LAD Newsletter - the California Dietetic Association!

Lisa Calanni, MS, RD
Publications Chair
Lori Walker Zanini, RD, CDE
Newsletter Editor
Thank you, LAD, for another successful year!
Sarah Geary, MPH, RD, CNSC
President 2011-2012
LAD has certainly been busy this past year, thanks to the hard work of
our many executive board members. I’d like to take this opportunity to
highlight some of LAD’s achievements over the past year and the
executive board members who have made them possible.
President Elect, Sarah Lefkowitz, planned eight continuing professional
education events, totaling 17 continuing education units, over the past
year! Events covered a variety of topics, including the Health Benefits of Wine in July,
Public Speaking and Leadership in January and the Health Care Reform this past April.
Events ran smoothly thanks to the help of Gigi Kwok and Soheila Seif Hashemi,
Volunteer Committee Co-Chairs, who made sure that all education events were well
equipped with volunteers!
Our San Gabriel Valley Extension (SGVE) hit the ground running with a kick off
meeting in July planned by Lizzette Regueiro-Nunez and Marilyn Briseno. Following
the meeting, a small group of dedicated members joined the executive board. The SGVE,
led by Lizzette Regueiro-Nunez, coordinated both community outreach events and social
events throughout the year and is a great opportunity for our members in the San Gabriel
Valley to get more involved!!
March was an especially busy part of the year! Executive board members worked to
promote dietitians for National Nutrition Month and Registered Dietitian Day. Social
events were held in both Venice and Pasadena and were a great way for members to meet
and mingle. Stephanie Sanders, Community Outreach Chair, coordinated an Ask the
Dietitian Booth at a health fair in West Los Angeles. South Bay Extension Chair and
Membership Co-Chair, Alison Rosenthal worked with the city of Manhattan Beach to
proclaim March National Nutrition Month and March 14 th Registered Dietitian Day.
Brenda Wolford took over the responsibilities of Advocacy Chair mid-year. For Public
Policy Education Day (PPED) in March, Brenda coordinated over 15 visits for the 11
LAD members who participated in PPED in Sacramento. The visits were a wonderful
way to educate our California policy makers about registered dietitians and the ways RDs
can support their districts.
Kaitlyn Carrozzi, Awards Chair, assisted two LAD board members who were recognized
with Academy awards. Lisa Calanni, Publications Chair, received the Recognized Young
Dietitian of the Year Award and Jessica Soldavani, Speakers and Writers Bureau Chair,
received the Outstanding Dietetics Student of the Year Award. Both Lisa and Jessica
were recognized this April at CDA Annual Meeting.

Nominating Committee, including Geri Lorenzana and Jessica Kim, secured a full ballot
and coordinated LAD elections. Thanks to their hard work, we are set to have another
successful year!
Finally, Membership Co-Chairs Alison Rosenthal and Andrea Bortnik worked hard to
encourage membership through promotions and campaigns and helped our organization
reach 400 members this year! Having a diverse and active membership is what makes
LAD so special!
Thank you to each of our executive board members, who worked so hard to coordinate
events and activities this year. Thank you also to our members and we hope to see you at
events this coming year!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Debra Geary Hook, MPH, RD
Delegate- IDDA and LAD
On April 26th and 27th, the Academy’s House of Delegates met virtually for their Spring
2012 meeting. Despite some technical issues, we were able to discuss the mega issue this
year on Advanced and Future Practice for RD’s and DTR’s. The members of HOD were
asked to vision where dietitians will be working in 2020 and how can we prepare our
members for this future. Each table created headlines which will be used to promote this
vision. I belonged to table 8 and our headlines were, “What you do today doesn’t define
what you will do tomorrow” and “Diverse preparation for diverse careers.” On the
second day we asked ourselves what were our hopes, dreams and what did we wished we
had done differently. From this exercise, we asked ourselves how dietitians and
technicians could achieve advance practice. We discussed barriers to advance practice
and resolutions to these barriers. The Academy realizes that it is vital to our profession to
create a career ladder, which includes advance practice for each area of dietetics.
The HOD is currently discussing the final statements. After May 4th, the HOD
leadership will hold a conference call to further discuss the statements and positions. The
members will again review the revised positions with voting to be held from May 24 th
through May 29 th . If you have questions or concerns about the topic of Advanced and
Future Practice for RD’s and DTR’s, please e-mail me.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cheri Kaczmarek, RD and Geri Lorenzana, RD
Nominating Committee Co-Chairs
Congratulations to our New 2012-2013 LAD Executive Board!
Your vote is in! Our newly elected LAD Executive Board officers include:
President-Elect: Randi Drasin
Secretary: Jessica Klass
Treasurer-Elect: Carlen Loewenthal

Advocacy Committee Chair: Feon Cheng
Nominating Committee: Brenda Roche, Chair. Navnidhee Batra & Bernadette
Mejia
Committee Coordinators: Lisa Calanni, Gigi Kwok, Alison Rosenthal
Elections may be over, but it’s not too late for YOU to become actively involved with
one of LAD’s dynamic committees: Membership, Volunteer, Fundraising, Marketing,
Community Relations, Publications and many more!
Developing leadership skills, networking opportunities and FREE admission to LAD
CEU events are some of the many benefits. For more information on committee
positions, contact a member of the Nominating Committee: Geri Lorenzana at
gerilor@sbcglobal.net or Jessica Kim at jessica.d.kim@gmail.com. Or contact individual
Executive Board members listed on our website
http://www.dietitian.org/d_lad/lad_board.html
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sarah Lefkowitz, RD
President-Elect
As a new member of the LAD, you can imagine my apprehension stepping into the role
of president elect this past year. However, I was ready for the challenge and excited to
have the opportunity to work with so many talented dietitians. At first, I relied on other
board members to help me answer a multitude of questions and offer their assistance as I
got my bearings. The strategic meeting set the tone for the year and the energy in the
room was palpable. I remember coming out of that meeting and thinking, "Wow this is
going to be an exciting year," and I was not disappointed.
My first event as president elect was a wine tasting at the Culver Hotel. A week before
the event took place, I received an email notification that there were only five people
registered for the event. I kicked into high gear and contacted my fellow board members
who helped me make phone calls and provided new strategies of reaching a greater
amount of people. When the day of the event arrived, I remember seeing several of my
fellow board members in attendance, there to support the LAD! It was a powerful lesson
in the comradery and teamwork of the organization. In total, twenty people attended the
event and we all had a wonderful time. Yes, this was going to be a great year.
The more experience I gained in planning events, the more confidence I had in my ability
to do more. I wanted to push the envelope for the typical LAD continuing education
credits. Even though I was new, my fellow board members backed everything I set out to
accomplish. The members also began showing up to events in larger numbers, an
indication of moving forward.
Seeing the hard work and talent of so many different dietitians has taught me a lot over
the past year. I learned to always have a vision, no matter how big or small. With the
right people around you, you can accomplish anything. Thank you to all of the board

members and members of LAD for making this year so special. I look forward to taking
on the role of President and helping ensure we keep our ideals strong, members excited
and maintain the respect we have for one another. See you in June!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Andrea Bortnik and Alison Rosenthal, MS, RD
Membership Committee Co-Chairs
Renew Your LAD Membership and Win Prizes!
Summer is almost here! Time to BBQ, spend time at the beach, and renew your LAD
membership!
May 1st marks the beginning of our Early Bird Membership Renewal promotion. If you
renew your membership before June 30, 2012 you will be entered into a drawing to
receive your 2013-2014 membership for free, or, win one of two $20 Trader Joe’s gift
cards! To renew, please visit http://dietitian.org/d_lad/lad_membership_gform.htm.
Once you have renewed your membership, refer a friend to LAD. If your friend decides
to join LAD, you will receive free registration to a CPE event for both you and your
friend! A perfect way to earn some free CPEs for your portfolio and help your friends
benefit from an LAD membership!
* Offer valid for "new referrals" only.
* Maximum allotment is 1 free CPE registration.
* Offer does not apply to 1/2 day seminars.
* Offer expires June 30, 2012
Here are the top 5 reasons to continue your association with LAD:
1. Expand your network through the CPE events, monthly dining club, other social
events and via the LAD Facebook page.
2. Receive information about job opportunities via e-mail.
3. Earn CPEs by attending events that are low cost or free to members.
4. Use LADs free referral service for active members and reach out to your potential
clients. The form can be downloaded from the website.
5. Become an LAD mentor and offer your expertise through informational interviews.
Student members can form a long-term career guidance relationship with our LAD
mentors.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gigi Kwok, Dr.PH(c) and Soheila Seif
Volunteer Committee Co-Chairs
Are you looking for ways to serve your community by improving their nutritional
knowledge? Are you interested in opportunities to practice management skills in your
field? Join LAD's evolving volunteer pool. Here you get the chance to participate in
various events of your interest, which may open new doors for you and your career. You
may build up a good communication channels with your prospective colleagues, find
mentors, practice management skills by helping us to coordinate and operate the events
and also get the bounce of free participation in the event that you are volunteering for.
Last year LAD either hosted or helped other organizations to spread the nutritional
knowledge and voice. It couldn't be as successful as it is now without our precious
volunteers. Remember LAD is the voice of all of us, so let’s make our voice stronger
by joining actively as a volunteer for LAD and enjoy the opportunities for making
connection, sharing knowledge and experiences and serve our community as best as we
can.
Please contact LAD volunteer committee Co-Chairs Gigi and Soheila at
Voluneer4lad@gmail.com and get the chance to be our next volunteer for upcoming
events. We look forward to hearing from you soon!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Charlene Wang
Student, California State University, Los Angeles
Public Policy Education Day - A great learning experience!
The entire Public Policy Education Day (PPED) experience was an amazing opportunity
to see dietitians in action from a political point of view. It truly was an eye-opener and I
realized that we, as students, are the future and will carry forth the progressive issues that
our profession is currently dealing with. The LAD dietitians did a great job conveying
our platform, and I learned a great deal from my mentor dietitian while she eloquently
advocated licensure. Public Policy Education Day was an excellent learning experience
and I hope many other students can participate next year in order to see just how
important policy is for our futures.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Book Review
Have you read a good book lately? Share it with us. Book Review is designated to
providing a review of a variety of published books related to the fields of nutrition,
dietetics, food science, and healthcare. Please submit a 100-250 word review to (insert
contact), with full citation, including title of book, authors, publisher, publication city and
date.
2. Student Spotlight
Student Spotlight is dedicated to highlighting the hard work of student members and their
dedication to the field of dietetics.
a. Graduate Experience
Graduate Experience allows graduate students who have completed a
graduate project or thesis to share their research and findings with
members of CDA/LAD. Please submit a brief abstract of 250 words to
(insert contact), including name, school, date, title, background, purpose,
methods, results, and conclusion.
b. Professional Student Organizations and Associations

Past Events
Upcoming Events
Award Recipients
LAD would like to congratulate Michelle Katz, student and Co-President, California
State University, Los Angeles. On March 6th, she was awarded a Golden Eagle Award of
Excellence from CSULA. The award honors a student for their positive contributions to
the campus and community. We wish you continued success and look forward to your
future involvement and accomplishments in the field of nutrition and dietetics!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DIETETIC INTERNS AND STUDENTS
LAD SCHOLARSHIP AVAILABLE
Go to www.dietitian.org
For Our Students
CDAF Scholarship Info
Jacqueline Saracino Scholarship
Review Requirements
CDA will post notices for applications
LAD Sponsors
LAD would like to thank our sponsors: Gold-level sponsor, Daisy Brand, a fourthgeneration
family-owned business that prides itself on producing high-quality dairy
products that offer a good value to our customers. These principles set the foundation for
the company’s growth and continue to be the driving force behind the company’s
direction. And also, Bronze-level sponsor, Cambro, the leading provider of solutions
based meal delivery system, for their generous contribution. It is through sponsorship that
make it possible for LAD to continue to work within corporate, community and
government arenas to create healthy and informed neighborhoods in a time when obesity
and poor nutrition knowledge is threatening the livelihood of current and future
generations.