among the public and the news media and as a volunteer leader within ADA. She is a former president and past chair of committees of the District of Columbia Metro Area Dietetic Association including Nominating, Membership and Licensure, and she received the association’s 1988 Outstanding Dietitian of the Year award. Hogan was an ADA spokesperson for nine years, conducting hundreds of media interviews on ADA’s behalf, and is the past chair of ADA’s Food and Culinary Professionals dietetic practice group.

Jane E. Libby, MA, RD, LDN, Annapolis, Md., retired foodservice director at the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, where she worked for 25 years, specializing in child nutrition and health. Libby continues to serve as a consultant and lecturer on alcohol and chemical dependency at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, University of Maryland, treatment facilities and corporations. Libby is a former president of the Maryland Dietetic Association, receiving its Outstanding Dietitian of the Year award in 1999. She served in ADA’s House of Delegates and was a site visitor/program reviewer for ADA’s Commission on Accreditation of Dietetics Education. Libby received ADA’s Outstanding Dietetics Educator-Dietetic Internships award in 1997.

Carlene Russell, MS, RD, LD, FADA, Pleasant Hill, Iowa, state dietitian in the Iowa Department of Elder Affairs. Russell worked in long-term care facilities in Iowa and Nebraska for more than 20 years and is active in legislative advocacy for nutrition-related issues. A past member of the Iowa Governor’s Food Policy Council, Russell gives presentations and workshops throughout the country on nutrition and health for older adults. She has served in ADA’s House of Delegates and on ADA’s Board of Directors, Commission on Dietetic Registration, Quality Management Committee and Legislative and Public Policy Committee. Russell is a former president of the Iowa Dietetic Association and received the association’s Outstanding Dietitian of the Year Award in 1996.

Margaret J. Tate, MS, RD, Phoenix, Ariz., chief of the Office of Chronic Disease Prevention and Nutrition Services at the Arizona Department of Health Services. Tate served from 2002 to 2005 on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Advisory Council on Maternal, Infant and Fetal Nutrition. Her contributions to ADA include three terms on ADA’s Board of Directors; she served as ADA’s secretary/treasurer, in the House of Delegates and on many committees and task forces including Evidence-based Practice, Member Value Assessment, and Legislative and Public Policy. Tate was a member of ADA’s Home Food Safety … It’s in Your Hands consumer education program expert advisory panel. She has been president of three ADA state affiliate associations – Colorado, Virginia and Arizona.

With approximately 65,000 members, the American Dietetic Association is the nation’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. The Chicago-based ADA serves the public by promoting optimal nutrition, health and well-being. To locate a registered dietitian in your area, visit the American Dietetic Association at www.eatright.org.


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