Jonathan Valdez, MBA, RDN, CSG, CDN, CCM, ACE-CPT

What are you passionate about in dietetics?

The growing job opportunities, the various areas a RDN can work, and that the respect for our knowledge is growing (I wish it was faster).

Drew Hemler, MS, RD, CDN

I work in multiple areas of practice, which is why I love this wonderful profession. I currently work in private practice (telehealth, community nutrition, and food product consulting), academia (higher education), and communications & events management (U.S. state-level A.N.D. affiliate).

Jenna Amos, RD

I started off as a clinical dietitian in a subacute care facility but quickly realized I did not find it rewarding. Soon after, I started as a retail dietitian working for a grocery store chain. I loved the exposure to the food industry and how much I learned about products, what was driving customers’ choices and then being able to positively influence food choices right at the point of purchase. That brought me to my current position at siggi’s dairy.

Toby Amidor, MS, RD, CDN

I do a salad of things, pun intended! I contribute regularly to 4 national media outlets, give expert quotes to numerous national publications each week, consult on various nutrition and food safety projects, teach at several universities as an adjunct, work as a spokesperson, speaker, and write cookbooks.

Alyssa Ashmore MS, RDN, CSSD, LD

I remember reading nutrition labels at the age of 10, healthy eating being an early interest of mine. In college, my business major wasn’t quite fitting for me, and once I learned Dietetics and Nutrition was a field of study, I wasted no time in making the change. Becoming a dietitian was an action of the quote, “Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.”

D. Milton Stokes, PhD, MPH, RD, FAND

My job is simple: I give people something to think about. I don’t try to change minds or get people to love my employer. At the end of the day, I want dietitians and others in food and nutrition to respect farmers. Just like hospital dietitians don’t want doctors telling the dietitians what to do, I don’t think dietitians should dictate what farmers do. It seems those farthest from the farm are the ones loudest about telling farmers how to practice.

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