HEN Member Spotlight:
HEN Awards its First International HEN Membership Scholarship Recipient!
HEN awards a one-year paid membership to the American Dietetic Association and to the Hunger and Environmental Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group to an RD who is working internationally in the food security or sustainable food systems arenas. The scholarship committee is excited to announce Elizabeth D. Wall-Bassett, PhD, RD as our 2008 award recipient!
Beth’s current work responsibilities as a community nutrition researcher at Clemson University position her well for extensive collaboration and investigation into food security. She has continually looked for opportunities to link government, academia, health professionals, and the general population to sustainable food systems. Beth was a steering committee member and remains an active member of the South Carolina Food Policy Council to support sustainability for the state through multi-sectoral efforts. In S.C. and the Southeast, Beth also evaluated the potential for organic and niche markets and consumer preferences for these products. Following this evaluation, she founded farmer’s markets and community supported agriculture (CSA) membership programs to provide local food availability options utilizing these products of interest.
Additionally, Beth similarly engaged in international scholarly research through partnership with the government, academia, health professionals, and the general population of the Commonwealth of Dominica. Schoolchildren and their caregivers were surveyed and measured to investigate food consumption patterns, and access and availability of food. Alike the involvement in the US Southeast region, one of the major initiatives of this collaborative international effort is to establish sustainable food systems. Schools have provided an opportune environment to improve policies and programs to empower the population towards sustainable and positive nutrition. This research partnership is the first of its kind in this Caribbean country, and can be used as a sustainable model for the Caribbean region. Through working together with an array of entities in the US and internationally, Beth believes HEN DPG goals can be fostered to others.
Through her new HEN membership, Beth hopes to broaden collaborative efforts and communicate with others on topics of interest in this interdisciplinary area of nutrition through the HEN network. She believes that current knowledge from different fields in unified publication will enhance the directions for needed input and research, and can aid in focusing future efforts where needed. Additionally, this knowledge can be passed along to others regions and communities where she works.
Congratulations to Beth from the committee and the HEN leadership! We offer you a warm welcome to the Hunger and Environmental Nutrition Practice Group.
Scholarship Applicant Criteria:
- Currently eligible for American Dietetic Association membership
- Currently working internationally in the food security or sustainable food systems arenas.
- Submit a completed application (link to http://www.hendpg.com/index_1837.cfm ) by the deadline (2009 deadline to be announced) accompanied with one letter of support.
The scholarship committee included Kelly Horton (Chair, International Hunger Committee), Clare Young (Past Chair International Hunger Committee), Helen Costello (Past Chair International Hunger Committee), and Theresa Geldard (Treasurer). Thank you especially to Clare and Helen for spearheading the implementation of this new scholarship program.
Previous HEN Scholarship Recipients:
Katie MaloneErin Feld