Leadership

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2022-2023 Leadership Team

Past Chair

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Sharon Meier Lutheran, MSH, RDN, LDN, CLC

Sharon has been a member of the Academy for 31 years and completed her undergraduate work at Iowa State University and graduate work at the University of North Florida.  Sharon has been married for 24 years and has one son who is 16 and works for Duval County Public Schools with special needs children and Compass Group on the weekends in dietary.   Sharon grew up on a 200-acre farm in Iowa and was a third-generation 4-H member who competed in the Pride of Iowa cooking contest.  Attending church and serving others has always been a big part of my life.  Sharon also has own health business for the last six years – Choose Health Today.

Chair

 Vacant

Secretary 

 Vacant

Treasurer

Vacant

House of Delegates MIG Representative

Vacant

Communications Committee Chair

Vacant

Membership Committee Chair

Vacant

Professional Development Committee Co-Chair

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Hiba Hamadeh, MMedSci, RDN, LD

Hiba Hamadeh completed her first undergraduate, as well as Masters of Medical Science (MMedSci) in Human Nutrition degree in the United Kingdom. Her Master’s dissertation titled: “The Effect of Pomegranate Juice on Arterial Stiffness” led to her first scientific publication. After receiving her Master’s, Hiba worked as a licensed nutritionist at a maternity hospital in Abu-Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). During her time in Abu-Dhabi, Hiba also had a leadership role as a dietitian field supervisor in a research study conducted by the University of North Carolina and the UAE University, which was titled “Indoor Air, Health and Nutrition” study. Hiba moved to the US with her husband in 2010 and completed the Commission on Dietetic Registration’s Certificates of Training in Adult, as well as Childhood and Adolescent Weight Management. To fulfill the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ requirements to become a Registered Dietitian (RD) in the US, Hiba completed and thoroughly enjoyed a Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) at the University of North Florida and graduated summa cum laude. She then completed a dietetic internship at Emory University Hospitals in Atlanta, Georgia, where she currently resides with her husband and two children. Hiba later joined the Emory team as a clinical dietitian. She is bilingual in English and Arabic. Hiba is passionate about helping moms in their journey towards health improvement and establishing healthy relationships with food. Hiba has experience working with people of different ages and backgrounds. She now especially enjoys working with moms who will in turn help raise children with healthy relationships with food, and thereby, contribute to improving their overall health and wellbeing.

Professional Development Committee Co-Chair

Mindy Nelkin, D.Be RDN HEC-C

IDEA Liaison

Fathima Mirza

Nominating / Awards Committee Chair

Vacant

Nominating / Awards Committee Member

Vacant

Newsletter Editor

Amna Kashif

Amna feels blessed to be born a Muslim and a member of the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah grant him honour and peace)'s Ummah. It is because of this that she continues to pursue her vision of "contributing to the physical and spiritual development of young females." She believes females are the backbone of our Ummah and the world at large. 

Amna started her professional journey as a Nutritionist in 2005 as an intern in a renowned hospital of Karachi. A couple of years later, she took a break from the clinical practice to focus on family life but remained connected to the profession through regular attendance at the CNEs organized by Pakistan Nutrition and Dietetic Society (PNDS).

In 2007 she became part of the Timelenders (TL) family, a company focused on “helping individuals and organizations develop meaningful existences and life”. This proved to be an important milestone; the training and mentoring programs of TL opened up her eyes to the true value of our profession and the critical role we play in helping our fellow beings reach their true potential.

Alhamdulillah, the year 2011 opened many new avenues; the first of which was clearing the RDN Exam and the launch of her private clinic. This was closely followed by the birth of her first ever article “A Dietitian Today Keeps the Doctor Away” which was an outcome of the mentoring she received as a participant in the “Writing Skills” workshop organized by PNDS. Amna loves writing and is grateful for the opportunity to serve as Newsletter Editor with RMIG Leadership.

Amna became an international member of the Academy and Religion Member Interest Group in 2014 which has played an important role in her continuous growth as a Registered Nutritionist and gave her the chance to contribute to the field with a diverse global audience. 

Newsletter Editor Assistant

Vacant

Communications Committee - Website Coordinator

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Tia Jeffery, PhD, RDN, CHES

Dr. Tia Jeffery is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health, Nursing and Nutrition within the College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability, and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES) at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC). She earned her BS in Dietetics from Oakwood University, MS in Human Ecology with a concentration in Human Nutrition and cognate emphasis in Exercise Science from The Ohio State University and PhD in Public Health from Walden University. She maintains a per diem position with Holy Cross Health System as well. Her clinical practice experiences included positions with Holy Cross Hospital, Bon Secours Baltimore Health System, and renal nutrition with Fresenius Medical Care in California. Further, she has served on Health Ministries teams in her faith community, consulted for the Fit Solution’s fitness initiatives under a Montgomery County grant, contracted for Healing Our Village Inc. diabetes programs, and implemented cooperative extension programs as a project specialist in CAUSES Center for Nutrition, Diet, and Health.

 

Her research and teaching areas include medical nutrition therapy, health promotion in underserved and non-traditional arenas, peer-led service-learning approaches to nutrition education among high school and collegiate student-athletes, health disparities of chronic diseases, and guidelines for healthy eating through culturally relevant lenses among people of color. She has presented her ongoing findings at national/international conferences and authored her work in several peer review publications. Moreover, she currently serves as the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access Liaison for the Maryland State Affiliate of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Lastly, she enjoys media arenas, including her co-hosting role on a Food Jonezi and Friends podcast “Miseducation of Cultural Food” on Spotify, Google, and Apple platforms. She views her path as a fluid journey and remains passionate about the role of nutrition and exercise for healing the mind, body, and spirit.

Communications Committee - Social Media Coordinator

YaQutullah Ibraheem Muhammad MS, RDN, LD, FAC-P/PM

YaQutullah is the owner of Nutrition Prescriptions, LLC, a consulting practice that specializes in weight management, recipe development and analysis, nutrition education, and women’s wellness.

She has completed certificate programs in federal acquisition and program/project management and adult weight management; is a member of the Georgia dietetic association and serves as treasurer, secretary, and social media committee chair for the Religion member interest group. Muhammad earned her Bachelor’s degree in nutrition and Master’s degree in Health Sciences and Nutrition from Georgia State University.

She has written for nutrition-focused magazines, developed curriculum materials for the National VA Whole Health for the Life wellness program, developed recipes and nutrient analysis for a cookbook and is currently writing part of Cultural Food Practices, Second Edition, a publication of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

She has worked in various settings including inpatient clinical, community outpatient, school nutrition, foodservice, WIC community nutrition, and private practice and contract facilities. As a project manager, she manages nutrition wellness-related projects.

YaQutullah has spoken at several conference retreats including women’s health and wellness retreats in Bermuda, facilitated nutrition education workshops and food demos within the community. YaQutullah has also contributed as a freelance writer and recipe developer for the Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America’s Halal Consumer Magazine.

YaQutullah has 11+ years of experience in dietetics and nutrition, working with patients and clients on improving their health outcomes related to diabetes and weight management, cardiac disease, blood pressure and cholesterol management. Yaqutullah utilizes her creative talents in developing and promoting healthy recipes, interactive nutrition education programs.

YaQutullah loves empowering women to learn and apply nutrition into every facet of their lives and to understand the connection between faith, health and wellness.

Networking Liaison with HMA

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Kelly A. Moltzen OFS, MPH, RD

Kelly Moltzen is a tireless advocate of making connections between food, faith, and social justice. In addition to being a co-convener of the Interfaith Public Health Network, Kelly manages a New York State Department of Health-funded Creating Healthy Schools & Communities Program at the Institute for Family Health with the Bronx Health REACH initiative. She has an MPH from NYU, completed her dietetic internship with the James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and has a BS in Nutritional Sciences & Dietetics from the University of Delaware. Kelly was a 2015 Re: Generate Fellow with the Food, Health and Ecological Well-Being Program of Wake Forest University School of Divinity and is a professed member of the Secular Franciscan Order, where she is a member of the Ecumenical/Interfaith Committee for the national U.S. Secular Franciscan fraternity.