Build On an Unforgettable Year: Living Our Dream

Abstract

As the Academy’s 2015-2016 membership year comes to a close, so does my term as the Academy’s President. Thank you for this privilege. It has been an unforgettable year for me and I hope it has been a rewarding, productive year for members. I keep thinking of a phrase we used at the 2015 Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo (FNCE): “I’m living the dream. I hope the Academy helps all of you live your dream as well.” Below are some of the high points, activities, and accomplishments from this year that I have spotlighted in these pages, concluding with a look toward our exciting future. We are increasing our partnerships and collaborations with like-minded organizations, especially worldwide. Last November, the Chinese Academy Member Interest Group and Academy staff met in Chicago, IL, with leaders of the Chinese Nutrition Society. We discussed our countries’ dietary guidelines, development of dietitians in the United States and China, and research and sustainability issues. Kids Eat Right is having the effect we hoped when the initiative was created in 2010. My thanks to the 6,000 Kids Eat Right volunteers—Academy members who agree that healthful eating and physical activity are crucial to improving the lives of generations to come … starting now. Speakers, sessions, and events at FNCE help us achieve our mission and vision while enjoying a great time spent with our friends and colleagues. Opportunities available to us at FNCE are endless, incomparable—and growing. I hope to see you in Boston, MA, in October. Our Strategic Plan calls for greater diversity in our profession and in our Academy. As demographics change and we are in an increasingly interconnected world, we must keep working toward greater inclusivity and diversification. It was a special treat this year to meet multiple members of families who have become registered dietitian nutritionists and Academy members: spouses, siblings, parents and children, aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews. They’re families within the Academy family! Students make up more than one-quarter of the Academy’s membership and they represent the future of our profession. Let’s continue to engage students so they will give back and lead us in the right directions. Representing the Academy last summer at the Special Olympics, I was proud to support our members who work with people who have unique nutrition risks and needs. The Special Olympics vividly demonstrated to me—once again—the commitment and passion of Academy members to help every person to eat right. All questions related to strategic direction, policies, fiscal management, professional standards, positions, trends, and member issues—to name just a few—are decided by leaders who were elected by members to their positions. Thank you to all members who voted during the recent Academy national election. National Nutrition Month is an incomparable time of year and a central part of the Academy’s year since 1973. It inspires members to do what we do best: Show our creativity and commitment to health. Despite strides we have made in recruiting, there are not enough preceptors to meet demand. We may need at least double the current number of registered dietitian nutritionists and nutrition and dietetics technicians, registered, to serve as preceptors to meet supervised practice needs. Please consider serving as a preceptor and help all our students live their dream of joining and leading our profession. The time has come for us to design the future we want for the Academy’s Second Century. We have the opportunity to look ahead and set a bold vision for the future, as our founders did 100 years ago. In the coming months, members will be asked to engage deeply in the future of the profession and the organization. In closing, please let me extend thanks to very special people and groups who have made this year possible: all of my mentors; my state and district dietetic association associations; my dietetic practice groups; the National Organization of Blacks in Dietetics and Nutrition, who named a scholarship in my honor as the first African-American President of our member-driven Academy; and to the members of the Board of Directors, with whom I have had the pleasure of serving. As President-elect, Lucille Beseler, MS, RDN, LDN, CDE, has been the best partner I could have had, and she will be an outstanding Academy President when she takes office on June 1. To all members: Thank you again! I look forward to all of us, living our dream, together.