Margaret has been a member of Dietitians Australia for 30 years and has worked in clinical dietetics and research and academia.

She is Director of nutrition and dietetic training programs at the University of Sydney and supervises 9 PhD students. Margaret is well known for her research in malnutrition associated with renal failure, n-3 fatty acids and more recently obesity and chronic disease.

Among her contributions to Dietitians Australia are Editor and Associate Editor of Nutrition & Dietetics, Vice President and Board member and a member of the scientific program committee for the recent International Congress of Dietetics (ICD).

She has also served on the editorial boards of 2 international journals and state and national committees and boards for government bodies.

Associate Professor Susan Ash is a high profile and proactive leader who is recognised as an expert both nationally and internationally.

She has played a significant role in the evolution of the dietetic profession in Australia through her commitment to dietetic standards, clinical research and best practice.

Susan has an Honorary Associate Professor position at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. She is a leader in the development of evidence based best practice guidelines and was an active member of the committees who developed guidelines for the nutritional management of cancer cachexia and chronic kidney disease.

Associate Professor Ash was also instrumental in the development and implementation of the endorsement process for evidence based practice guidelines.

She has been a dietetics educator for over 20 years, advocates strongly for the profession in all her work and is a mentor and role model to dietetic students and graduates.

Her areas of research include evaluating the outcomes of nutrition interventions in chronic kidney disease, diabetes and obesity, as well as dietetic competency and practice. Associate Professor Ash regularly presents her research findings at both Australian and international forums.

Associate Professor Judy Bauer is a leading clinical academic practitioner and is Program Director of the Master of Dietetics Studies at the University of Queensland and Manager of Nutrition Services at the Wesley Hospital, Brisbane.

Judy’s research interests include evidence based practice, malnutrition, oncology and chronic kidney disease. A focus has been in development of appropriate tools in clinical practice, measuring outcomes of dietetic intervention, and role of fish oil in cachexia and inflammation.

She has over 70 publications and is recognised internationally for the development and validation of nutrition screening and assessment tools, innovative dietetic intervention programs in oncology and chronic kidney disease, and development of evidence based practice guidelines for the nutritional management of cachexia, radiation therapy, malnutrition and most recently head and neck cancer in a new wiki format.

She is a member of the Australian Dietetics Council and Clinical Oncology Society Council and a past Dietitians Australia board member.

Professor Eleanor Beck is Discipline Leader, Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Wollongong.

Eleanor has nearly 30 years experience as a dietitian and sees her most important role as an educator of students, inspiring them to make a difference in their careers.

Eleanor was part of the expert working group for the review of the National Competency Standards for Dietitians and both the AdvAPD and FDA standards.

Eleanor’s key research areas include investigating grains, especially whole grains, and dietetics education.

Eleanor is Deputy Chair of the Council of Deans of N&D (ANZ) and the Chair of the ANZ Need for Nutrition Education and Promotion group, which as part of a global network, works on promotion of nutrition education and research in health professions.

Tracy has been a member of Dietitians Australia since 2004 and was awarded the AdvAPD credential in 2010.

Tracy has achieved outstanding excellence in research, teaching and professional service to Dietitians Australia and the wider community. She is an established national leader in food addiction child obesity and dietary methods.

Tracy has received numerous awards for her work, including being the first dietitian to receive the Young Tall Poppy of the year award in 2016.

She has been involved in numerous committees throughout Dietitians Australia and the wider community, such as associate editor for 2 international journals and an editorial board member for Journal Nutrients.

In the coming years, Tracy will further develop her research programs to lead a successful multidisciplinary team investigating food addiction.

Sandra Capra is currently a Professor of Nutrition in the School of Health Sciences at the University of Queensland.

Sandra’s career has encompassed clinical, community, food service, management, research and teaching roles. She was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2003, is a past President of Dietitians Australia and the current Chairperson of the International Confederation of Dietetic Associations.

Sandra is also a member of the National Nutrition Committee for the Australian Academy of Science, the Director of the Australian Centre for Evidence Based Nutrition and Dietetics and serves on a variety of committees for Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).

Clare Collins is a Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics in the School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health and Co-Director of the Priority Research Centre in Physical Activity and Nutrition at the University of Newcastle.

She holds a National Health and Medical Research Council, Career Development Fellowship and has published over 100 manuscripts.

Her main research examines the impact of interventions to improve dietary intake and how this relates to changes in weight and health across all ages and stages of life.

Professor Collins is a Fellow of Dietitians Australia. She chaired the development of the best practice dietetic guidelines for the management of overweight and obesity for adults.

Additionally, she led the dietetic team at the University of Newcastle to review the evidence that informed these guidelines in 2011.

She represents Dietitians Australia on the international working party for the Practice Based Evidence in Nutrition (PEN) in collaboration with Dietitians Canada and the British Dietetic Association.

Professor Collins is well known in Australia as a Dietitians Australia media spokesperson and commentator on nutrition. She has conducted over 1000 media interviews.

It was clear from the beginning that Lynne had a passion for the profession, and for excellence of practice. She promoted the dietitian to the medical and nursing profession at the time when dietetics was a relatively new profession, especially in South Australia (SA).

Lynne was Chief Dietitian at Adelaide Children’s Hospital in 1982, to 1988. Under her strong leadership the department grew, and she also collaborated with Flinders University to ensure SA trained dietitians would receive up to date and high quality teaching in paediatrics.

In 1988, Lynne moved to Flinders University, where she had a major impact on dietetics and nutrition teaching and research, and continued to develop the profession in SA like no one else has.

Lynne used her leadership and advocacy skills, hard work, and passion for the profession to singlehandedly build the curriculum of dietetics and nutrition at Flinders University. The result was the establishment of 2 courses, a Bachelor and a Masters, a major increase in staffing, and very significantly a separate department in the School of Medicine.

At the same time, she led the development of a strong research program, and had a highly significant impact on the growth of research, and dietetic researchers, in SA and beyond.

In 2006, Lynne moved to the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) where she has transformed the standing of dietetic research. She has successfully been nationally competitive for research funds in both her university positions and this has significantly contributed to the growth in quality and profile of dietetic research in Australia.

To date she has secured $9.5M of research funding including $2.5M across 4 separate National Health Medical Research Council (NHMRC) grants.

Of note is her significant influence on the dietetic research landscape with the supervision of doctoral and honours students and post-doctoral fellows. At QUT Lynne was appointed to Head of School, Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, a direct result of her leadership.

Lynne has also made a long and high level contribution to Dietitians Australia over her entire career. Her contributions at the Board level, on the Australian Dietetics Council (ADC) and to university accreditation, dietetic skills recognition, and the organising of national conference programs. She was also the Dietitians Australia Associate Editor and Chair of the Journal Management Committee.

In 37 years she has never stopped striving for excellence, promoting and contributing to the profession, and mentoring and assisting others to ensure the future of our profession.

Dr Suzie Ferrie is the critical care dietitian in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney, as well as holding a clinical affiliate senior lecturer role at the University of Sydney and serving as Deputy Chair of the hospital’s ethics committee.

Suzie’s research interests include various aspects of nutritional assessment and monitoring in the critically ill, and she is recognised internationally for her work on the practical application of pancreatic enzyme replacement in enterally-fed patients.

She is an associate editor for 2 nutrition journals. Her publications include more than 40 papers in peer-reviewed journals, health consumer focused magazine articles and health/wellness recipe books.

She is a past member of the Australian Dietetics Council (ADC) and for many years served as convenor of the Dietitians Australia Nutrition Support Interest Group, setting up the ‘Nutrition Support for Beginners’ workshops and coordinating the development of the Enteral and Parenteral Nutrition manuals.

Danielle Gallegos has been a dietitian-nutritionist for 28 years. In this time, she has been a passionate advocate for dietetics and for ensuring equity of access to and availability of food and nutrition for some of Australia’s more disadvantaged groups.

During her career, Danielle has worked as a dietitian in tertiary and secondary acute care, as a food service dietitian, a community dietitian, a consultant in aged care and a private practitioner.

She then moved into working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and migrant and refugee communities in public health nutrition activities. Then finally moved into academia to put food and nutrition on the agenda for the humanities and in educating the next generation of dietetic professionals both in Australia and in Vietnam.

An enduring theme of Danielle’s career is a strong commitment to diversity, inclusion, social justice and equity. Danielle has devoted voluntary time to Dietitians Australia as a Board member and Vice President and on a number of committees and working groups. Danielle is Dietitians Australia’s current representative to the International Confederation of Dietetic Associations.

Kay Gibbons is Head of Nutrition Services at The Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, and holds honorary appointments at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and several universities.

She has a particular interest in eating and behaviour, including childhood obesity and the role of children’s early learning about eating and its impact on eating patterns in later life. She has undertaken research and writing in these areas, teaches to health professionals and families, and works frequently with the media.

In Kay’s role at The Royal Children’s Hospital she is responsible for the food service to the young patients and has recently led the planning and implementation of the food service system in a new facility.

Kay is a past Dietitians Australia President and played a key role in the development of our APD program.

Dr Sara Grafenauer is the Managing Director of the Grains & Legumes Nutrition Council and a Fellow of the School of Medicine, University of Wollongong.

Sara is a former Executive Manager at Dietitians Australia and sits on the Boards of the Global Whole Grain Initiative and Nutrition Australia.

Her PhD research was in dietary patterns, and current research interests include wholegrains and legumes within a food system, regulatory and advocacy context, particularly in regard to front-of-pack labelling.

Sara contributed two chapters to Food, Nutrition and Health, edited by Professor Linda Tapsell. She has expertise in outcomes-driven social media and marketing, is on the editorial board for Legume Science, and is a reviewer for Nutrients, Foods and Nutrition and Dietetics.

Sara collaborates with numerous universities regarding grains and legume research projects with a view to the entire agricultural value chain. She actively supervises students on community nutrition placements and Honours and PhD research. Sara has a substantial history of mentoring provisional APDs for more than 20 years and is proud of the inspirational impact she has had on the careers of many dietitians. Sara is particularly passionate about public health advocacy on an Australian and international level.

Dr Mary Hannan-Jones is the Director of Academic Programs and Acting Discipline Lead for Nutrition and Dietetics in the School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australia.

Mary is a FDA with over 27 years of professional experience in both the higher education and public sector settings in nutrition and dietetics. Mary is responsible for the design and implementation of curriculum and staffing for the nutrition and dietetics programs at QUT. This is one of the longest running accredited programs in the country of over 43 years.

Mary is recognised internationally for expertise in the management of food services and regularly undertakes consultancies and commercial research for government and industry, including as an expert witness, and provides advice in dietetic training in this area.

Mary’s PhD research was in relation to food policy in prisons and contributes to nutrition standards in the prison and health sector and the underpinning research and service evaluation to support this. Mary’s current research activities include quality and tools in hospital food services; competency based education; inter-professional learning; B12 in women on vegan diets; and nutrition and wound healing.

Mary is active in the dietetics profession in Australia and is the current chair of the Dietetics Credentialing Council (DCC) in Australia which has oversight of the codes of conduct and certification of dietitians in Australia. Mary’s previous roles for the association include as a National Director and Chair of the 2014 National Conference of the Association.

Liz has had a long and varied career, during which her loyalty and commitment to Dietitians Australia have never waivered.

Liz has a strong track record in many aspects of dietetic practice in paediatrics, public health, management and research. She commenced her career at the then Adelaide Children’s Hospital becoming Chief Dietitian in 1978.

She later worked for 10 years at the Children’s Health Development Foundation, leading the development of the nutrition component of the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating including professional and consumer resources. Liz was recently the manager of nutrition and dietetic services at Flinders Medical Centre where she led and advocated for a high quality team and provided strong support to the academic dietitians and their research at the nearby Flinders University.

Liz has always placed great importance on the need for her staff to understand and participate in research and quality improvement as well as supporting many student dietitians on placement throughout the years.

Liz gave many years of service to the South Australia (SA) Branch executive.

Liz’s broad experience across a range of dietetic practice areas, coupled with extensive management skills and an excellent leadership style have made a significant impact on the way the board, and therefore the organisation operate.

People want to follow Liz and support her, valuing her calm, analytical style and her generous advice and mentoring. Liz is consultative and collegiate but unafraid to take hard decisions when necessary. She has the ability to defuse difficult situations and find solutions which has been of great value to the national organisation.

Liz’s strong commitment to, and leadership in, continuing professional development and education for others was demonstrated by her being a member of 3 National Conference organising committees and chairing two of them, while being the Director responsible for the Conference Management Committee for 3 years.

Liz is also a strong advocate of evidence based practice and its spread both nationally and internationally through the development and roll out of Practice based - Evidence in Nutrition (PEN) in Australia, New Zealand and the Asian region.

Liz has made a difference locally, nationally and more recently internationally. She is a proactive leader, a mentor, a teacher, a strategist, a negotiator. She is deeply committed to the profession of dietetics and its advancement and has demonstrated this consistently for 40 years and is highly respected for her work both paid and voluntary.

Associate Professor Robyn Littlewood is the Director, Health Services Research, Children’s Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service and Co-Chair, Queensland Child and Youth Clinical Network and most recently, member of the Queensland Clinical Networks Executive within the Clinical Excellence Division.

Associate Professor Littlewood holds a conjoint A/Professor position at the University of Queensland in the School of Human Movement and Nutrition Science. She has completed both a Masters of Medical Science and a PhD in the area of Paediatric Nutrition. Robyn is currently completing an MBA after completing a Graduate Certificate of Executive Leadership.

Associate Professor Littlewood has recently been a Board Member for Health and Wellbeing Queensland and previously held a Board Director position for Dietitians Australia.

Associate Professor Littlewood also leads a small private practice that provides specialised nutrition services to children and has also partnered with Dietitians Australia to deliver the only National Paediatric dietetic training course throughout Australia.

Sarah has been a member of Dietitians Australia since graduating in 1996 and an Advanced APD since 2014.

After graduating as a dietitian, Sarah completed a PhD in nutritional epidemiology and gained postdoctoral experience with the prestigious nutrition group at the Medical Research Council Human Nutrition Research Unit in Cambridge, United Kingdom.

She returned to Australia in 2005, having been awarded a National Health Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Postdoctoral Research Fellowship and Sarah has been awarded continuous, nationally competitive research support since that time. She is one of only a handful of dietitians to receive research fellowship funding, and one of only two dietitians in Australia who have had continuous research fellowships for a sustained period.

Sarah has contributed largely to Dietitians Australia and has demonstrated national and international leadership through her committee work. She has made an outstanding contribution to the nutrition research agenda; supported the education of dietitians and influenced population health locally and globally.

Claire is an associate professor at Monash University. She holds joint positions between the department of nutrition, dietetics and food and the Monash Centre for scholarship in health education, a dedicated faculty to the advancement of health professions education.

Claire has been awarded an Australian national teaching citation (2016) and teaching excellence award (2017), and a national office for learning and teaching fellowship (2014).

Claire has forged a research career in competency-based assessment and workforce development, with a particular focus on preparing the health workforce for addressing the determinants of health. She currently chairs the Australian Dietetic Council.

Professor Fiona Pelly is the Discipline leader of Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of the Sunshine Coast. She is an academic member of the Australian Dietetic Council and has been a member of Dietitians Australia for 30 years.

She has received an Australian Learning and Teaching Council citation for outstanding contribution to student learning for her curriculum development at the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC).

Fiona is internationally recognised in the area of nutrition strategies, eating behaviours and food provision for athletes competing in major sporting competitions and is a Fellow and inaugural member of Sports Dietitians Australia.

She has reviewed the food provision for major competition events including the Olympic Games and has collaborated with organising committees and caterers since the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. She is the current president of PINES (Professionals in Nutrition for Exercise and Sport).

Judi has made a significant contribution to dietetics, particularly in the last 9 years since being awarded an Advanced APD credential, including chairing several Dietitians Australia committees.

Since 2006, Judi has been a member of the Editorial Board of Nutrition & Dietetics and is now Editor for the journal. Internationally, Judi has published in many peer reviewed journals and is an invited Associate Editor for BMC Nutrition.

Judi has led many teams across her roles as Dietetics Manager, particularly at Eastern Health, in Victoria.

In 2013, she commenced an academic position at Monash University and received an National Health Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Translating Research into Practice Fellowship.

Judi completed two additional qualifications within this fellowship period: Graduate Certificate of Health Professional Education (Monash University) and Masters Certificate of Foodservice Management (Cornell University).

Judi’s particular areas of research interest are foodservice, the subacute setting, and systematic reviews across clinical specialties. This year Judi moved into a newly created conjoint role as Senior Research Fellow/Associate Professor between Eastern Health and Monash University.

Prior to retiring at the end of 2020, Emeritus Professor Jane Scott was a Research Professor and Deputy Head of the School of Public Health at Curtin University. She previously has held academic positions at Flinders University, where she was Head of Discipline, and at the University of Glasgow and Curtin University. Her research interests are in the areas of public health nutrition and early childhood feeding practices. She is recognised internationally for her research into the determinants of breastfeeding and was an expert technical writer on the 2012 NHMRC Infant Feeding Guidelines. She has served as an expert consultant to both the World Health Organization and the United Nations.

Jane is a Fellow of Dietitians Australia and served as a foundation member of the Australian Dietetic Council for 6 years. She has held numerous Dietitians Australia executive and advisory committee positions at both the state and national level and has served as an Associate Editor of Nutrition & Dietetics. She was awarded a National Service Award in 1993, an Outstanding Contribution Award in 2011 and in 2021 was made a Life Member in recognition of her contribution to the profession and Dietitians Australia.

Linda Tapsell is a Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Wollongong.

Her research focus is on the role of food in the prevention and management of chronic disease. She has served as director of a number of large research centres in food, nutrition and health, integrating knowledge from science and technology with market intelligence, regulatory constraints and an understanding of the food supply chain.

She works with national and international research agencies, contributing to peer review, strategic direction and policy formulation.

She has served on the Australian Dietary Guidelines Committee and contributed to a report on Food Security through the Prime Minister’s Science Engineering and Innovation Council. She brings her expertise in dietetics research to mechanistic, human experimental and behavioural studies. Her work in the public health area has contributed to hospital and community interventions and primary healthcare services.

Angela Vivanti is the Research and Development Dietitian at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane and has worked in many areas of dietetics during more than 30 years as a Dietitians Australia member.

She strives for impacts which benefit individuals and their health care in wide-reaching and sustainable ways.

Angela has made a high-level contribution to Dietitians Australia nationally including at board level, national and international conferences, university accreditations and informatics committees amongst other volunteer activities.

She represents Dietitians Australia internationally in advancing the Nutrition Care Process Terminology (NCPT).

Angela has designed electronic health records which support dietetic practice with the ability to demonstrate outcomes across the continuum of care as part of routine documentation. With over 2000 citations, publications include original research, validated tools, systematic reviews and evidence-based practice. She is co-author of “Nutrition Care Process and Terminology - a practical approach”.

Lauren Williams became a Fellow of Dietitians Australia in 2017. She holds university qualifications in Science (Hons in Nutrition), public health nutrition (PhD) and in dietetics, health promotion and social science.

She moved from public health to the academic sector in 1992 and her current role is Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics at Griffith University. She holds honorary Professorial appointments with her former Faculties at the Universities of Newcastle and Canberra.

Lauren joined Dietitians Australia as a student member in 1986 and received the Mead Johnson Young Achievers Award in 1995. She has been of service to the association through the Board of Directors (including two elected terms as Vice President), Associate Editor of Nutrition & Dietetics and she has been a member of the Australian Dietetic Council since 2013. Aside from promoting high standards of dietetics education, her main career focus has been on community and public health nutrition — trying to keep healthy people healthy— and in bringing a social perspective to education and practice in nutrition and dietetics. She has written and edited four books, including the widely used textbook ‘A Sociology of Food and Nutrition: the Social Appetite’ (4th edition 2017).

Peter Williams is a Visiting Principal Fellow in the Smart Foods Centre at the University of Wollongong and an Honorary Associate Professor in the School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences at Deakin University.

He is a Fellow of Dietitians Australia and served one term as President of Dietitians Australia. For 10 years he headed up the dietetic training program at the University of Wollongong and is currently a member of the Dietetic Credentialing Council.

Peter has served on National Health Medical Research Research Council (NHMRC) working parties for reviews of the dietary guidelines for Australians, the review of recommended nutrient intakes and the steering committee of the Heart Foundation’s Pick the Tick program.

He currently is a member of the Theraputic Goods Administration (TGA) Advisory Committee on Complementary Medicines and the Advertising Standards Board of Australia.

Lisa Yates is the Principal Consultant of her private practice and industry consulting business that specialises in marketing horticulture. She has worked in marketing and public relations for 20 years. Lisa is passionate about promoting horticulture using her skills in strategic planning, translating science, and implementing and evaluating health education marketing programs.

Lisa has worked on a range of nutrition projects for the Australian avocado, dried fruit, nut, onion and prune industries, among others. Most recently she worked on Hort Innovation’s Good Mood Food project.

Lisa was the Program Manager for Nuts for Life (2005 to 2017) and the first female winner of the Golden Handful Australian Tree Nut Industry Award for services to the industry. Lisa has also managed her own part-time private practice on Sydney’s Northern Beaches since 1996.

She is always keen to explore a new area of dietetics and in 2020 started a part-time role as a Senior Policy Analyst in the Food Policy Team at the NSW Ministry of Health.

Lisa is a long-standing member of Dietitians Australia, joining as a student dietitian in 1994. She is an active volunteer having worked in several roles including as a former Board Director and 10 years on the NSW Branch Executive.

She is currently a member of the Food Regulation Policy Committee, the SSPC2021 and thoroughly enjoys mentoring dietitians, both emerging and experienced, to explore what our profession has to offer.