Amy Reed, MS, RD, CSP, LD

Parents have the responsibility to feed and nurture a child for 18 years and if we have more educational supports available to educate families on feeding maybe the rate of chronic disease will eventually decrease because we have treated it on the front end. Registered Dietitians need to be leaders in teaching all families how to feed and nuture their children for a healthy future. It would be great if everyone were entitled to see a dietitian yearly (kind of like for a nutrition check-up) to see what is going well and what could be improved. The way the current system works patients are referred to dietitians when there is a problem and it would be nice to have a more proactive approach.

Kirsten Screen, MPH, RD, LD

I am part coach, part cheerleader, part counselor, part accountability committee, part myth buster…I try very much to meet each client where he or she needs me. What I mean is, for some clients I provide a step-by-step plan on what they should tackle – because that is what those clients need. For others I’m more of a sounding board. It just depends on what is needed!

Erica Julson, MS, RDN, CLT

I just want other dietitians to know that it’s okay to be different & follow your heart with your career path. If you don’t like a certain area, like say, clinical or food service, then don’t do it! Lean into what you enjoy and what you’re naturally good at. Play to those strengths & start setting yourself apart. The world is your oyster, and your career options are only limited by your own imagination.

Monique Piderit, RD (SA)

The best part of being a dietitian is how the days and weeks vary so greatly. I generally spend a few days a week at the practice touching base with patients, mixed up with consulting for industry, corporate work such as canteen audits and nutrition assessments for employee wellness, consumer education with nutrition workshops and presentations, managing media requests, and now and then some more academic writing and literature reviews.

Jonathan Valdez, MBA, RDN, CSG, CDN, CCM, ACE-CPT

What are you passionate about in dietetics?

The growing job opportunities, the various areas a RDN can work, and that the respect for our knowledge is growing (I wish it was faster).

Brianna Fear-Keen, APD

Wow, there are so many things that come to mind but I think the one thing I’d really like to see in years to come is ensuring that there are opportunities for everyone who wants to be a dietitian to utilise their skills so they can be the dietitian they want to be. That new grads don’t have to keep their job that got them through university but that they can get out there and start using their skills, that dietitians stuck in jobs they don’t enjoy have the freedom to pursue a different avenue within our profession. I want every person who wants to be a dietitian to be able to do exactly what makes their heart sing so they can have the most rewarding career of their life.

interviews