Annual Meeting
ANCE 2024 will take place on Friday, April 5th at the Four Points Sheraton in Norwood.
If you would like to exhibit at the conference, please register here: https://www.eatrightma.org/ance/exhibitor.cfm
Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA)
Monthly News
Creating Inclusive & Ethics-based Spaces in Dietetics - Free 2 CEU
Tuesday, December 5th, 6:30PM Central Time via Zoom
Brought to you by: Dietitians of Central Texas (DCTX)
"DCTX has decided to expand our audience to offer 2 free CEUs (1 of which has been requested to fulfill an Ethics credit) to engage and connect with Dietitians across the nation. We will be led by a panel of national-level DEI experts, including members of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) Committee in a discussion based on DCTX member input. We are also fortunate to include a follow-up discussion with 3 local non-profits who provide various services, including food, to under-resourced persons."
Website and registration: https://dietitiansofcentraltexas.org/event/december-meeting-2023
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Student Membership Scholarship Application is now closed. Please come back to our page next year for more information on next year's applications!
Other IDEA Scholarships Available - learn more here.
Monthly Celebrations and Acknowledgements
NATIONAL DIABETES MONTH
November
November is National Diabetes Month and is a time people across the country and across communities can bring awareness to pre-diabetes and diabetes. Roughly 37.3 million people have diabetes and 96 million have pre-diabetes and millions of people are unaware. This years’ theme from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases is “Take Care of Tomorrow: Preventing Diabetes Health Problems.” Learn more here and here.
NATIONAL NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH
November
Celebrates and honors the history and culture of Native Americans and indigenous people in the United States. Learn more here.
ELECTION DAY
November 8
A day set by U.S. law for the election of public officials. Learn more here.
VETERANS’ DAY
November 11
Honors military veterans and the U.S. Armed Services. Learn more here.
DIWALI
November 12, 2023
Diwali, or Dipawali, is India's biggest and most important holiday of the year. The festival gets its name from the row (avali) of clay lamps (deepa) that Indians light outside their homes to symbolize the inner light that protects from spiritual darkness. This festival is as important to Hindus as the Christmas holiday is to Christians.
Learn more:
MAND IDEA Recipe Collection!
We are highlighting the unique and diverse foods and customs of our members through the recipes of your fellow MAND members. Check out some of them below! All recipe submissions received by May 1, 2024 will be entered into a drawing to receive a prize that supports local, minority owned businesses, and your recipe could be featured on the MAND IDEA webpage! Click here to Submit!
See below for examples of recipes that have been submitted in the past!
Academy Diversity and Inclusion Statement
The Academy encourages inclusion, diversity, equity and access (IDEA) by striving to recognize, respect and include differences in ability, age, creed, culture, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, size, and socioeconomic characteristics in the nutrition and dietetics profession.
https://www.eatrightpro.org/idea/inclusion-diversity-equity-and-access
The Pledge of Professional Civility
To help foster camaraderie among our professional community and encourage constructive engagement among peers, Food & Nutrition Magazine® — published by the world’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics — has developed a voluntary Pledge of Professional Civility, guiding principles and related resources:
The Pledge of Professional Civility
- I pledge to demonstrate respect to my colleagues and all others.
- I pledge to support constructive dialogue and positive engagement.
- I pledge to discourage the public belittling of my colleagues, even when we do not agree.
- I pledge to model professional conduct in all my public communications and actions.
Guiding Principles
The basic tenets that any professional — irrespective of expertise, area of practice or personal values — should adopt as principles of conduct in public forums, including social media, are to 1) demonstrate respect, 2) encourage constructive dialogue, 3) discourage public belittling of colleagues, and 4) model professionalism. Read more about each of these guiding principles, take the Pledge of Professional Civility yourself, and see who else in the Academy has taken the Pledge!
Pledge of Professional Civility - Food & Nutrition Magazine (food nutrition.org)
Past IDEA Spotlights
Chinese New Year Taro Cake Recipe submitted by Quynh Tu, RD, LDN, CDCES
Language Barriers and Healthcare Access with Quynh Tu, RD, LDN, CDCES
AAPI Month 2022 Spotlight with Wendy Ng, RDN, LDN
AAPI Month 2021 Spotlight with Rosalinda Sar
Asian American Diabetes Initiative Spotlight with Ka Hei Karen Lau, MS, RDN, LDN, CDCES
Arab American Heritage Month Spotlight with Norah Ismail, MS, RD, LDN
Middle Eastern DEI Spotlight with Reem Bou-Nacklie
Black History Month Spotlight with Sue-Ellen Anderson Haynes, MS, RDN, CDCES, LDN, NASM-CPT
DEI Spotlight with Jay Patruno, RD, LDN, CPT
The Less Traveled Path at MAND with Quynh Tu, RD, LDN, CDCES
Celebrate Your Roots with Shennie Quintanilla, MS, RD, LDN
IDEA Resources
- LGBTQ+ Resources for RDN's
- Diversity and Inclusion Resources from the Academy
- Diversity & Inclusion Definitions
- AND Research DPG Diversity Page
- Diversify Dietetics
- Cultural Cuisines and Traditions from EatRight
- Building Cultural Competence in Nutrition and Dietetics 2020
- Doubling Down on Diversity: The Journey to a More Diverse Field
- Diversifying Dietetics Links Aspiring Dietitians of Color with Critical Education Resources
- Food and Body Shaming; Counseling strategies for RDs and ways to stop it.
- Misinformation, inequity are challenges for health care
Nutrition for LGBTQIA+ individuals
“Through inclusive care practices, an RDN can help LGBTQIA+ individuals make informed food choices and help manage a condition or disease with nutrition. For the month of June, in celebration of Pride Month, the Academy’s Council on Research has curated a collection of freely available JAND articles on nutrition for LGBTQIA+ individuals. Update your knowledge and share nutrition research!”
IDEA Leader Training
"The Academy is pleased to offer a leader specific self study IDEA training good for 1.5 CEUs, free to academy members. This activity is designed to educate leaders on the key components of the inclusion, diversity, equity, and access impact goals and provide leaders with the tools and resources to create IDEA action plans that will advance the Academy’s IDEA goals."
Click here to find out more and sign up!
About Us
The IDEA Committee, originally called the Diversity Committee, established itself in the organization in 2016. The committee is funded by the annual Diversity Mini Grant from the Academy (see here). Activities include monthly meetings, community outreach, CEU event planning, working with MDEF on diversity scholarships, and awarding free student AND memberships. In the past six years, committee members and volunteers have completed 2 to 5 events each year, outreached to about 400 students in four different counties within Massachusetts, awarded diversity scholarships totalling 10 students pursuing dietetics education, and each year have granted up to 15 free student AND memberships.
Active Members:
- Susan Hazarvartian (Diversity Liaison/SPRC & Committee Chair)
- Jamie Ekstrom (Diversity Liaison/State Professional Recruitment Coordinator-Elect)
- Rachel Andrade (Past Diversity Liaison)
- Anna Bondy
- Angela Ditucci
- Quynh Tu
- Sue-Ellen Anderson-Haynes
- Ema Barbosa Brown
- Shennie Quintanilla
Supporting Members:
- Mariana Calle
- Maureen Kelly Gonsalves
2020-2022 Action Plan
Short-term goals:
- Developing webinar opportunities on diversity for MAND members that provide free continuing education units
- Create ongoing content on MAND webpage through blog posts highlighting diversity in our students, interns, and dietetics professionals
- Attend virtual career fairs and outreach at community colleges across MA
Long-term goals:
- Require state licensure to include diversity training for a minimum of 3 units during the 2 year cycle
- Put together curriculum/content for state licensure diversity training requirement - would be provided to MAND members for free
- Virtual or socially distanced and/or safe in-class discussions and outreach to 8th grade students
We Welcome All
We invite all voices to contribute and be heard, or to simply reach out for learning opportunities. If you would like to learn more about our committee or would like to participate, please contact:
Jamie Ekstrom - jamieekstrom1@gmail.com
