Award of Merit

Martha Archuleta, MS, RD, CD

The Award of Merit recognizes a dietitian who has demonstrated leadership and made significant contribution to the profession of dietetics through a variety of avenues. The 2016 recipient of the award exemplifies all of this and more. UAND is pleased to recognize Martha Archuleta.

“Martha has made significant contributions to the scientific knowledge in the field of nutrition, especially by the dissemination of nutrition information through outreach efforts to the community. Martha has co-created a number of successful curricula addressing a wide range of topics from food skills and food safety to obesity prevention presented in the form of newsletters, DVDs, factsheets, and TV shows.” Additionally, she has demonstrated great leadership ad service in her volunteer work including “current and long-standing member of the Utah chapter and national Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics as well as the Society of Nutrition Education and Behavior. She actively reviewed journal articles and meeting abstracts for both of these societies. She has served as the president of the Society for Nutrition Education (2008) and the Foundation of this society in 2010-2012. For these, and many other accomplishments, we are happy to present Martha Archuleta with the Award of Merit.

Emerging Dietetic Leader

Nicole Vance, MS, RD, CD

The Emerging Dietetic Leader Award recognizes the competence and activities of dietitians, regardless of age who have made distinctive contributions early in their dietetics careers. They must have been in practice not less than 5 years and not greater than 10 years. UAND is pleased to recognize Nicole Vance as 2016’s Emerging Dietetic Leader. “From the beginning of her college career, Nicole’s focus in coursework and employment were related to a career in dietetics. Immediately following the completion of a Master’s in Nutrition Science at the University of Utah and receiving her certificate as a Registered Dietitian in 2008, Nicole quickly found employment suitable to her strengths as a registered dietitian in one of her key areas of interest working with children as child Nutrition Specialist with the Utah Office of Education. Her impact as she worked in this role for almost five years was significant as she evaluated and educated many populations on the school meal program regulation. In 2013, Nicole became faculty with the USU Dietetics Distance Internship program. It didn’t take long for her to rise to the top due to her natural leadership skills, organizational skills, and approachability. Just two years after joining the USU Dietetics Distance Internship, Nicole was appointed the director of the program. She has excelled in this position.” “Nicole is an outstanding educator, mentor leader, and promoter of dietetics” and we are excited to present with the Emerging Dietetic Leader award.

Recognized Young Dietitian of the Year

Mateja Savoie-Roskos, MPH, RD, CD, CNP

The recipient of the Recognized Young Dietitian of the Year Award must be a dietitian 35 years of age or younger who has demonstrated leadership qualities and performance in dietetics. The 2016 recipient is Mateja Savoie-Roskos. “Mateja is truly deserving of this award based on her contributions to the profession of dietetics and to health promotion in general very early in her career. The scope of her professional outcomes along with the rapid pace of earning an MPH and a nearly-completed PhD (done simultaneously with full-time employment) are evidence of a hard-driving young woman with an incredible work ethic and time management skills beyond compare.” “Mateja’s accomplishments are far-reaching and impressive. She is a sought-after grant-writer and program evaluation specialist, and her work with farmers’ market incentive programs and research is timely and has provided countless opportunities for service learning and supervised practice for many dietetics students and volunteers. Additionally, she has authored a book chapter in a nutrition textbook, has been a first author for a number of journal articles, and has authored/presented multiple research posters at professional meetings.” These are just a few of the reasons that we are excited to present Mateja Savoie-Roskos with the Recognized Young Dietitian of the Year award.

Award of Recognition

Heidi LeBlanc, MS

The Award of Recognition is given to recognize and thank those individuals or companies who contribute unselfishly to the dietetics profession in Utah. They are not RDs or members of AND, but have demonstrated service to, or promoted the dietetics profession via scientific knowledge, technical skills, legislative action or career opportunities. This year we want to recognize the contribution of Heidi LeBlanc. “The Director of SNAP-Ed, Heidi LeBlanc has a natural ability to find the strengths within her employees, interns, and volunteers to help them achieve success as individuals and as an organization. Heidi has always been generous with her funding and time in support of getting undergraduate and graduate students hands on experience in nutrition education, programming planning and evaluation, curriculum development, and more. Not only has Heidi found ways to provide opportunities for students through supervised practice, volunteer experience, and service learning, but she has also hired numerous students as paid interns to allow for more extensive experience, training, and mentoring.” It is our pleasure to recognize and thank Heidi for her contributions and support of the dietetics profession with the Award of Recognition.

Outstanding Dietetics Student Awards

We are happy to announce the four students who have been selected for Utah’s Outstanding Student Award from AND. Their names with appear in the September issue of the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. They will also receive a congratulatory letter and certificate form the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and a name badge ribbon for use at the AND Annual Meeting. The recipients of this year’s awards are:

1. Coordinated program: Brianne Newton

The outstanding student from a Coordinated Program is Brianne Newton. Brianne is a student in the Coordinated Master’s Program in Dietetics at the University of Utah. She “demonstrated strong communication skills and professionalism, which relate to her work experience as owner and president of SurfSkate Industries and Bachelor of Science degree in marketing and finance. Her professional goals are to work as a Registered Dietitian in an intensive care unit and attain the Certified Nutrition Support Clinician certification.” We want to congratulate Brianne as the

Outstanding Student in a coordinated program.

2. Didactic program: Laycee Mozingo

Lacyee Mozingo is a student at Utah State University and has been chosen as the Outstanding Dietetics Student in a Didactic Program of Dietetics. “She is an excellent student who is at the top of her graduating class. Last spring, she was awarded the Scholar of the Year award in the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences at USU… She is ambitious, organized, and displays excellence in her written and verbal communication.” It is an honor to congratulate her as the Outstanding Dietetic Student in a Didactic Program.

3. Didactic program: Erin Ogden

Erin Ogden is a student at Brigham Young University who is already putting her nutrition knowledge into practice as a Y Be Fit Health Coach. “Her positive and professional demeanor motivates clients to reach their personal goals.” Erin is also an exceptional leader in the Student Dietetic Association and recently organized a service project providing gift bags to participants of a local hospital healthy heart challenge program by soliciting donations, delegating responsibilities, and executing a very successful event.” Congratulations to Erin for being an Outstanding Dietetic Student in a Didactic Program.

4. Internship program: Anneli Robinaugh

Anneli stands out “because of her engagement in the learning process” and has been selected as the Outstanding Dietetic Student in a Dietetic Internship.” Prior to the internship, Anneli completed the DTR exam and worked for two years in the dietetics field. Preceptors and supervisors have commented that Anneli is “passionate, focused and a huge advocate for people and their nutritional well-being” and she can be trusted to “over-deliver on any assignment.” We are happy to recognize Anneli as the Outstanding Dietetic Student in a Dietetic Internship.

UAND Scholarships

UAND is pleased to present $500 scholarships this year to four deserving students.

1. Julia Zalewski

Julia is a student at the University of Utah Coordinated Master’s Program in Dietetics. Her “passion of nutrition is evident in her participation in class and the excellence she puts forth when presenting about nutrition both in and outside of class.” After graduating, she wants to “pursue job opportunities in sports nutrition to gain experience and the practice hours needed to sit for the Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics exam” in order to work with collegiate/professional sports teams or programs.

2. Angie Lott

Angie is a student at Utah State University. “When others might have given up, Angie has continued to push through toward her degree… She will be a great asset to our professional based on the sacrifices she has made to become an RD.” Her career goals include being on the Nutrition Support Team at Intermountain Medical Center and obtaining her Certified Nutrition Support Clinician credential.

3. Chelsea McBride

Chelsea is a student at Brigham Young University. Chelsea is an “extremely competent and responsible student… with a desire to learn and is not afraid to try hard things. Last summer she applied for and was accepted into a research internship at the University of Nebraska that resulted in a publication” and a great experience. She wants to use her “education and experience to serve others no matter where she ends up whether it be a hospital, food service establishment, a school, or in the government.”

4. Laycee Mozingo
See above description.