FLORIDA DIVERSITY LEADER IS RECOGNIZED

CHICAGO –Sabrina Candelaria, MPH, RD, LD/N from Miami, Florida has been selected to participate in the American Dietetic Association’s new Diversity Leader Program. This is the first year of the program, which uses a competitive peer review process for selection. Four Diversity Leaders are in this year’s program.

 Candelaria is a pediatric & wellness dietitian at the University of Miami, Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine in Miami, Florida. In her position she provides nutritional evaluation and education for infants, children and adolescents with special health care needs. She also is the first registered dietitian from the facility to participate in a long term nutrition “Tele-Medicine” clinic servicing children and families living in rural, medically underserved areas. ADA’s Diversity Leader Program was established to advance leadership skills of underrepresented groups within the Association and the dietetics profession. ADA’s Strategic Plan calls for serving the needs of a changing demographic group of registered dietitians. This goal provided the impetus to develop the program. “One of the dietetics profession’s strengths is having leaders from a variety of cultural backgrounds that interact with each other and enrich the profession’s knowledge base and the contributions we make to the health of the nation,” said ADA President and registered dietitian Jessie M. Pavlinac. Diversity Leaders will participate in educational and networking opportunities throughout the program year. The inaugural event was ADA’s 2009 Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo, held in Denver, Colo., in October. Diversity Leaders were introduced to ADA’s House of Delegates, where they participated in discussions of health care reform, met with ADA’s president and chief executive officer, and were spotlighted at the annual Presidents’ Lecture. Additional programs throughout the leadership year will feature public policy and advocacy, association programs and activities and diversity issues and planning. The American Dietetic Association is the world’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. ADA is committed to improving the nation’s health and advancing the profession of dietetics through research, education and advocacy. Visit the American Dietetic Association at www.eatright.org.