Massachusetts Dietitians Education Foundation (MDEF)
2025 Applications Below
MDEF scholarship 2025
Click here to apply
MDEF Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) Scholarship
Click here to apply
About MDEF
The Massachusetts Dietitian’s Education Foundation (MDEF) is a nonprofit (501c3) organization founded by the Massachusetts Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (MAND). Its purpose is to serve as a fundraising and charitable foundation for nutrition in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with the goal of providing financial support for the education and recognition of dietitians in the form of scholarships and awards. Every year MDEF provides scholarships to outstanding individuals seeking undergraduate degrees, graduate degrees and dietetic internships in the field of nutrition.
| To Donate to the Scholarship Fund:
With only a very modest endowment that does not generate sufficient funds to be self-sustaining, we rely on member donations and sponsors to keep the scholarships going. Click Donate below to make your gift to MDEF. |
| Volunteers Wanted:
MDEF is seeking volunteers with fundraising experience to help raise funding for scholarships. Please consider donating your time in exchange for flexible hours, nice colleagues and the satisfaction that your efforts are going to a critical purpose. For more information, email Lisa Lombardini MS, RD, LDN at massMDEF@gmail.com. |
Meet our 2025 MDEF Scholarship Winners!
Gabriella Cooper
My name is Gabriella Cooper I am a 23 year-old from Wenham, Massachusetts. I graduated last spring (2024) from the University of Connecticut with a Bachelor's degree in Nutritional Sciences and I am now pursuing a Masters degree and Dietetic Internship at Simmons University. Currently I am getting experience in the field through working as a Diet Technician at Franciscan Children's Hospital. I love to cook, go for walks or runs, and talk about nutrition!
Sharon Bonsu
Sharon Bonsu is an emerging nutrition and dietetics professional committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the field. She completed her MS in Nutrition at UMass Amherst. Sharon is passionate about increasing access to nutrition education to improve health outcomes, and improving health equity. As a recipient of the IDEA Scholarship, she is committed to uplifting underrepresented voices and bring culturally responsive care to communities that need it most. She is excited to bring her skills to a VA dietetic internship program this summer to pursue her RD.
Erin Irons
I recently returned home to Massachusetts after completing my Didactic Program in Dietetics at Clemson University in South Carolina. This fall, I will begin a Master of Science in Nutrition degree at Boston University in the MS + DI partnership program with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. I am eager to dive deeper into nutrition topics at the graduate level, where I will be pursuing a Clinical Concentration. My passion for dietetics stems from living with Celiac Disease and I am excited to further my education to the next level to become more adept at assisting others with their own nutrition journeys. In my spare time I enjoy golfing, playing pickleball, and keeping up with my current book club selection.
