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Strengths/Skills
Innovative
Wide array of intersts
Candidate Bio
Lydia has a Bachelor of Science from Mississippi State University. She completed her Dietetic Internship through Sarasota Memorial Hospital. She has a Masters of Public Health with an emphasis in Health Education and Communication and Maternal and Child Health from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine,
Contributions and Leadership Achievements
Organization | Position | Term | Contribution |
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics | Mississippi Delegate to the Academy House of Delegates | 2019-2021 | I was able to attend the in-person, as well as virtual meetings of the House of Delegates. At these meetings, I worked with small groups of other Delegates on the mega issues brought forward by the Speaker of the House and House Leadership Team. The delegate serves as the voice of the members, so it was important to me to meet with MS-AND members and learn about topics important to members, as well as their concerns. I made sure that I passed those issues forward. I also passed information forward to membership through e-blasts, newsletters, and social media about topics on which members of the House of Delegates were working. |
Mississippi Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics | President | 2018-2019 and 2022-2023 | In this role, I served as the lead of the MS-AND Board of Directors. It was important to me to ensure that MS-AND members felt supported and had access to educational opportunities as well as nutrition related research. We worked on state-based and national advocacy projects, by having booths at the Mississippi Capitol and ensuring that Mississippi had good representation at Academy related advocacy events. I also worked during both terms to increase MS-AND's diversity, inclusion, equity, and access efforts and during my second term, we were awarded an IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access) mini-grant through the Academy. During the second term, I helped lead efforts related to changes in our state's dietetic licensure regulations and helped educate our members about those updates. I also served as the annual conference chair during both terms, and coordinated successful education events for our members, and other dietitians. During my second term, MS-AND joined with the Louisiana affiliate to start a virtual joint symposium. This year, the Alabama affiliate also joined the efforts and we held a Gulf States version in August of 2023. During my first President-elect term, MS-AND switched from a district based organization to a regional setup. We have continued to work to grow the districts and come up with innovative ways to work with members and non-members across Mississippi. I also helped lead efforts to grow our social media presence, and created a social media committee during my second term. |
Mississippi Public Health Association (MPHA) | Member at Large | 2017-2018 | This role on the MPHA Board of Directors serves as a voice for members throughout the state. I was able to visit with members and ensure that issues that were important to them were discussed at MPHA board meetings and other events. I was an active participant in National Public Health Week events, as well as legislative and policy work. I was also able to help with annual conference planning and strategic plan work. |
Mississippi School Nutrition Association (MSNA) | Education Committee Member | 2013, 2023, 2024 | I served as Chair of this MSNA Committee in 2013 and a member of the committee for the 2023 and 2024 annual conferences. As Chair, I was responsible for creating and leading a committee to plan the annual MSNA Conference. We worked to include a diverse set of education sessions, to keep members up to date on information related to school nutrition programs. During this time, the parts of the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act were still being phased in, so we made sure that members could learn more about those efforts. As a committee member, I attended committee meetings to help create a curriculum full of education sessions that participants would enjoy attending. We also served as hosts for the presenters and attendees of the session. |
New Stage Theatre | Secretary | 2017-2019 | New Stage Theatre is Mississippi's only professional theatre. I have served on that Board of Trustees since the 2015-2016 season. In the role of secretary, I attended board meetings as well we Executive Committee meetings. It was my responsibility to take the minutes of the board meeting and ensure that they were distributed to board members efficiently and concisely. I also helped to promote theatre events through emails and social media. I am still on this board of trustees, and excited about this 58th season of shows and events. |
Employment
Employer | Title | Years | Location |
Self employed | Owner | 11 | Jackson, Mississippi |
Practice Areas
Years in Practice Area:
Approximate number of years as a member of this DPG/MIG": 12
Honors and Awards
Organization | Award | Year | Contribution |
Mississippi Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics | Emerging Dietetic Leader | 2012 | I joined the MS-AND (Mississippi Dietetic Association at the time) Board of Directors in an appointed position in 2010 as the Kids Eat Right Chair. In this role I helped our affiliate promote the new initiative of the Academy and help our members learn ways to encourage health for kids across Mississippi. I served as a member of the student dietetic association while attaining my undergraduate degree, and as a district president soon after I completed my internship. The role of Kids Eat Right Chair helped me to start my leadership responsibilities with MDA/MS-AND. |
Mississippi Public Health Association | Outstanding Member of the Year | 2015 | I served in many roles on the MPHA Board of Directors leading up to this, including Nutrition Section Chair, National Public Health Week Committee Member, Young Professionals Special Interest Group Committee, and Legislative Committee. In the 2014-2015 year we worked to involve more young professionals across Mississippi, increased our social media presence, and promote innovative public health programs in Mississippi. |
Mississippi Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics | Outstanding Dietitian of the Year | 2023 | I have served in many roles on the MS-AND Board since 2010. These responsibilities have helped to educate me about many aspects of service leadership, as well as food, nutrition, and dietetics. Last year in particular, we worked to increase membership, planed multiple education opportunities for members and non-members, involved students, increased the affiliates work in the areas of diversity and inclusion, and increased communication with our members. |