I’m excited for a new academic year to begin! First, a welcome to all incoming students: we are so happy that you chose to come to the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. And welcome back to all of the returning students—I’m eager to see you all again. To all students, please come talk to me if you have any questions or concerns about the program or your experiences in it – don’t hesitate to send an email or stop by my office in WBOB if you see an open door. It is a pleasure to expand my faculty role in service as the director of the Community Health Promotion Program. As part of the program curriculum, I teach a course that addresses intervention approaches to weight-related health and eating disorders; this class is open to other graduate students and is a great way to have an interdisciplinary experience in the classroom. I also teach two courses on social and behavioral sciences in public health for non-CHP students. My research focuses on three primary content areas in the broader domain of weight and health-related behaviors: a) weight tracking and technology, b) weight control intervention development, and c) public health messages and health behavior recommendations. I advise students with a broad range of interests, in support of their program goals. 

As the Chair for Maternal and Child Health (MCH) masters degree program in public health (MPH), I am thrilled that you have selected to enter our MPH program here at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. Our program is one of the few programs specifically focused on MCH in United States. We have a strong history of MCH research and teaching at the University of Minnesota which continues today with vibrant activities focused on advancing the health of women, children, fathers and families. We are proud to be involved with the MCH community working to promote the health and well-being of women, children, youth and families, including fathers and children with special health needs. We are committed both to the training of new leaders for MCH through our current degree programs, as well as outreach to professionals in the community who are serving MCH populations. Our Center for Leadership Education in Maternal and Child Public Health is dedicated to strengthening and expanding the MCH workforce by training graduate students in MCH, and to advance MCH science, research, practice, and policy through a well-trained MCH public health workforce.  We work with a superb group of faculty, students, and MCH staff here within the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health at the University of Minnesota, as well as with outstanding MCH professionals in the community–including MCH Program alumni. 

Welcome to the program! I could not be more thrilled to be the new Public Health Nutrition CMP Director! While I am new in this position, I am not new to nutrition and am excited to be able to lead each CMP cohort to an exciting and successful career in public health nutrition. As the CMP director, I am here to guide your experience. I will see you each Fall and Spring semester in a course called Independent (or Directed) Studies. There are a variety of topics covered in the 2 years but basically, this course is about professionalism in dietetics. Each of your supervised practice experiences is official courses and I lead those as well. I have many years of being a community and clinical dietitian, I have my certification in obesity and weight management and have loved practicing nutrition counseling and teaching in group settings, and communicating to the public. I have my MPH degree from SPH, standard track of Public Health Nutrition, so I know what it is like to be a student and have taken many of the courses. The enriching experiences throughout this program will help shape your future work and I get to be part of that. I look forward to meeting you!