Samantha M. Coogan, MS, RDN, CSSD, LD, FAND, is our member spotlight for January. In 2019, she was awarded the Emerging Dietetic Leader award from AND and was then made a fellow of AND. She is described as nurturing, driven, and having a strong desire to see people grow and better themselves.

Sam is the DPD director at UNLV and is a sports dietitian by trade.  Sam has been a member of NvAND/its predecessor since 2010. She jumped right into the top of the leadership chain and served as President Elect, President, and Past President without serving any other board positions. Sam does recommend that members do try to serve some other position first before the president positions just to get your feet wet. Sam did enjoy her time as President because she grew so much as a leader and communicator. As President, she learned she had to delegate in order to get everything done. She feels it did make her a better leader not only for NvAND but also in her job as program director. Sam also liked being able to see what she had accomplished the following year as Past President and see things she had started be built upon.

Samantha reports she owes a lot of here career to UNLV. She stepped on campus in 2007 where she earned her Bachelor and Master’s degree and completed her dietetic internship. In 2011 she became a grad assistant, and eventually transitioned into the role of DPD director in 2016. She really enjoys being DPD director because she can bring the perspective of a former student who saw what worked or what did not work so well and has been able to make changes to the program based on this. It is a unique perspective because now as a faculty member, she can see the same stresses that her students are going through. She can connect with them really well because she had the same wins and losses. Plus, she is now getting to work with people she was previously under as a student. She reports it was a nice transition from student to colleague. She feels many students can appreciate this journey since so many students from UNLV were born and raised here in Las Vegas. This shows you do not have to branch out and move away from the state to be successful. Sam also likes seeing the “lightbulb” go on when she explains a concept to students and they all of a sudden get the whole picture.

Samantha feels she makes a difference as an RD to her students by being very transparent which makes her approachable not only while they are students but once they become RDs as well.

Communicating better is the most important skill Sam says she has developed. Sticking to rules she had set is one of the biggest lessons Sam learned as an instructor. She discovered that when she would be flexible or cave on a deadline, the students were not appreciative because it does not reward the students who submitted their work on time.

Getting involved as much as you can is Sam’s advice for students. The more that you get involved, the more comfortable you will feel in your internship. Sam shared that she was afforded many opportunities like becoming a fellow of AND by getting involved. Becoming a fellow of the Academy has opened a lot of doors and elevated her position as an expert in the field which would not have been possible without leadership experience, though she does say that serving as a president role was not required for this.  
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In her spare time Sam likes to listen to metal music, work out, watch movies, and appreciate tattoo art. 

Dr. Jamie Benedict was nominated for a Member Spotlight for her contributions to Nevada’s SNAP-Ed program, demonstrating care for the community, and serving as a mentor to students. She is described as researcher, educator, and compassionate. Dr. Benedict has been a member of the state organization since 1990 and at one point was the President of the Northern chapter.

Dr. Benedict has served various roles during her career at the University of Nevada Reno as she has been there since 1990. She is currently the Chair of the Department of Nutrition, she has also had roles as the director of the DPD program, the director of the nutrition graduate program, and the state nutrition extension specialist. Dr. Benedict reflects that she has liked each of the roles as they allowed her to develop different skills and focus on different areas.

During her tenure as Nevada’s state extension specialist, Dr. Benedict was awarded a contract from the USDA to create the foundation for Nevada’s first Food Stamp Nutrition Education Plan (SNAP-Ed). Dr. Benedict states that the growth of this program is the direct result of dietitians, nutrition educators, administrators, and others throughout Nevada’s communities. She states she is inspired by her colleague’s creativity, perseverance, and is honored she can continue to be a small part of this.

Dr. Benedict would like to think that she makes it easier for people to achieve a healthy diet and hopes she has accomplished this through education including the education of future health professionals but also through her advocacy work in regards to school wellness policies and the development of Nevada’s SNAP-Ed program.

Dr. Benedict states that there are so many wonderful aspects about working in an academic setting so she narrowed now her favorites to three things.

1. Working with the students. Seeing them grow, develop, and overcome obstacles to achieve their career goals is very rewarding and inspiring. Dr. Benedict also likes how she will go out into the community and see many former students that have blossomed into effective dietetic professionals.  
2. Being surrounded by colleagues and leaders who are passionate about their work and always striving for excellence which cannot help but inspire you to try and do better every day.
3. The seemingly infinite number of opportunities to grow and develop as an educator, mentor, nutrition professional, and now as an administrator. Dr. Benedict states she feels blessed for being afforded so many opportunities at UNR and for the state of Nevada.

Dr. Benedict’s advice to students which can also apply to current RDs is to seize every opportunity to get involved with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics at your local, state, and national level. One way to ensure you have opportunities is to get involved.  

Dr. Benedict has never regretted changing her major in college from geology to nutrition. She says it was the best the best thing she ever did. She is so pleased with her environment, opportunities, and the people she has met. “You can’t beat it.” 

In her spare time, Dr. Benedict likes to spend time outside with her children and avid outdoorsman husband such as skiing, hiking. In her alone time, she likes to create new recipes, listen to music, and enjoy the quiet.

Darlene Dougherty, MS, RD, FAND is a 50-year member of AND who has had a diverse and involved career and is still actively practicing in dietetics. She is a former AND President, was the dietetic internship at the University of California San Francisco where she enjoyed teaching and training students, has conducted mock Joint Commission surveys across the country where she was able to test if what is taught in school is effective in practice while also assisting facilities in preparing for actual surveys, and has worked in business and industry markets such as Campbells, Kellogg's, EcoLab, General Mills, and Jack in the Box. Darlene was hired for her current position 16 years ago at a critical access facility after she conducted a mock survey. She has now completed 2 complete Joint Commission surveys at that site. Darlene has served on NvANDs Political Action Committee and as Newsletter Editor. Darlene enjoyed her time volunteering and serving on various boards throughout her career and now likes to support other younger members taking on their own leadership positions.
 She is described as interesting, engaging, and involved. Darlene was nominated for a member spotlight due to her efforts not only as a former Academy president but also because of her role in helping to create and market Campbells Special Request soup line. Darlene fondly reflects that she worked with 2 other RDs on this project to try and reduce sodium in Campbell's soups so they could market to hospitals and patients. Barriers that had to be overcome during this project were determining if people really believed the soup had less sodium, if there was less sodium, did the lower-sodium version have a flavor that was at all palatable, and would it work in healthcare as well as retail markets. To test and overcome these barriers and questions, Darlene helped set up tasting samples, many in hospitals to allow RDs, MD, and nurses to become familiar with the soups. They also participated in a lot of trade shows. Darlene herself was the West Coast Representative so her role was in leadership and administration where she staffed the sample projects and trade shows and reported back their findings to Campbells. The Special Request soup line remains on the market today. Darlene also helped create Healthy Choice from ConAgra where she did the introduction kick-off for this product into the market. Darlene says she had so much fun working in this setting for a third of her career. Darlene stated that with any retail introduction of products to the market there was always the need to educate the population and media as to what the product was trying to accomplish. Overcoming the dietetic community's opinions about foods, whether it was for a particular product or even in other roles she has had in management, is always a challenge since students and RDs all have their own opinions about foods.

 Darlene is getting ready to move out of state, but in her spare time she likes to travel, collect antiques, and bowl.

Darlene says she is a “butterfly lady” because “without change we would not have butterflies and so I enjoy change and the result of that change being butterflies”.