Speaker Bios
Brandey Ackerman, RD
Medical Student,
TTUHSC – School of Medicine
Brandey Ackerman is currently a third year medical student at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine in Lubbock. Prior to medical school she worked at WIC for 6 1/2 years at four different agencies, lastly as a Registered Dietitian and Nutrition Education Coordinator for the Austin/Travis County WIC. She also worked at Early Childhood Intervention for two years counseling parents of children with special health care needs. Upon completion of medical school, Brandey hopes to specialize in Pediatrics.
Gina Akin, BS
WIC Wellness Works Senior Program Coordinator,
Dept. of Kinesiology & Health Education
The University of Texas at Austin
As Senior Program Coordinator for the WIC Wellness Works program, Gina Akin helps coordinate the development and implementation of the employee wellness program for WIC staff which reaches over 2,000 WIC employees. Her role includes creating interactive wellness programs, writing educational materials for this diverse population, as well as coordinating the delivery of the WIC Wellness Works program. Her background includes the development of comprehensive corporate wellness programs, working in the community health arena, creating statewide coalitions and conducting educational and informational presentations. Her clients have included the Texas Department of State Health Services, the American Heart Association, Texas Affiliate and St. David’s Hospital.
Jenna Anding, PhD, RD
Associate Professor & Associate Department Head,
Dept. of Nutrition & Food Science, Texas AgriLife Extension Service
Dr. Jenna Anding is the Associate Department Head for Extension in the Department of Nutrition and Food Science, Texas AgriLife Extension Service. She currently serves as Principle Investigator for the Better Living for Texans (SNAP-Ed) program. Her research areas have focused on the evaluation of Extension food and nutrition education programs, including those targeted toward limited resource audiences. Currently, Dr. Anding’s Extension programming efforts have been directed toward food safety where she is developing food safety programs for consumers and food service employees. Dr. Anding received her B.S. in Agricultural Education and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Nutrition from Texas A&M. She holds a teaching certificate in both Agricultural Sciences and Biology, is a Registered and Licensed Dietitian and is a Certified Food Safety Professional.
Kristina Arrieta, MPH, IBCLC
Training Specialist IV,
Texas Dept. of State Health Services (DSHS)
Kristina is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. She has worked in WIC clinics and hospitals helping mothers breastfeed and currently works as a breastfeeding trainer for the Texas Department of State Health Services.
Rosana Arruda, MS, BS
Nutritionist Consultant,
WIC – Houston Dept. of Health and Human Services
Rosana Arruda currently works at the Houston Department of Health and Human Services WIC as a Nutritionist Consultant. Ms. Arruda assesses, counsels and coordinates plan of care for WIC clients. She coordinates community nutrition intervention and work-site wellness projects, and assists with staff training. Ms. Arruda obtained the Certificate of Training in Childhood and Adolescent Weight Management with the Commission of Dietetic Registration in 2005 and has over nine years of professional practice in assessing, counseling patients with diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and obesity in an outpatient setting.
Robin Atwood, EdD, MS
Program Director,
The University of Texas at Austin
Robin Atwood, Ed.D. has been conducting research in the area of physical activity, obesity and healthy eating at The University of Texas at Austin for the past 12 years. She serves as the program director for two grant-funded programs within the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education. Currently she is working with the Texas Department of State Health Services, WIC Program, Nutrition Services Section on the development, implementation and evaluation of a work-site wellness program for Texas WIC staff and on a nutrition education evaluation project. Dr. Atwood is also the co-owner of the Health Institute, a Historically Underutilized Business located in Austin, Texas that provides public health evaluation services. Prior to her work at the university, she worked in the fitness industry for 15 years. During those years she developed, implemented and managed programs in corporate fitness, health promotion and fitness training.
Tiffany Brown, BS
Training Specialist,
Texas Dept. of State Health Services (DSHS)
Tiffany Brown is a registered and licensed dietitian for the Clinic Services Branch of WIC at the Texas Department of State Health Services. As a Training Specialist, she is responsible for developing materials and conducting training sessions for local agency staff. She is certified by the Aerobic and Fitness Association of America and enjoys teaching group fitness classes for a local gym in Austin.
Liz Bruns, RD, LD
Nutrition Training Specialist,
Texas Dept. of State Health Services (DSHS)
Liz Bruns works in the the Clinic Services section of Texas WIC and provides training on a number of certification and nutrition topics, including Vegetarian Nutrition. Liz chose a vegetarian (really pescatarian – she occassionally eats fish and shellfish) lifestyle about 15 years ago and is a regular consumer of soy products. Prior to state service, Liz worked in WIC as a Nutritionist in east Texas and Austin/Travis county…and ate meat.
Cathy Carothers, BLA, IBCLC, RLC, FILCA
Co-Director,
Every Mother, Inc.
Cathy is Co-Director of Every Mother, Inc., President-elect of the International Lactation Consultant Association, and past Director of Marketing for ILCA. An International Board Certified Lactation Consultant since 1996, she is the project director for the USDA Food and Nutrition Service curriculum, Using Loving Support to Grow and Glow in WIC: Breastfeeding Training for Local WIC Staff, and served as lead trainer for the curriculum as it was presented in all seven USDA geographic regions of the country in 2009. She served as the project coordinator for USDA’s national WIC peer counseling curricula, and is project director for the HHS Maternal and Child Health Bureau Project, The Business Case for Breastfeeding, which includes development of a resource kit for employers and State-based community training events in 36 U.S. States. The former State Breastfeeding Coordinator for the Mississippi State Department of Health WIC Program and the former Training and Outreach Coordinator for Best Start Social Marketing, she has provided more than 300 breastfeeding related trainings and workshops in nearly every U.S. State.
Lauren Christian, RD, LD
Nutrition Education Consultant,
Texas Dept. of State Health Services (DSHS)
Lauren Christian works at the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) in the nutrition education training group for WIC, where she develops trainings and nutrition education materials for local agency staff and serves as a nutrition education liaison. She also serves as a point of contact for the High Risk RD’s throughout the state. Prior to joining DSHS, Lauren worked as a clinical dietitian for over five years in both Austin and Chicago, Ill. She is a registered dietitian, and completed her dietetic internship at Ingalls Hospital outside of Chicago.
Jessica Coll, RD
Nutrition Education Consultant,
Texas Dept. of State Health Services
Originally from Montreal, Canada, Jessica Coll studied Dietetics and Human Nutrition at McGill University in that city. Her dietetic internship gave her the opportunity to specialize in pregnancy, children, and nutrition support.
Jessica moved to Austin in 2007 to do part of her dietetic internship with WIC Local Agency 01. After graduating from McGill University in Montreal, she gained RD accreditation in Canada. While working at LA 01, Jessica achieved her RD certification in the US as well.
Jessica now works at the State WIC office in the Nutrition Education Training Group where she develops trainings for Local Agency Staff and serves as a Nutrition Education Liaison. She also teaches a portion of the breastfeeding training in the Principles of Lactation Management course.
Eric Cooper, BS
Executive Director,
San Antonio Food Bank
Eric Cooper, the Executive Director of the San Antonio Food Bank (SAFB) since 2001, has had a phenomenal impact in the organization and the community it serves in heightening the awareness of hunger and its adverse effects. Under his leadership, the SAFB increased the food provided to hungry families by over 90 percent. Overseeing a $10 million Capital Campaign allowed the SAFB to move into a new facility and start several cutting edge initiatives, such as the partnership with the WIC program. Recognizing that Texas, and specifically San Antonio, has a disproportionately high rate of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and other chronic ailments directly related to poor nutrition, Cooper brought and received grants to enable the SAFB to hire staff including full-time nutritionists to educate SAFB partner agencies and their clients on nutrition, as well as assistance to qualify for programs to alleviate hunger. In addition, under Cooper’s leadership, the SAFB became the first, and now largest, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Outreach Program (Food Stamp) in Texas, leading the charge to obtain grants awarded to the Texas Food Bank Network for Food Stamps outreach for all 19 Texas Food Banks. Mr. Cooper is a leader in the San Antonio community where he serves as a co-chair on the Mayor’s Task Force for Hunger and Homelessness. During the first 6 years of his tenure he made the SAFB number one among 205 in the country. Mr. Cooper has associate degrees in Sociology, Social Work and Business Administration from the University of Utah, and together with his wife of sixteen years, Erin, has five children: Madison, Morgan, Gabriel, Elijah and Meredith.
Tracy Erickson, BS, RD, IBCLC
WIC Breastfeeding Coordinator,
Texas Dept. of State Health Services (DSHS)
Tracy Erickson has overseen the coordination of the breastfeeding promotion and support activities in Texas WIC since 1999. As part of her job, Ms. Erickson has developed important initiatives for the WIC program, such as the statewide Breast Pump Program, the African-American Breastfeeding Promotion Initiative, the Infant Feeding Practices Survey and the Every Ounce Counts campaign. Tracy was a trainer for the Department of State Health Services Principles of Lactation Management training from 2005 to 2009. Ms. Erickson has served on the Board of Directors for the Mother’s Milk Bank at Austin since 1999 and is an active member of the Texas Breastfeeding Coalition and the Central Texas Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Breastfeeding Coalition.
Carlos Galvan, BS
Nutrition Education Consultant,
Texas Dept. of State Health Services (DSHS)
Carlos Galvan has been with State office since 2006. He has previously worked at the clinic level in Jacksonville, Tyler, and other East Texas locations. He also has worked with the Region VII Service Center – Head Start program as a Nutrition Coordinator. Carlos’ background is primarily in the area of early childhood nutrition. He received his B.S. from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas.
Erica Harris, MS, RD, LD
Nutrition Education Consultant,
Texas Dept. of State Health Services (DSHS)
Erica Harris works at the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) in the nutrition education training group, where she develops trainings for local agency staff and serves as a nutrition education liaison. Prior to joining DSHS, Erica taught nutrition at the Texas Culinary Academy, served as an AmeriCorps health educator, and worked as a research assistant for the Women’s Health Initiative study at Stanford. She is a registered dietitian and holds a Master’s degree in Nutrition Education from Columbia University Teachers College.
Amy Hendel, Registered Physician Assistant, Health Coach
Speakers Platform
Amy Hendel is a popular and recognizable medical and lifestyle reporter, expert, columnist and health host. As a Health Coach, Ms. Hendel works with clients, especially families, using her own unique blend of nutrition, fitness, and psychology techniques. She released her first book, Fat Families Thin Families (BenBella Publishers, www.fatfamiliesthinfamilies.com) in June 2008, and offers a “family team” approach to help families cope with obesity and its related health issues. The softcover is being released in May 2010 as The 4 Habits of Healthy Families.
Ms. Hendel is featured on HouseSmarts, Healthy Home segments and she has been a guest expert on The Early Show, Today, Good Morning America Online, Fox News, the 700 Club, iVillage Live, The Big Story with John Gibson, Rachel Ray, EXTRA, Lifetime, TLC, The Big Idea and has hosted numerous health projects including: Westwood One – Good Eating Good Living, Lifetime’s – Stories on the Beach, and Pfizer’s On the Road to Pain Relief. She is a frequent quoted expert in national magazines and publications, and her free newsletter, Amy’s Daily Health Pearl, is received by thousands everyday.
Known as The HealthGal, Amy is a past spokesperson for Nutrilite’s Get a Daily Dose of Color Phytonutrient campaign and for the Florida Citrus Growers. She is the lead blogger at www.healthcorps.org and also contributes to www.healthcentral.com covering obesity, skin cancer, skincare, sexual health, anxiety, and menopause issues. She was also a past coach for several www.ivillage.com yearly online challenges. Amy is currently living in both New York and Los Angeles.
Jarold Tom Johnston
Midwife, Lactation Consultant
Bio to Come…
Jim Kenton, PMP
Project Manager Team Lead,
Texas Dept. of State Health Services
Mr. Kenton is currently Project Manager Team Lead in the Product Development Process Improvement Branch (Nutrition Services). This group is responsible for managing a wide variety of projects including WIN Evolution, Quick WIN, New Food Rules, Medicaid Billing, etc. Jim was formerly an IT Group Manager for DSHS Family and Community Health – TWICES.
Ellen Larkin, Policy and Special Projects Coordinator
Policy and Special Projects Coordinator,
Texas Dept. of State Health Services
Ellen Larkin has worked for the WIC State Agency for over 10 years. She has worked in various roles including fiscal monitoring, quality assurance liaison, fiscal policy and procedures coordinator and currently the polucy and special projects coordinator. Ellen became Project Director for Quick WIN due to her extensive knowledge of LA issues concerning clinic processes, work flow and space.
Jacquelyn McDonald, PhD, MPH, RD, LD, RN
Sr. Lecturer,
Texas State University
Dept. of Health, Physical Education & Recreation
Dr. Jacquelyn McDonald is currently a senior lecturer in Community Health Education and Health Promotion, and the director of the Health Promotion and Fitness and Wellness Internships at Texas State University. Previously, she has been the Assistant Commissioner for Access and Intake at the Department of Aging and Disabilities; and has served as the director of the Office of the Board of Health and director of communications at the Texas Department of Health, as well as the nutrition coordinator for the state WIC office. Prior to her work in the state health services, she was the local WIC Director in Amarillo, Texas.
Gita G. Mirchandani, PhD, MPH
Office of Program Decision Support,
Family & Community Health Services
Texas Dept. of State Health Services
Maricela Montoya, Registered Dietitian
Dietetic & Nutrition Specialist,
Texas Dept. of State Health Services (DSHS)
Marciela graduated from Incarnate Word in 2007 and then did my Dietetic Internship from 2007 through 2008. She then worked part-time with the UT Health Science Center in San Antonio on educating children and their parents at risk for diabetes on healthier food choices. In May of 2009, I started working with WIC as a formula specialist.
Dr. Peter S. Murano
Associate Professor, Dept. of Nutrition and Food Science
Director, Institute for Obesity Research and Program Evaluation,
AgriLIFE Research, Texas A&M University System
Bio to Come…
Deborah Parnell, BS
Breastfeeding Coordinator / Lactation Consultant,
City of Dallas WIC Program
Deborah Parnell is the Breastfeeding Coordinator for the City of Dallas WIC Program. She has been with the WIC program for 24 years, and was instrumental in implementing partnerships between WIC and several hospitals in the Dallas area. Deborah consults regularly with the medical staff at hospitals and several prenatal clinics to help create an environment that promotes, and supports, breastfeeding. Prior to her current position, she worked as a nutritionist in Local Agency 07. Deborah is from Florida but has lived in the Dallas area for 30 years and serves on several community boards. Next year, she will be President of the Dallas Area Breastfeeding Alliance.
Cathy Plyler, BS
Clinical Nutrition Specialist,
Texas Dept. of State Health Services (DSHS), State WIC Office
Cathy Plyler began her career in clinical dietetics as the Director of Dietary Services at Val Verde Memorial Hospital in Del Rio, Texas. Her prior WIC experience includes positions as a clinic supervisor and Breastfeeding Coordinator for Project 17 UTHSC in Houston, as well as a High Risk RD for the City of Dallas, Project 7. She has experience working with Special Health Care Needs clients as a dietitian for Early Childhood Intervention programs in Fort Worth and Austin. In her present position at the WIC State office, she is involved with formula approval and related issues. Cathy enjoys being able to communicate with the WIC staff across the state on a daily basis.
Anita Ramos, BS, RD
Training Specialist,
Texas Dept. of State Health Services (DSHS)
Anita Ramos has worked for the WIC Program for 20 years. Before joining WIC, she worked as a Nutritionist at the Austin/Travis County Health Department, WIC Program for three years. She has been at the WIC State Office for 17 years. Her positions include Nutrition Monitor, Information and Response Management and 800 Operator Supervisor and Certification Trainer. Anita currently works in the Clinic Services Branch at the state WIC office.
Lisa Rankine, RD
Clinic Services Program Coordinator,
Texas Dept. of State Health Services (DSHS)
Lisa Rankine is a Registered Dietitian and worked as a WIC Monitor and in Quality Improvement for over 12 years. She is currently a Clinic Services Program Coordinator in the Clinic Services Unit.
Roxanne Robison, RD, LD
Children with Special Health Care Needs Nutrition Consultant,
Texas Dept. of State Health Services (DSHS)
Roxanne Robison has 23 years of experience as a clinical pediatric dietitian working with Children with Special Health Care Needs, including at Scott & White Hospital in Temple, Texas, at three Early Childhood Intervention programs in Travis County and in the pediatric home health care setting. Roxanne has worked for the past 15 years at the State WIC office, and currently works half time as a dietitian at Easter Seals of Central Texas Early Childhood Intervention Program.
Elizabeth Sanchez,
Breastfeeding Peer Counselor,
City of Dallas WIC Program
Elizabeth Sanchez is the mother of five breast-fed children, the longest of which was breast-fed for four and a half years. She is also currently breastfeeding her youngest child who is now two years of age. Elizabeth was born in Mexico and immigrated to the United States when she was 12 years old. She has worked for the City of Dallas WIC Program for 10 years as a breastfeeding counselor. The majority of her work experience has come from one on one situations with breastfeeding mothers and their infants in the local area hospitals. She has had experience with several hospitals including; nine years with Methodist Dallas Medical Center, four years with Parkland Memorial Hospital and recently began providing services to Baylor Medical Center in Irving.
Janet Sharkis, MS
Executive Director,
Texas Office for The Prevention of Developmental Disabilities
Janet Sharkis is the Executive Director of the Texas Office for the Prevention of Developmental Disabilities (TOPDD), which is the state’s lead agency on FASD. TOPDD’s prevention and education leadership includes statewide research that it conducts in collaboration with some of the foremost experts on the issue in the nation and local agencies.
Ms. Sharkis has front line experience working with both women and children impacted by this issue, as the former director of an innovative addiction recovery program that she developed for women with children and as a former special education teacher.
Ms. Sharkis has also led a regional substance abuse coalition, organized one of the first successful consumer activist group on addiction in Connecticut, oversaw the financial development of several organizations, and developed a host of programs for disadvantaged children and their families.
Nelda Speller, MS
Extension Agent-EFNEP,
Texas AgriLife Extension Service
Nelda Speller has been an Extension Agent with Texas AgriLife Extension Service for 11 years. She has been assigned to EFNEP for nine of those 11 years in Cameron County in Harlingen, Texas and Bexar County in San Antonio, Texas. Nelda has been partnering with WIC in various capacities since 1999. With her leadership and guidance, EFNEP in Bexar County educates approximately 8,000-10,000 active WIC participants each year.
Julie Stagg, MSN, RN
Maternal & Child Health Nurse Consultant,
Office of Program Decision Support
Division of Family and Community Health Services
Texas Dept. of State Health Services
Julie is a Master’s prepared public health nurse and an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. Julie is Nurse Consultant for the DSHS Office of Program Decision Support in the Division of Family and Communty Health. In this role, she coordinates the DSHS Breastfeeding Workgroup, oversees the Texas Mother Friendly Worksite and Right to Breastfeed programs, and provides breastfeeding and public health expertise to a variety of programs and initiatives within the Division of Family and Community Health, and across DSHS. She is also an active member of the Texas Breastfeeding Coalition, Central Texas Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition, and the Heart of Texas Lactation Consultants.
Jewell Stremler, CLE (Certified Lactation Educator)
Peer Counselor Coordinator,
Texas Dept. of State Health Services (DSHS)
Jewell Stremler, CLE, is the Peer Counselor Coordinator for the Texas Department of State Health Services. She has over 20 years experience in breastfeeding promotion. Since she started the WIC Peer Counselor Program in Texas in 1991, over 3,800 mothers have been trained as breastfeeding peer counselors. Today approximately 350 peer counselors are working in 67 WIC Local Agencies and 70 hospitals.
Tonia Swartz, RD, LD
Clinical Nutrition Specialist,
Texas Dept. of State Health Services
Tonia is a registered and licensed dietitian and graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. Currently she works in the Clinic Services Branch of WIC at the Texas Department of State Health Services and oversees the WIC Certification Specialist Program. She has worked eight years as a clinical dietitian in both long-term and acute care, and continues as a PRN Dietitian at North Austin Medical Center.
Bryan Vartabedian, MD, FAAP
Pediatric Gastroenterologist,
Texas Children’s Hospital / Baylor College of Medicine
Dr. Vartabedian currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas and attending physician at Texas Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Vartabedian completed his pediatric residency, and fellowship in pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition at Baylor College of Medicine / Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. He is certified by the American Board of Pediatrics in both general pediatrics and pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition.
As a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and a member of the AAP’s Council on Communications and Media, he is frequently quoted by media on issues of pediatric and digestive health.
As a freelance writer, Dr. Vartabedian has written for a number of national publications including Parenting and American Baby. He is the author of Colic Solved – The Essential Guide to Infant Reflux and the Care of Your Crying, Difficult-to-Soothe Baby (Ballantine/Random House 2007) and First Foods (St. Martin’s Press 2001). He is a contributing author to The Real Life of a Pediatrician edited by Perri Klass (Kaplan 2009).
Beyond publishing in the mainstream media, Dr. Vartabedian has an interest in the evolving role of social media in health care. Since 2006 he has been active in the health blogosphere and currently writes the syndicated blog, 33 Charts. As an active speaker, Dr. Vartabedian has addressed the American Medical Association, the American Telemedicine Association and the Texas Medical Association on the issue of MDs in the social media space. He maintains an active presence on a variety of social media platforms and in between patients you can find him on Twitter.
Evangelina T. Villagomez, PhD, APRN, CCRN, CDE, CS
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Bio to Come…
Marc Wernli,
Program Manager,
Health and Human Services Commission
Marc Wernli is the program manager for the Community Education and Outreach Services department which develops and manages a variety of projects that increase public access to social services programs, promotes nutrition education and provides pregnancy support services. Programs under the special projects section include Food Stamp Outreach, HHSC Social Services Outreach, Food Stamp Nutrition Education and Alternatives to Abortion. Mr. Wernli has been with the Health and Human Services Commission for over five years, four of those in his current role.
Tracie Wood,
Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity Prevention Program MC 1944
Texas Dept. of State Health Services
Bio to Come…
Jaya Zyman-Ponebshek,
Yoga Instructor