I’ve created my own niche and job title as a “Backcountry Dietitian”. I work with a wide variety of individuals that spend time adventuring outdoors whether that be hiking, backpacking, packrafting, horse camping, backcountry hunting and more. My job is to help outdoor explorers meal plan for their adventures in a way that allows them to eat a nutritious diet while keeping the weight of the food as light as possible.

Dan Fenyvesi M.S. R.D.

My first job after graduate school and getting my RD was with a public health clinic in Oakland. I found that after that job it wasn’t too hard to get employment, and jobs with other clinics, retreat centers, and colleges followed. In 2014 I received the Fulbright Scholar Grant to work in Nicaragua, that was also a big milestone for me and has allowed me to work on branching out to more international work.

Becky Kerkenbush, MS, RD-AP, CSG, CD

My first job lead me to a skilled nursing facility, which was part of a small community hospital. I not only worked in long-term care there, but also in the outpatient setting. This offered me a diverse work experience and a valuable foundation for nutrition knowledge and skills. After this, I wanted to work in clinical nutrition and I’ve been there ever since. Clinical nutrition allows me to continue my work with the geriatric population, as well as practice in the areas of nutrition support, acute illness and chronic disease.

Leah McGrath, RD, LDN; Leia Flure, MS, RD, LDN; Kim Melton, RD; Lucía de Rueda Aramburu, RD, MSc.; Matt Jacobs, MA, RD, LD, NSCA-CPT and Sophie Medlin, RD

I started BUD in 2014 at a time when it felt like there was a lot of negativity and criticism about dietitians. I regularly saw groups/social media accounts and pages, individuals and the media accusing dietitians of lacking integrity. Having been a dietitian for almost two decades at that point I knew that our profession deserved better treatment and a more positive space to encourage each other and celebrate our accomplishments.

Cristel Moubarak, RD

I loved the multi-faceted aspects of the profession in which it is evidence-based, involves closely working with people, and offers a flexible career-path to participate in a variety of dimensions of its growing field. I wanted to help people discover a healthier version of themselves and live better. My desire to become a dietitian stemmed not only from wanting to consult with and advise a diverse clientele, but also to inspire a difference in my community.

Amy Reed, MS, RD, CSP, LD

Parents have the responsibility to feed and nurture a child for 18 years and if we have more educational supports available to educate families on feeding maybe the rate of chronic disease will eventually decrease because we have treated it on the front end. Registered Dietitians need to be leaders in teaching all families how to feed and nuture their children for a healthy future. It would be great if everyone were entitled to see a dietitian yearly (kind of like for a nutrition check-up) to see what is going well and what could be improved. The way the current system works patients are referred to dietitians when there is a problem and it would be nice to have a more proactive approach.

interviews