 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”.
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 Jessica Enders RD, LDN, has been a member of NvAND since she moved to Nevada seven years ago. Jessica was nominated by multiple of her peers as a dietitian who makes a difference. She is reported as working on the frontline of counseling children with obesity and depression and being seen as a comfort for the parents of these children. She is described as engaged, passionate, and understanding. Jessica is the director of the Healthy Hearts Program and the Children’s Heart Center in Las Vegas. Healthy Hearts is a risk reduction program for children with early obesity, pre-diabetes, high cholesterol, high triglycerides, etc. that helps not only the child but also the whole family make healthy changes to help prevent problems in the future. It is a multi-disciplinary program that addresses various aspects affecting the child’s life. Jessica says she is helping families learn how to eat and feel better. This makes her feel like she is making a difference because she is helping with the future. She says one of the best things about being a dietitian is that, ideally, you are helping people find ways to feel better on a day-to-day basis, through nutrition, exercise, and diet. All the different possibilities that RDs have to work in different settings is what Jessica likes best about being a dietitian. For example, Jessica has worked in-patient, out-patient, in a doctors office, in a dialysis clinic. Sometimes dietitians do not realize the wide range of opportunities we have available to us which is one reason why Jessica likes the way dietetic internships are set up because you get to go to so many sites as an intern and discover opportunities you may have never even considered a RD being a part of. Being a part of organizations such as NvAND really helps identify and discover many opportunities that are out there in Jessica’s opinion. In her spare time Jessica works with her husband at their new dog boarding business in Henderson. She also likes to travel, read, watch Netflix, and play with her animals.  Dr. Nancy Collins is a wound care certified Registered Dietitian (RD) with a varied and robust nutrition practice. Dr. Collins has been a member of NvAND since she moved to Las Vegas 10 years ago. Prior to relocating, Dr. Collins resided in Florida where she held volunteer positions for over 25 years including President of the Florida Dietetic Association, chair of the Nutrition Entrepreneurs dietetic practice group, delegate in the House of Delegates, and many more. Here in Nevada, Dr. Collins has assisted in planning the annual meeting, was the newsletter editor for three years, and participated with several committees. Dr. Collins was nominated for this spotlight for always offering to help others in addition to being very particular and doing things well. She is described as influential, entrepreneurial, and daring. Dr. Collins built a large entrepreneurial practice over the past 30 years. Dr. Collins’ main priority is helping to heal patients, most of which have a chronic wound. Most commonly, these wounds are from a recent surgery, an accident or other trauma, diabetes, or a pressure injury. Dr. Collins’ practice also has a medical malpractice component. Dr. Collins has served as an expert witness in over 500 legal matters in which an RD has been implicated in negligence, medical malpractice, or wrongful death suits. Dr. Collins also authors and publishes professional articles for peer-reviewed journals and textbooks and is a highly sought-after speaker for professional conferences. In addition, she is a current member of the Board of Directors of the American Professional Wound Care Association, a board member of Wound Care Gurus, an editorial board member for the journal Wound Management and Prevention, and the Academy representative to the Alliance of Wound Care Stakeholders. This involves many hours of volunteer work but Dr. Collins enjoys it and states that she likes to give back to the profession. Dr. Collins was also the founder of the website Nutrition411, which was often referred to as the “google of dietetics and nutrition.” She reports her greatest accomplishment was starting a website from nothing, building it up, and later being able to sell it to a multi-national corporation. Creating something that others thought had that much value was certainly an accomplishment for her. When asked what the most important skill Dr. Collins has developed, she stated she is not sure it is a skill but that she is often described as “intense.” She states that she is a little easier going now and has mellowed with age. Dr. Collins states that her most rewarding experience came from serving as president of the Florida Dietetic Association. She was able to accomplish many of the things she aspired to during her term, felt she was a good leader, and was able to have a lot of fun while helping the Association have a successful fiscal year. She remembers she enjoyed being president so much that at the end-of-the-year banquet with several hundred Florida colleagues present, she closed her term by wishing she could be president for a full 4-year term just like the President of the US. It was that much fun! In her spare time, Dr. Collins has various hobbies including sight-seeing and seeing shows in Las Vegas, playing video poker, and collecting Barbie and other fashion dolls. NvAND strived to make a difference in the 2020-2021 year. During this time, we were able to spotlight 13 members who truly make a difference to their clients, co-workers, interns, community, and state. Here is a recap of the 13 members spotlighted during the last year:
Do you know a fellow professional who makes a difference? Please email Newsletter@EatRightNevada.org or click here to nominate a member for a future spotlight.
Reily McKinnis, MS, RD Newsletter Editor  Wendy Corkrum was awarded the Outstanding Dietetic Student Award from NvAND for her academic achievement, dedication to learning, and professional potential. Wendy just graduated from UNR and is excited to start her dietetic internship in August at UNR. Wendy is described as intelligent, passionate, and driven. Wendy was very active throughout her undergraduate career. She worked at Washoe County School District as a Nutrition Service Worker and Northern Nevada Medical Center as a Dietary Aid. She has volunteered with the Northern Nevada Food Bank, Harvest Nevada which is a local gleaning project, and Tack Provisions which is a campus program that addresses student food security issues and addresses other basic needs such as hygiene and school supply needs. This past year Wendy served as Vice-President to the UNR Student Nutrition Association. Wendy believes you can make a difference in anyone’s life by listening to them and providing them positive encouraging support. Wendy hopes she was able to make a difference to fellow students by providing them with support and plans to continue doing this as a future RDN. Wendy plans on providing clients with sound scientifically proven advice and provide them with perspectives and tools to help them lead their healthiest lives possible. Wendy hopes she will be able to influence people’s lives at a more individual and personal level. Wendy shared that her passion to become a RDN has evolved from her own personal struggles with her weight. During her pregnancy and the following months after the birth of her son, Wendy says she gained a significant amount of weight and found it a struggle to keep up with the demands of being a new mother. Wendy decided to focus on her health, modify her diet and the foods she had been consuming and by eventually making changes and incorporating exercise into her life she was able to lose the weight she had gained. Wendy wants to help other individuals who are overweight or struggling to manage chronic conditions by improving their habits which she feels in the long run will help improve their health and quality of life. The most rewarding experience Wendy said she has is meeting and forming relationships with some truly amazing individuals, from faculty to other community members to students. She has been really impressed with the genuine and professional interactions that she has encountered throughout school. She says she respects these individuals and is really excited she will get to possibly interact with many of them in a career setting in the near future. Wendy wanted to also share that she has a passion for supporting breastfeeding mothers and she has a desire to provide them and their infants with a successful and enjoyable breastfeeding experience so she does have future plans to become a certified lactation consultant which she will use alongside her RN credential. In her spare time, Wendy likes to garden, preserving the harvest, and cooking the foods she has grown. Wendy said her hobbies have contributed to her enthusiasm for nutrition and given her additional relevant skills that she will be able to use as a future practicing RD. Question of the Month: If you could go anywhere to dinner tonight, where would you go? The French Laundry in Napa. Wendy’s husband is a huge foodie and that is somewhere he has always wanted to eat and I would live to be able to take him there and make his day,  Sally has been a preceptor for the past 14 years and has precepted and mentored almost 65 dietetic interns! Sally was recently awarded the Outstanding Preceptor Award from the Academy. Sally is 1 of only 7 preceptors selected nationwide for this honor. Click here to read more about this award. Sally is described as dedicated, loyal, and pragmatic. Sally is a clinical nutrition manager at University Medical Center in Las Vegas. She has been contracted in foodservice management for over 39 years, primarily through Compass Group. Sally started working at UMC in 2014 when the dietitians were just beginning to use electronic health records. In Sally words she was sent to UMC to be a “cheerleader” to help guide the RDs into the transition from paper hard charts to electronic health records. She reports she was sent due to her previous experience with technology in a former role. She recounts that the temporary cheerleading job transitioned into a permanent position at UMC. Some previous experience in business and industry include directing food service in businesses industries such as Automaker Plant, schools and colleges, and summer camps. Before UMC, Sally worked at Eisenhower Medical Center in California which is where she began precepting in 2007. Sally shares she would never have been able to help these many interns without a very dedicated staff of RDs. The team of RDs that Sally leads each spends 1 week with clinical interns to introduce them and explore the specialty that dietitians focus on in his or her daily work. Sally makes a difference as a dietitian through her professionalism and work ethic. These traits serve as a role model for anyone that has spent time with Sally. Sally makes a difference as a preceptor through her passion for the profession which inspires interns to “strive to make the best better”. She always has time for intern’s questions, concerns, fears, and accomplishments. Sally states she is known for setting the bar high and most interns strive to pass the bar. The variety is what Sally likes best about being a preceptor. She says that each intern is unique and it is always a new experience with each day, you never know what is going to unfold. Sally’s advice for RDs who want to precept is that you need to have a lot of energy, time, and patience. She goes on to say that you have to be a great motivator, because you are truly modeling the future of our profession. Preceptors need to build a relationship with each intern so you are able to understand them and bring out their assets and help them build upon things they need to grow on. Sally advises future and current interns to find a mentor in the profession and be open to their guidance, helpful tips, and perhaps spend some time building a friendship with that person. In her spare time Sally likes to travel around the world, enjoys fine foods, and during her travels Sally collects beads and stones which she ultimately designs into jewelry. Question of the Month: What is an unusual food pairing you love? Avocado and beets, or hot tamale peeps and TAB soft drink  Debbie Klein is an RD who has worked at Renown Hospital in Reno for the last 22 years. Debbie has been a member of NvAND for 24 years. Debbie has served multiple positions on the NvAND board which she reflects was a most valuable experience. Debbie served as Public Policy Chair for 6 years, then served as President-Elect/President/Past-President for NvAND. Debbie was nominated for her nurturing nature to new RDs and assisting interns with entry into the field, her obvious love for her complex career in the ICU, and for being a great example of daily passion for her job. She is described as energetic, inspiring, and dedicated. Working in the Trauma Unit at Renown as a critical care RD inspired Debbie to become specialized in her field and she became certified as a Clinical Nutrition Support RD and has also been a member of ASPEN. Debbie states that she is passionate about what she does and the way in which she does it. Integrating into a team and bringing new ideas for the good of the team as well as the patients is one way Debbie makes a difference as an RD. Debbie explained that she is very forward thinking and serves as an agent for change and progress. Debbie reflects that she has had the opportunity to gather ideas through attending conferences and leadership conferences while serving the Academy that she was able to bring back and introduce at her hospital to bring forth new ideas and policy change. The most important skill Debbie feels she has developed as a clinical RD and serving a role in public policy is the confidence that she is a nutrition expert. As a young RD Debbie felt she lacked the confidence to speak up. She explains that when she became Public Policy Chair of NvAND she knew nothing about public policy. This did not stop her from taking the position and going to Washington DC every year. This experience allowed her to build her confidence as a nutrition expert because she was promoting nutrition knowledge to people who did not know about nutrition. This served as a confidence booster for her. She says this also translates to her job in the hospital as she continues to be the nutrition expert for others who do not know about nutrition. Reflecting on her career Debbie confesses she has had many memorable and rewarding experiences and could not narrow it down to just one. Debbie listed the following: gaining self confidence as a young RD, initiating policy change in the hospital she works, having a conversation with a MD that lead to a hospital policy change, introducing the concept of RD involvement in bedside feeding tube placement and resulting policy change, her experience serving on the NvAND board was a time of growth both personally and professionally as it allowed her to make many life-long friendships that continue today while being active in NvAND, learning during her time as Public Policy Chair, attending leadership classes which produced changes in both her personal and professional life, she is proud to have been involved introducing the idea for dietitian licensure in the state of Nevada while she was serving as President-Elect and working as part of a great team where she learned on mean different levels, and she is glad she came up with the idea to hire NvAND’s first professional website designer and first administrative aid. Debbie loves to spend time with her family and friends which she has missed over the last year and also likes hike, bike, and travel. Question of the Month: Sweet, Salty, or Sour? I love the sweet and salty combination, it makes my taste buds go wild!  Allison Schnitzer has been a member since 2010. She served on the board from 2017-2019 as the State Policy Representative as part of the Public Policy Team. During that time, she worked on SB95 which successfully allowed for order writing privileges for RDs in hospitals. Alison was nominated for her work as a driving force to get SB95 to pass, is a person who puts herself out there to make a difference, works diligently to produce healthy options in the community, and always provides assistance to any challenge to collaborate on a solution. Allison is described as compassionate, sarcastic, and supportive. Allison is excited to see the Nevada RD community growing and thinks it is great for the community and state. She completed her undergraduate and dietetic internship at UNLV. Dietetics is a second career path for Allison. Before becoming an RD she obtained her English degree and worked in book publishing for 8 years in New York City. Allison has worked at the Southern department Health District in the Chronic Disease and Health Promotion Office for the past 5 years as a public health dietitian. Her office receives grants that strive to promote a food environment in which it is easy to make healthy food choices and make access to food more equitable. Allison reports that depending on where a person lives, their income, and ethnic profile, and access to healthy foods can vary widely. Her work aims to increase access to healthy food for all. Allison makes a difference as an RD because she works closely with the community and tackles big issues happening in the community. Right now, she is working with food pantries which allows her to see what is going on in the community, what they need, and what they struggle with. Allison finds it rewarding to react to whatever is going on in the world at any given moment as a community RD. Allison has her own equivalent of a clinical IDT team, she explains she works with a city planner, RTC, business owners, school administrators, food pantries, etc. She loves going into these spaces to aid in making positive changes. Due to the pandemic Allison has worked from home most of the past year. Allison explains the pandemic has impacted her job greatly because she works closely with community partners and grants and the priority and focus of many business and community partners has understandable shifted over the past year. Trying to be flexible and refocusing her work as much as possible while still accomplishing the objectives and meeting the partners changing needs has been a challenge since the pandemic started requiring constant shifting and adjusting. She also explains that some grants are planned a year in advance and not knowing what next year is going to look like makes it difficult to estimate the needs. Allison finds it rewarding to work with children and children’s health. She has gone to elementary schools and worked closely with schools to make positive changes to promote healthier nutrition and physical activity which will impact a large number of students. She enjoys working on various work groups and task forces as a team to set and accomplish goals. Allison likes being a community dietitian because it allows you to do a variety of things and makes a large impact, not to mention you can really go in any direction with community nutrition. It allows you to work in almost any realm, in any environment, with almost any partner. Allison actively promotes community nutrition as a career path. In her free time, Allison loves to cook and talk to others about cooking and food. She reports especially during COVID she has spent even more time cooking, looking at recipes, and meal planning. She also enjoys Pilates/yoga, spending time with her family, and watching movies. Question of the Month: What is your signature dish? Cashew Cheese. She puts it on everything from quesadillas to homemade potato chips. “Don’t start because you won’t stop!”  Mandisha Waiters RD, LDN was nominated due to her efforts in getting SB95 passed which allowed order writing privileges for RDs in the state of Nevada along with her big heart for the Las Vegas community. She is described as open, outgoing, and driven. Mandi joined NvAND as an undergrad student about 10 years ago. She has served as the Public Policy Coordinator from 2017-2019. Mandisha currently works at Aid for AIDS of Nevada (AFAN) as a community dietitian providing medical nutrition therapy to patients living with HIV and AIDS. Mandi also works part time as a clinical dietitian at Spring Valley Hospital. She reports she likes having multiple things on her plate to find new things she enjoys. She confesses she feels antsy only having one job or project. Mandi makes a difference by making healthy eating and wellness accessible to everybody. A common concern she gets is how to afford eating and living healthy. Mandi loves teaching people how to eat within this budget and emphasizes that they do not have to overhaul their life or buy anything special. She looks at the items they are already buying and finds a healthier version that does not have a big price difference. Mandi works with a diverse population and says that if you have never been exposed to a setting with low income, poverty-stricken people, you would not necessarily see that in your day-to-day and understand how to address that aspect of food insecurity with people. A lack of diversity in dietetics and the state leads to a lack of opportunity to receive training, especially as a student, to understand how to interact with a person different from yourself. If you are working at a hospital, you typically do not ask about food security or housing stability or anything that happens outside the hospital so you never learn how to address what happens outside the hospital setting. She goes on to say that this a big aspect that is missing during internships and it does not come with any age, race, ethnicity, or creed it is just understanding a different walk of life to be able to better help a person in a different socioeconomic bubble. Mandisha was very modest and humble of her efforts and her role as Public Policy coordinator when asked to expand on her efforts getting SB95 passed. Mandi reports Allison Schnitzer was the hero of getting SB95 passed and that the stars aligned after being in the right place at the right time. This is despite Mandi explaining that testimony was required and well as consulting with the Academy multiple times. While Mandisha is proud of her role in getting SB95 passed and obtaining order writing privileges for RDs, she feels it is not her greatest accomplishment since it left some NV RDs out in the cold, like community and private practice RDs. Mandi realizes it was a great thing and that not everyone can always benefit but knows it is still a struggle for other RDs in the state. Mandisha loves to cook and would like to attend Culinary School with a focus on baking. She loves to share her food with others. She also enjoys playing Call of Duty on the PlayStation with her partner which is a nightly routine. Mandi shared that she has been a person who has been impacted by breast cancer and implores members to check themselves monthly for breast cancer, as early detection is the key to survival. Question of the Month:What did you eat routinely as a family growing up? BBQ, in particular, brisket. My family is from Mesquite, Texas so all family events had brisket and I have come to always look forward to it at family functions.  Kate Gardner Burt, PhD, RD is an assistant professor and Undergraduate Program Director of the Dietetics, Foods, and Nutrition Program at Lehman College, City University of New York. Dr. Burt is a registered dietitian and culinary nutritionist who teaches courses in cultural humility and foodways and professional practice. Her research broadly aims to reduce racial and ethnic inequities in dietetics and food systems. Within this scope, Dr. Burt’s recent work focuses on unveiling systemic racial bias in the profession and in our dietary recommendations. She received her BS in film and television from Boston University and her MS in exercise physiology and nutrition, RD and PhD in food and nutrition policy from Teachers College, Columbia University.
Register for our annual conference to hear an amazing presentation given by Dr. Burt! |
NvANDSupporting Nevada Nutrition Professionals Archives
September 2021
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