Speakers and Presentation Summaries
Isobel Contento, Ph.D., professor of nutrition education at Teachers College of Columbia University; author of Nutrition Education: Linking Research, Theory, and Practice.
Designing Effective Nutrition Education: Linking Research, Theory and Practice
The presentation will describe how research and theory can be very practical in helping us to design programs that facilitate healthful choices as well as supportive environments and
policy.
Biosketch: Isobel Contento, Ph.D., CDN is Mary Swartz Rose Professor of Nutrition Education at Teachers College Columbia University. She has a bachelor's degree from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. Her research focuses on factors influencing food choice, particularly among children and adolescents, and the development and evaluation of school-based programs that link science education and nutrition literacy to increase an understanding of food and food systems and seek to reduce the risk of obesity in youth through healthful food and activity choices. Dr. Contento is particularly interested in the use of theory and research evidence to design nutrition education programs. She has published numerous articles and book chapters, and has served on the editorial boards of several journals as well as on the Board of Directors of the Society for Nutrition Education. She has been a member of several national advisory committees including the committee of the Institute of Medicine that produced Nutritional Standards for Food in Schools. Her textbook, Nutrition Education: Linking Research, Theory and Practice, was published in 2007.
Sharon (Shelly) Nickols-Richardson, Ph.D., RD, Department of Nutritional Sciences, Penn State; consultant for the book Dietary Reference Intakes: The Essential Guide to Nutrient Requirements.
Dietary Reference Intakes: Nutrition Policy with a Purpose for People
Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) serve as fundamental recommendations for healthy individuals, groups, and communities and are used as a basis for establishing nutrition
policy. This presentation will explore the process and challenges in establishing DRI values and provide an example of nutrient recommendations undergoing review.
Biosketch: Sharon M. (Shelly) Nickols-Richardson received her bachelor of science degree in food, nutrition, and institution administration from Oklahoma State University and completed a dietetic internship at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas, Texas. She earned master of science and doctor of philosophy degrees in foods and nutrition at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. Dr. Nickols-Richardson was an assistant professor in the Department of Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise at Virginia Tech until December 2006. She is currently an associate professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at Penn State, where she directs the Bone Metabolism, Osteoporosis, and Nutrition Evaluation Laboratory. She teaches in the areas of community nutrition and nutrition across the life span and was awarded the 2006 Early Career Excellence in Teaching Award from the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research. She is a member of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of Health and Human Services.
Claudia Probart, Ph.D., RD, Department of Nutritional Sciences, Penn State; researcher in school wellness policies, and nutrition and health communication for special populations.
Changing the School Wellness Environment to Prevent Childhood Obesity
This presentation will provide an overview of the "revolution" in school wellness environments created by the 2004 legislation requiring every school district in the nation to develop
policies related to addressing childhood obesity. The results of research in Pennsylvania schools related to the development and implementation of these local wellness policies will be
presented.
Biosketch: Dr. Claudia Probart received her doctorate in nutrition from the University of Oregon, Corvallis. She has thirty years of experience providing clinical, school, and community nutrition education. For the past fourteen years, Dr. Probart has served as PI on Project PA, a statewide school food service training project that is collaboration between Penn State and the state Department of Education (PDE). Funding for Project PA has been provided by both the PDE and the USDA. Her research interests include psychosocial aspects of food decision-making behavior, nutrition and health marketing theory and practice, gender issues in consumer nutrition behavior, nutrition and health communication for special population groups, and worksite nutrition intervention for cancer risk reduction. Current research projects are related to studying the development and effectiveness of school local wellness policies.
Robin Rifkin, M.S., program manager of Health Promotion Council, Philadelphia; nutrition educator and consultant for City Harvest and Eat.Right.Now.
Simple and Direct: How to Make Nutrition Messages Clear and Appropriate
Who is your audience and what do you want to teach them? It doesn't matter if your target audience reads at a sixth or twelfth grade level; as nutritionists we want our clients to
understand how nutrition impacts their life, and to use skills to eat healthier. This session reviews how health literacy research, and a little common sense, can improve our nutrition
education efforts.
Biosketch: Robin Rifkin is a nutritionist and program manager at Health Promotion Council (HPC) in Philadelphia, where she set up and managed a number of programs, including the HPC's Eat.Right.Now subcontract for the School District of Philadelphia, and the nutrition education component for Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's City Harvest Program. Ms. Rifkin's diverse experiences include directing a nutrition education program, working on farmers' market nutrition education, authoring three cookbooks, operating a cooking school, and creating nutrition education materials using digital photo receivers, to name a few. She has attended numerous health literacy trainings over the years and was certified at the Healthy Literacy Institute in Maine. She holds an M.S. in food science and nutrition from Drexel University.
Vonda Fekete, M.S., RD, LDN, state director of child nutrition programs, Pennsylvania Department of Education.
Child Nutrition Programs in Pennsylvania: Challenges and Opportunities
Federal child nutrition program requirements will be described, linking policy with program objectives. Opportunities to support child nutrition programs by creating healthier
environments for children will be explored.
Biosketch: Vonda Fekete received a bachelor of science in food service management from East Stroudsburg University. She continued her education by earning an M.S. degree in human nutrition and RD from West Virginia University. Vonda practiced as a dietitian in clinical settings working with long term care, acute care, and sub acute care. Her community experience includes outpatient counseling and working with low income expectant mothers. Ms. Fekete started with the Pennsylvania Department of Education in 2002 as a public health consultant where she supervised the School Nutrition Programs for three years prior to being promoted to the state director. In her current position she has oversight of eight federal child nutrition programs and federal and state nutrition education and child nutrition health efforts.
Priscilla Carman, M.Ed, Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy, Penn State
Blaire Toso, Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy, Penn State
An Overview of Literacy Issues in Health Literacy
The presenters will provide an overview of the results of the first-ever national assessment of adults' ability to use their literacy skills in understanding health literacy materials and
forms — the health literacy component of the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (2003). Participants will be encouraged to discuss the assessment's implications for their
work. Teaching strategies and techniques that have been shown to be effective for adults with limited literacy and English language skills will be explored and additional resources
provided.
Biosketches: Priscilla Carman, M.Ed, has worked as a reading specialist at Penn State's Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy for more than eighteen years. She has led five award-winning State Leadership projects funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and has collaborated with numerous state and national agencies and organizations. She has designed and developed curricula and staff development materials for workplace, health, and adult basic education for adults with limited literacy skills. She is currently working with the National Institute for Literacy to identify high quality and evidence-based materials that the public may freely access online. Ms. Carman also coordinates Penn State's America Reads program which hires, trains, and places eligible work-study students to provide literacy and learning support in community programs that serve children.
Blaire Willson Toso coordinates the English Language Acquisition Collection for the National Institute for Literacy and is a literacy specialist for Penn State's Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy and Goodling Institute for Research in Family Literacy. She has developed curricula, taught coursework, and engaged in professional development in the field of English as a Second Language. She has been published on a range of topics such as student leadership, social networks, workforce development, adult literacy, family literacy, and equitable assessment. Ms. Toso is completing her dissertation in the adult education program at Penn State.
