2021 DIFM/VN/IAAND Virtual Joint Symposium

Hosted by:

Dietitians in Integrative and Functional Medicine (DIFM DPG)
Vegetarian Nutrition (VN DPG)
International Affiliate of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (IAAND)

Now, more than ever, diversity, equity, inclusion, and sustainability in nutrition need to be addressed. In this joint symposium, each group will present a relevant topic by a speaker, followed by a live, moderated panel discussion.

CPEU: 4.0
The Symposium will be recorded

Register Here

Integrative Medicine for All (DIFM) Description: Integrative Medicine for All

This presentation will give participants an opportunity to gain insight into personal biases and assumptions about other cultures as well as learn strategies to manage these to improve effectiveness as a clinician. Overall, we are hoping to learn techniques to communicate in ways that engender trust.

Learning Objectives

  1. Gain insight into personal biases and assumptions about other cultures.
  2. Learn strategies to manage these to improve effectiveness as a clinician.
  3. Learn techniques to communicate in ways that engender trust.

Linda Lockett Brown, ABD, Mag, RDN, LDN, CLC, has extensive experience in nutrition, food service management and education. She is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, holds licensure as a Dietitian Nutritionist from the State of Florida and Lifestyle Counselor Certification in Stress and Weight Management.

She earned a Master of Agriculture degree at the University of Florida, Gainesville, with a Nutrition Major and an Education minor. She earned her B.S. in Agriculture at the University of Florida, Gainesville, with a Food Science Major, and a Microbiology minor. She is currently completing her EdD. in eLearning. Her research interest is online diabetes self-management education and support.

She is the president of CINET REGISTERED DIETITIANS & WELLNESS which provides integrative and traditional nutrition counseling for individuals and foodservice management consulting for restaurants or institutions. She has presented workshops for numerous organizations worldwide in nutrition, diabetes education, health, wellness, and online learning.

Professional experience includes positions as a Chemist/Microbiologist for Green Giant, Director of School Food Service, Head Start Food Service, and hospital Food and Nutrition Director. She received tenure while on the faculty of the University of Florida. Other faculty positions include the University of North Florida, Florida Community College at Jacksonville, St. Johns River Community College, Palm Beach Community College, Kaplan University, Concorde Career Academy and Fortis College.

She has written extensively for newspapers and magazines. Her media experience includes hosting TV and radio shows in New York, Jacksonville, Fort Myers, and West Palm Beach.

Service to the profession includes selection as the SPARK representative for the Florida Dietetic Association that was tasked with recruitment of minority students into the field. She has a long history of mentoring students while in school and providing career guidance after graduation.


Spice Up Your Meals with Ayurvedic Wisdom

Learn about trends in institutions and policies toward sustainable food systems and explore steps, challenges and successes taken to establish a Plant-Based Lifestyle Medicine Program within a public hospital system.

Learning Objectives

  1. Explore the concept of digestive fire (Agni) from an eastern perspective of Ayurvedic Medicine.
  2. Evaluate the evidence-based research supporting the healing aspects of spices and how to effectively use them in everyday cooking.
  3. Provide practical suggestions to nutritional professionals on how to create mindful awareness and savor meals according to seasons.

Sapna Punjabi Gupta, MS, RDN, LD, is a Culinary Wellness Specialist, Registered Dietitian, Ayurvedic Practitioner and the creative force of beSPICED (www.bespiced.com). Her work has been featured in both national and international print media. Sapna's wellness workshops and cooking classes, now offered online, are hugely popular along with her vibrant YouTube channel that celebrates food, life, and all things spice.

Sapna is the current president for the Dallas Dietetic Alliance, a local non-affiliated organization of nutrition professionals. She is on the board for Slow Foods – DFW chapter and is the VP of enrichment and programs for her daughter’s elementary school. Sapna is actively involved with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and part of several dietetic practice groups. She is currently on the board of Indians in Nutrition and Dietetics – Member Interest Group (IND-MIG). She has been the Texas state coordinator for VNDPG for 3 years.

Sapna was born in India and is a first-generation immigrant. Her deep connection to her Indian roots has shaped her work and social activism. Her one of a kind energy, strong eastern roots and western dietetics expertise enables Sapna to connect to her audience both in person and through a growing organic following on multiple social platforms.


Plant-Based Diets, Sustainability and Transforming Healthcare Systems

Spices have been traditionally used for flavor but also medicinal purposes. This presentation will connect ancient wisdom and modern science exploring the evidence-based research of ayurvedic spices and its correlation to gut health.

Learning Objectives

  1. Review current, evidence-based guidance for sustainability and plant-based foods.
  2. Discover levers driving trends in institutions, policies and menus towards sustainable food systems.
  3. Explore steps taken to establish a Plant-Based Lifestyle Medicine Program within a public hospital system.
  4. Evaluate challenges and successes in order to understand how to expand these programs in diverse healthcare systems.
Sherene Chou, MS, RD, is an award-winning dietitian and chef focused on building a more equitable and sustainable food system through the intersection of plant-based nutrition, food and social justice. She serves as the Past Chair for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Vegetarian Nutrition Practice Group and on the Advisory Committee for the Teaching Kitchen Collaborative. In 2020, she co-founded Food + Planet, an initiative to empower healthcare professionals to transform the food system. Most recently, she was featured in the New York Times on the importance of diversifying healthcare. You can follow her work @eatsustainablefoods on Instagram.


Lily Correa, MPH, RDN, DipACLM,
is passionate about plant-based nutrition and firmly believes that the kitchen is the greatest tool from which to promote optimal health and wellness. She graduated from Loma Linda University in California, where she obtained a Master of Public Health with a concentration in nutrition. She worked as a registered dietitian/bilingual health educator at the preventive medicine department at Kaiser Permanente in Riverside, Calif., for three years before moving to New York to pursue health-supportive culinary arts studies at the Natural Gourmet Institute. After graduating from the Natural Gourmet Institute, Lily joined the team at Bellevue Hospital’s Plant-Based Lifestyle Medicine Program. She is a recent Diplomate of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. You can follow her work @lilyc_rd on instagram.


Panel Discussion - Working Together to Create a New Future: Creating a Call to Action for the Dietetics Profession

The panel discussion will discuss the concepts of diversity, equity, inclusion, and sustainability within dietetics and how to integrate these concepts into practice.

Learning Objectives

  1. Understand ways to identify own internal and external biases and how they affect consumer/client/student outcomes
  2. Identify ways to translate DEI concepts into personal actions 
  3. Create a personal call to action to embrace and advance DEI in nutrition and dietetics profession, including the Academy’s Strategic Plan

Moderated by: Tamara Melton, MS, RDN, LD, CPHIMS
Panelists: Denine Rogers, MS, RDN, LD, FAND, Tessa Nguyen, RD, LDN

When:  Apr 10, 2021 from 10:00 AM to 03:00 PM (CT)
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