By Mary Hightower
U of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
CHICAGO — Nina Roofe has been elected to serve a one-year term as speaker of the house of delegates for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Roofe, assistant vice president for Family and Consumer Sciences for the Cooperative Extension Service at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, began her term on June 1 and will serve until May 31, 2025. She just completed a one-year term as speaker-elect.
“It has been an honor serving as speaker-elect this past year,” she said. “I look forward to leading the house of delegates this year. I work with the best of the best when it comes to movers and shakers in the world of dietetics and nutrition. Together we can achieve great results.”
Nina Roofe, of Conway, Arkansas, will serve as the speaker of the house of delegates for a national nutrition and dietetics organization. She is head of Family and Consumer Sciences for the Cooperative Exension Service. (U of A System Division of Agriuclture photo)
Roofe said she and the other board members listen to, identify, and respond to critical issues facing the profession of nutrition and dietetics.
“Currently we are engaged with two issues. In one, we are mobilizing educators, professionals, and industry experts across the nation to ascertain how to best use artificial intelligence in classrooms and worksites, and to solve challenges ethically and innovatively,” she said.
“For the second issue, we are studying the issue of student enrollment in dietetics and nutrition programs at all levels nationwide to determine how much of the decline is due to the shift in demographics versus other factors like the mandatory master’s degree, pay scale, or perceived respect by others on the healthcare team,” Roofe said.
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Board of Directors for 2024-2025 are:
Carl Barnes, MS, RDN, LDN, Director-at-Large (Rockville, Maryland)
Barnes is the executive director of The Wholesome Village Inc., in Germantown, Maryland, and the president of United Nutrition Group LLC and Chow Solutions LLC, both in Kensington, Maryland.
Don Bradley, MD, MHS, CL, Public Member (Durham, North Carolina)
Bradley is a consulting professor at Duke University School of Medicine and core faculty member at the Duke Margolis Institute for Health Policy. He retired from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina in 2014 after serving as senior vice president for health care and chief medical officer.
Deanne Brandstetter, MBA, RDN, CDN, FAND, President-elect (Naples, Florida)
Brandstetter is vice president of nutrition and wellness at Compass Group North America, a global food service company, author of numerous scientific journal articles and book chapters, and a speaker to professional and consumer groups.
Harlivleen "Livleen" Gill, MBA, RDN, LDN, FAND, President (Bethesda, Maryland)
Gill is president and CEO of Apostle Group LLC, a consulting company that provides innovative solutions to clients in health care, food and nutrition. She is also the CEO of The Wholesome Village Inc., a non-profit centered on equitable access to healthful foods.
Amanda Goldman, MS, RD, LD, FAND, Treasurer (Lexington, Kentucky)
Goldman is the system vice president of Food and Nutrition Services at CommonSpirit Health, where she leads the overall food service and clinical nutrition operations for their national program.
Leslene Gordon, PhD, RDN, LDN, Director-at-Large (Lutz, Florida)
Gordon retired in 2023 as the Hillsborough County community health director for the Florida Department of Health, where she had worked since 2005. She is an affiliate assistant professor at the University of South Florida's College of Public Health.
RoseAnna Holliday, PhD, MPH, RDN, LD, FAND, Speaker-elect (Twin Falls, Idaho)
Holliday is an assistant professor and former chair of the department of health sciences human services at the College of Southern Idaho.
Suzanne Jiménez, MS, RDN, LND, Director-at-Large (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico)
Jiménez is a public health dietitian and currently works at Head Start/Early Head Start Quintana Baptist Church, providing nutrition-related services and education to program participants, families and staff.
Sherri Jones, MS, MBA, RDN, LDN, FAND, House of Delegates Director (Wexford, Pennsylvania)
Jones was a clinical nutrition manager for 13 years before transitioning into quality improvement in 2012 and earning her Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality national certification in 2020. She was formerly the quality manager at UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside.
Young Hee Kim, MS, RD, LDN, CNSC, FAND, House of Delegates Director (Windsor Locks, Connecticut)
Kim most recently worked as a clinical nutrition manager from 2012 to 2023 at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Marcy Kyle, RDN, LD, FAND, Foundation Chair (Rockport, Maine)
Kyle provides nutrition counseling via telehealth for the diabetes management and nutrition programs at Eastport Health Care (EHC), a Federally Qualified Health Center in rural Maine, and nutrition education for Penobscot Bay YMCA and EHC distance Diabetes Prevention Programs.
Ainsley Malone, MS, RDN, LD, FAND, Past Speaker (New Albany, Ohio)
Malone is a clinical practice specialist with the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition.
Patty Riskind, MBA, Public Member (Chicago)
Riskind is a healthcare technology leader and most recently served as the chief executive officer and is now the board chair of Orbita.
Christina Rollins, MBA, MS, RD, LD, FAND, Treasurer-elect (Rochester, Illinois)
Rollins is the owner of Rollins Nutrition, LLC. She is also the finance administrator in the Department of Surgery at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.
Nina Roofe, PhD, RDN, LD, FAND, Speaker (Conway, Arkansas)
Roofe is the assistant vice president for Family and Consumer Sciences at the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service in Little Rock, Ark.
Tracy Wilczek, MS, RDN, LDN, FAND, House of Delegates Director (Boston)
Wilczek is a regional wellness director with FLIK Hospitality in Boston.
Lauri Wright, PhD, RDN, LDN, FAND, Past President (Tampa, Florida)
Wright is an associate professor and the director of nutrition programs at the University of South Florida's College of Public Health.
Krista Yoder, MPH, RDN, LDN, FAND, Past Treasurer (Miami Beach, Florida)
Yoder is the chief operating officer of Eat Ahara®.
Wylecia Wiggs Harris, PhD, CAE, Chief Executive Officer (Chicago)
Harris has oversight of all entities under the Academy's umbrella and is also the chief executive officer of the Academy's Foundation.
Representing more than 112,000 credentialed nutrition and dietetics practitioners, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is the world's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow us on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.