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.

Dr Susan Ash became a Fellow of Dietitians Australia in 2006 and prior to retiring in 2014 was Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics at Queensland University of Technology, overseeing nutrition and dietetic education in several academic programs. Her career spans over 50 years in a variety of roles from clinical practice, public health and research, culminating in an academic leadership role. 

As one of the first dietitians in New South Wales to undertake a PhD, she has always advocated for research excellence. Her areas of research include evaluating the outcomes of nutrition interventions in chronic kidney disease, diabetes and obesity, malnutrition and Parkinson’s disease, as well as dietetic standards, professionalism and identity. Her focus on mentoring has underpinned all her work but most recently continues to be directed to higher degree students.

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, including the development and implementation of evidence-based practice guidelines and the publication of the first National Competency Standards. 

Her proactive leadership is recognised at both national and international levels particularly in curriculum development and standards. One of her key achievements was the establishment of tertiary dietetic education in Viet Nam, modelled on a competency framework used in Australian universities.

Dr Ash has been a dietetics educator for over 45 years and has always advocated strongly for the profession and its future direction.

Professor Lauren Ball has been awarded a Fellow Honour due to her exceptional achievements advancing the research capacity of Australian dietitians and being an exemplar of how dietitians can lead other disciplines in research and research leadership. 

Lauren is a Board Director of Dietitians Australia, elected by the membership, where she has contributed to the custodianship of the organisation and its growing membership. 

Lauren has actively contributed to Dietitians Australia's aged care advocacy campaign and other primary care advocacy initiatives, all furthering the number of job opportunities for dietitians to support Australians to live and age well.

Merrilyn Banks has over 30 years’ experience as a dietitian/dietitian manager; and is also an experienced researcher and held several executive roles. She is currently Director Dietetics and Food Services at the Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital and is a recognized as a leader in dietetic practice, influencing through research and its translation, a change in clinical practice toward identifying, preventing and treating poor nutrition associated with disease. 

Merrilyn was influential in having nutrition included in the National Safety and Quality Standards for Healthcare. She is committed and been influential in building a positive research culture with resultant increase in dietitians with PhDs, research outcomes and translation into practice in dietetics, allied health and other health professionals through her current role, executive and other leadership roles. She has supervised 15 PhD students and is also passionate about education and teaching of the next generation of clinicians, actively participating in Australian Dietetic Council university dietetic program accreditation processes.   She also holds Adjunct Professor positions with the Queensland University of Technology and University of Queensland.

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 Head of School of Health Sciences, University of New South Wales. Eleanor has more than 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. Now as a manager, this includes mentoring other health professionals to make a difference to new generations of practitioners.

Eleanor’s key research includes investigating grains, especially whole grains, and global health promotion initiatives to encourage us all to eat more whole grains.

Eleanor is a member of the Dietitian and Nutrition Regulatory Council and Chairs the Whole Grain Initiative’s Dietary Recommended Intake Group. 

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.

Dr Katrina Campbell is a distinguished leader in the field of dietetics, with a career spanning clinical practice, research, and healthcare innovation. She has led system-wide projects, embedding quality nutrition care within interdisciplinary teams and integrated telehealth solutions into patient care. These innovations have significantly reduced hospital admissions and improved access, patient experience and outcomes in chronic disease management.

Katrina is also a global leader in renal nutrition, serving on the International Council of Renal Nutrition and Metabolism and in a range of advisory roles. Her work in developing international guidelines, such as the K/DOQI and the Global Kidney Atlas, has influenced global standards in nutrition care for kidney disease, benefiting patients worldwide.

A strong advocate for the dietetics profession, Katrina co-led the successful inclusion of dietetic services in national telehealth policies during the COVID-19 pandemic. She is also recognised for her contributions to capacity building through supervising 10 dietitians to achieve research higher degrees, and the Allied Health Translating Research Into Practice (AH-TRIP) program, which has strengthened research and practice skills across allied health professionals.

Katrina’s contributions of sustained leadership, advocacy, and innovation that has elevated the profession nationally and internationally.

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).

Dr. Maria Chan (AdvAPD) is a Renal specialist dietitian at the St. George Hospital, NSW. She is also an Honorary Associate Professor, University of Wollongong and Conjoint Senior Lecturer, UNSW Sydney.

Maria served on the council of the International Society of Renal Nutrition & Metabolism from 2004-2008. Being the founding and executive member of the Global Renal Internet Course for Dietitians (GRID) of the National Kidney Foundation, USA, she is committed to improving the outcomes of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and training of renal specialist dietitians globally.

In Australia, Maria serves on many committees in professional organisations on policy setting. She has contributed to the development of five sets of evidence based renal nutrition practice guidelines. Guidelines create best practices and foster clinical decision-making rooted in research evidence, clinical expertise and patient values.

Maria speaks in national and international congresses regularly and has contributed to many peer reviewed publications. Her research interest focuses on the effects of nutrition interventions on outcomes of people with CKD.

Maria was twice given the Outstanding Contribution Award by the Dietitians Australia (2007 and 2013). In 2015, she received the prestigious Joel Kopple Award, NKF, USA for her outstanding contribution to renal nutrition.

Professor Karen Charlton has been a member of Dietitians Australia since 2007 and obtained Advanced Accredited Practicing Dietitian status in 2016, with a second term from 2022-2027.  Karen qualified as a dietitian in the UK in 1990 and worked in the National Health Service until 1992 when she returned to South Africa and worked at the University of Cape Town's Gerontology Research Centre until 1999. 

After obtaining additional qualifications in research (M.Sc) and epidemiology (MPhil), she became head of the Nutrition and Dietetics unit within the prestigious Department of Medicine at the University of Cape Town. There, she ran the country's only accredited postgraduate programme for dietetics training. Karen completed her PhD in 2006 and emigrated to Australia with her family in the same year. 

Karen has worked at the University of Wollongong since 2007 and has taught on both the public health and nutrition and dietetics programmes. Karen currently holds an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (2023 - 2027) to conduct a project to improve the sustainability, equity and healthiness of a regional area in NSW. 

Karen is committed to training the next generation of nutrition scientists and dietitians, and is a sought after PhD supervisor with 13 completions to date.

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.

Julie is the Managing Director of Nutrition Professionals Australia who is driven by a desire to help older people to eat smarter and live happier and healthier lives through food and nutrition. 

In her years in the profession, she has partnered with many organisations to find the right nutrition solutions in a range of settings across Australia.

Julie is a leader, with 10 years on the Board of Dietitians Australia, and four years as President.  Julie has been the Subject Matter Lead – Aged Care, Dietitians Australia and is currently a member of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Advisory Council.

Julie's passionate approach to aged care has resulted in significant changes in the aged care regulatory system and most importantly improved the recognition of the role of Accredited Practising Dietitians.

Associate Professor Maree Ferguson is an Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian, Fellow of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and an internationally renowned nutrition and dietetics expert. 

Maree is the Founder and Director of Dietitian Connection, a global network of over 50,000 nutrition professionals, providing valuable resources, professional development opportunities, and connections that help dietitians excel in their careers. She was previously the Director Nutrition and Dietetics, Princess Alexandra Hospital.  Prior to this, Maree worked at an international medical nutrition company in the United States.  She has held leadership positions both within the Dietitians Association of Australia and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.  

Maree developed the Malnutrition Screening Tool (MST) which has become a standard in clinical practice globally, including being endorsed by the Academy or Nutrition and Dietetics in the USA and being incorporated in the National Safety and Quality Standards for Healthcare in Australia. The MST is widely used in healthcare settings across the world, including the NHS in the UK and the US Departments of Defence and Veterans Affairs, helping to identify malnutrition early and improve patient outcomes through timely interventions.

Associate Professor 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 Associate Professor role at the University of Sydney and serving as 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 34 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 and more recently in academia.

In academia she has been responsible for the education of the next generation of dietitian-nutritionists and for building in the evidence base around household food and nutrition security and its impact on health. 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, she has previously been on and led the Council of Deans of Nutrition and Dietetics Australia New Zealand and has just appointed to the Dietitian Nutritionist Regulatory Council. She has been on the International Confederation of Dietetic Associations Board since 2020.

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 Roslyn Giglia is a dietitian researcher who has been a role model for her profession demonstrating commitment and innovation through her continued research into alcohol and breastfeeding. 

Roslyn completed her PhD at Curtin University (2004) on alcohol and breastfeeding, and recommendations from her PhD thesis formed the basis for the first alcohol guideline for lactating women nationally and internationally. She was subsequently awarded a Healthway Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (2010) conducting the first RCT online intervention to support breastfeeding women. 

Following this she took up a role at the Telethon Kids Institute overseeing the first ever FASD prevalence study in a juvenile detention centre in what was to become both a challenge and a privilege. She was awarded a NHMRC TRIP Fellowship in 2014 and investigated the uptake of the NHMRC alcohol guideline for breastfeeding women by maternal health practitioners. 

Roslyn became a true pracademic working as the Nutrition and Food Security Manager for Foodbank WA (2019–23) and Senior Scientific Officer with the Department of Health, WA (2023–24). She has now returned to academia researching in the field of nutrition, conducting natural experiments that generate evidence to inform public health policy that will ultimately promote healthier food environments.

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 Nicole Kiss is an Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian and clinician academic with more than 25 years’ experience in cancer nutrition, including clinical, research and health service management positions. 

Nicole is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition at Deakin University and co-leads the Exercise and Nutrition for Cancer research group. Nicole has authored 84 publications, 5 book chapters, more than 160 conference abstracts and has been awarded more $13 million in competitive research funding. 

She leads a research program that transforms the impact of cancer-related malnutrition through early recognition to improve health outcomes. Her publications are in leading journals, with 57% in the world's top 25% of journals.

Kelly Lambert is an Associate Professor at the University of Wollongong. She has 25 years experience as a dietitian and extensive clinical experience as a specialist kidney dietitian. Kelly's research interests and values are supporting people with kidney disease to live healthier lives, improving patient education by health professionals and educating future dietitians. To achieve these objectives, Kelly works on a number of national and international high level governance committees including the Kidney Health Australia CARI Executive Steering Committee, Kidney Health Australia Clinical Advisory Committee and ANZSN Policy Advisory committee. 

In 2023 Kelly was elected as one of only two dietitians on the International Council of Renal Nutrition and Metabolism Executive. She is also is a scientific advisory board member for PKD Australia.

Kelly is also a Board Director with the North Shoalhaven Meals on Wheels, where a small but amazing team of staff utilise her nutrition and dietetics expertise to provide amazing meals for clients as well as dining experiences for isolated vulnerable clients. In 2023 they began production using 3D printing technology to improve the quality of texture modified meals.

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.

Dr Shannon Lin is a trailblazer in diabetes education and cultural competence in dietetics. As Diabetes Course Director at the University of Technology Sydney, she pioneered Australia's first dedicated Indigenous diabetes educator course, increasing the Indigenous diabetes workforce by 40%. 

Her innovative work in health literacy and cultural sensitivity has been widely adopted, improving care for diverse populations nationwide. Shannon's research has secured over $2 million in funding and influenced national policies. 

Shannon was named as the National Credentialled Diabetes Educator of the Year (2023) for her extraordinary contribution to the well-being of people living with diabetes and diabetes education. As the only Board Director with Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian background for the Australian Diabetes Educators Association, she advocates for improved diabetes care nationally especially from the dietetic perspective. 

Her work extends internationally through collaborations with Life for a Child/Diabetes Australia, supporting healthcare professionals in under-resourced countries. She has trained over 5000 diabetes specialists globally. 

Shannon's contributions have significantly advanced dietetic practice, particularly in diabetes management for vulnerable communities. Her leadership in developing Australia's first consensus statement on diabetes specific nutritional formula for diabetes management exemplifies her impact on elevating the dietetic profession's role in multidisciplinary healthcare.

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.

Dr Merryn Netting graduated in 1988 from Flinders University with a post graduate Bachelor’s degree in Nutrition and Dietetics. Merryn worked as a clinical dietitian at the Adelaide Women’s and Children’s Hospital from 1991 to 2023, gaining broad expertise in maternal and paediatric nutrition, specifically in the area of food allergy management.

Merryn has demonstrated consistent leadership and service in the area of food allergy as a member of the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA), the peak medical organisation for allergy and clinical immunology in Australasia. Advocating for dietitians to be recognised as the nutritional experts in management of food allergy, Merryn has been part of the team who have developed national evidence based training opportunities in food allergy for dietitians and other health care professionals.

In 2015 she was awarded her PhD by the University of Adelaide for the thesis 'Nutritional Strategies for Allergy Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment, with a Specific Focus on Egg Allergy'. Contributing over 50 peer reviewed publications to the fields of infant feeding, allergy management and prevention, her research is supporting the drive for regulatory change to improve the nutritional content and labelling of commercial infant and toddler foods.

Margaret Nicholson commenced her Dietetic career working as a Clinical Dietitian for over 20 years within Sydney Local Health District. She worked as a clinical dietitian in adult and paediatric dietetics fulfilling individual case management, food service, community and managerial roles. Her clinical area of expertise is in Gerontology and has received various accolades including an award from Dietitians Australia.

Her current role is as a Senior Lecturer for the Discipline of Nutrition & Dietetics Group within the Faculty of Medicine & Health at the University of Sydney. She has held the role of placement coordinator for greater than 20 years as well as various  teaching roles within the Discipline having taught over 1400 Dietetic students. She is an expert on training student dietitian supervisors and has presented to over 1000 new and experienced dietitians across Australia.

Other achievements include successfully being awarded funding for research into the area of student readiness for placement, journal publications and book authorship. She is very active within the profession having successfully mentored over 50  graduated dietitians, assessed over 80 international counselling sessions for the Dietitians Australia Dietetics Skills Recognition Committee and is a DA Reviewer of manuscripts/abstracts/presentations for Nutrition & Dietetics journal and Dietitians Australia national conference.

Claire is a professor and Deputy Dean (education) in the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at Monash University.

Claire has been awarded an Australian national teaching citation (2016) and teaching excellence award (2017), a national office for learning and teaching fellowship (2014) and is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

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 Dietitian Nutritionist Regulatory 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.

Anna Rangan is Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Sydney. She worked in clinical dietetics in Australia and the UK, before obtaining her PhD in public health nutrition at Curtin University in 1998.

Her research interests include the assessment and monitoring of food and nutrient intake, population nutrition surveys, food composition, and dietary methodology.

Anna is the director of the nutrition and dietetics program at the University of Sydney,  and has trained more than 850 new dietitians. She particularly enjoys teaching dietitians to become competent researchers.

She is an associate editor of Nutrition and Dietetics, Fellow of Food Standards Australia and New Zealand, and was on the Healthy Food Partnership working groups on Portion Sizes and Industry Guide to Voluntary Serving Size Reduction.

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.

Emma Stirling is highly regarded futurist within dietetics as an entrepreneurial leader who consistently disrupts and nurtures the profession towards innovation. Her career spans thirty years, twenty as an award-winning practitioner and ten as a successful pracademic, driving significant advancement in culinary nutrition, nutrition communication and corporate consulting.

Emma was awarded a 2011 Dietitians Australia National Award of Merit for her role as founding chair of the Dietitian Australia Social Media Advisory Committee and 2021 joint Lecture in Honour for her innovation, entrepreneurship and commitment to dietitians that has helped shape our collective success, reach and impact today.

Emma is course coordinator of the Graduate Certificate in Culinary Nutrition Science at Australian Catholic University and is driving this new field of practice. As an award-winning nutrition writer Emma completed over twenty years of magazine and online writing establishing the blog Scoop Nutrition and Storehouse Blog Directory that profiled over 3,500 articles by APDs in the foundation years of social media. A pioneer in corporate dietetics from the late 1990’s, co-founding The Food Group and then Scoop Nutrition, Emma continues to drive significant influence today in evidence-based industry engagement, research, work integrated learning and practice.

Dr Anne Swain has been the head dietitian at the RPAH Allergy Unit for over 40 years and is a leading expert in the field of food intolerance and food allergy both nationally and internationally.    

Anne is a renowned researcher, educator, author and mentor for many dietitians and students.  Anne developed the diagnostic elimination diet and challenge protocol which has become an important investigative and management methodology for patients with food intolerance.  

Anne has published many articles on food intolerance and food allergy and is co-author of Friendly Food and the associated Food Intolerance Handbooks.  

Anne also contributes to the development of policy and protocols for food allergy and food intolerance for the health industry.  This includes for NSW Health, the DA, ASCIA and FSANZ.    

Anne has made an outstanding contribution to dietetics and continues to actively and generously contribute to the dietetics profession, FSANZ, NSW Health, ASCIA and INDANA.  

Anne has received several awards in dietetics recognising her work including the Award of Excellence for clinical research and expertise in the field of allergy/sensitivity in 1992, Greatness in Dietetics Award in 2001, the Substantial Contribution Award in 2007, the Outstanding Contribution Award in 2017.

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.

Kim Tikellis is an Advanced Accredited Practicing Dietitian with over 29 years food industry leadership in consumer education, food innovation and reformulation to improve the nutritional status of the Australian food supply.  Kim has leadership & nutrition advocacy roles at diverse companies including Heinz Wattie’s, National Foods, Fonterra and Simplot.  Kim gained food regulatory experience working for the federal government in food regulation at FSANZ plus marketing activation experience at Dairy Australia and Nestlé Healthcare Nutrition.  

Adding to her diverse skill set, Kim has successfully developed & executed a retail brand strategy for health & wellness for Coles Group Supermarkets. Her current role as Group Manager Nutrition & Health requires creating integrated strategic nutrition leadership to help deliver the Coles vision for healthier Australians via nutritional improvement of the food supply.  

Kim is a past-President of ILSI International Life Sciences Institute Australasia, and a selection committee member for ONLP Oceanic Nutrition Leadership program.  She is an affiliate lecturer at Monash University and co-convenor of the non-affiliated Food Industry Nutrition Group in Victoria. Kim has participated as a member of the Commonwealth Government Technical Advisory Group to the Health Star Rating 5 year review for Front of Pack labelling.

Helen graduated as a dietitian from the UK and entered academia after 15 years of practice. She completed her Master of Human Nutrition (Deakin University) and PhD (Melbourne University) part time whilst working as a clinical specialist dietitian at the Royal Children’s Hospital.

On completion of her PhD, she returned to the UK to join an international nutrition group at the University of Surrey where she established her credentials in dietetic education and learnt skills in running clinical trials, finally returning to Australia in 2006. Helen established the Monash University Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food, and was the discipline lead for dietetics for 10 years, moving in 2020 to the Chair of Nutrition & Dietetics at the University of Queensland.

Helen is committed to consistently delivering high quality dietetic education and undertaking research with impact. With over 170 peer reviewed publications, her work informs clinical practice and consensus guidelines around the globe. She is a Fellow of the Association for Nutrition and of the Nutrition Society Australia. She Chaired the National Committee for Nutrition, Australian Academy of Science until 2023. She is an Assoc Editor of Nutrition and Dietetics and an Advanced Practicing Dietitian.

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”.

Associate Professor Shelley Wilkinson is an Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian and also has a PhD in Psychology. She has been a dietitian for 30 years.

Her research aims to improve mothers’ and babies’ health, during and after pregnancy, by advancing nutrition care and capabilities of services and clinicians. Her work focuses on women at high risk of poor outcomes, especially those with gestational diabetes and at risk of excessive gestational weight gain.

Key approaches in her research portfolio have involved evaluating methods to translate nutrition best practice into clinical care. Applying learnings from her NHMRC TRIP (translating research into practice) fellowship she has collaborated with numerous Queensland Health Services to facilitate adoption of new models of care, improving patients’ and staff’s satisfaction, clinical measures, as well as increasing understanding of how to co-create these meaningful changes with clinical teams.

Her current roles is as a Project Officer at the Mater Mothers in Brisbane where her work supports an evidence-informed, co-creation approach to the delivery of care within Obstetric Medicine - with recent projects radically redesigning GDM care; evaluating the normalising of pregnancy care for women at high medical risk (“OMGP”) and a soon-to-launch 4HER post-pregnancy cardio-metabolic health clinic.

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 OAM (1950 – 2022) was an esteemed inaugural Fellow of Dietitians Australia. Remembered for his significant contributions to the field of dietetics, Peter dedicated his career to advancing nutritional science and improving public health. His work has left a lasting impact on the wider public and his colleagues.

Peter's passion for dietetics was matched by his commitment to mentoring young professionals and advocating for evidence-based practice. He was a beloved figure in the dietetics community, known for his kindness, wisdom and unwavering dedication.

Peter's legacy continues to inspire and guide future generations of dietitians. He is deeply missed by all who knew him.

For more about Peter's life and contributions, please read our eulogy for Peter.

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.