Winners
Lotta Andonian, Graduate Student, M.S. Nutrition, Healthspan and Longevity
Lotta is a graduate student in the University of Southern California's Master of Science in Nutrition, Healthspan and Longevity Coordinated Program. (Class of 2024) She has been interested in nutrition and cooking from a young age, and wrote a cookbook to raise money for a local food bank in high school. Prior to going back to school to become a Registered Dietitian, she founded Eat Chic Chocolates, an award-winning vegan, organic, ethically-sourced chocolate company that was sold in over 600 stores, including Erewhon, Whole Foods Market (NYC), Neiman Marcus, and Bloomingdale's, which operated for six years before closing during the pandemic. She takes a holistic approach to nutrition as the foundation for a healthy lifestyle that also incorporates joyful exercise, stress management, sleep, social engagement, a sense of purpose, and self-expression. She hopes to combine her entrepreneurial and culinary background with a strong foundation in nutritional science to help reduce the burden of lifestyle-related disease in an aging society and to promote health-supportive behaviors, especially the inclusion of whole, nutrient dense foods in modern diets. When not working or studying, she enjoys yoga, boxing, cooking, shopping at the Santa Monica Farmers' Markets, and going to concerts and music festivals.
Ginger Hultin MS RDN CSO
Ginger is a Seattle-based Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and owner of the concierge, virtual nutrition practice Ginger Hultin Nutrition where she helps clients with complex health conditions through an integrative approach. She specializes in anti-inflammatory diets for integrative oncology nutrition, people with gastrointestinal disease, and autoimmune issues.
Ginger serves as adjunct clinical faculty at the Bastyr Center for Natural Health in Seattle. She is the director of communications at the Washington State Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, a past Spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and past-chair of the Vegetarian Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group. She was awarded Emerging Dietetic Leader in Washington, 2020, and has authored two nutrition books: Anti-Inflammatory Diet Meal Prep and the How to Eat to Beat Disease Cookbook. She is a graduate of the University of Washington and Bastyr University and is currently pursuing her doctorate of clinical nutrition at the University of North Florida.
Judges
Thank you to our Immediate Past Chair Dori Coetzee, MS, RDN who has spearheaded the VN Annual Recipe Contest this year.
Melinda Boyd, DCN, MPH, MHR, RD, LD
Melinda has had a unique career path that she credits to her time as a military spouse. Living abroad for 9 years, she developed skills in cross cultural communication and counseling individuals from diverse backgrounds. During her time abroad she immersed herself in the culinary scene, learning about food, culture, and vegetarian foods that are unique to different regions of the world.
Katya Galbis, LD, DipACLM
Katya is a licensed dietitian passionate about nutrition, especially plant-based nutrition. As a bilingual born in Mexico, Katya loves to help the Spanish-speaking community learn about plant-based nutrition through culinary nutrition classes and other resources in Spanish on her website Veggisima. Katya is also VN's State Coordinator.
Rebecca Lamoreaux, MS, RDN, LD
Rebecca is a lifelong vegetarian and is passionate about the power of nutrition to promote overall health! In her free time, she enjoys time with her pets and family, running, boating, gardening, dancing, cooking, and chasing sunsets.
Ashley Lombardi, MS RDN
Ashley is a clinical dietitian in long term care. She has worked with VNDPG as the student coordinator (2019-2022) and the current speaker bureau chair (2021-present). Ashly is the Chair-elect for VNDPG for 2023-24. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, traveling, and trying new delicious vegan recipes.
Lesley Schatz, MPH RDN LD
Lesley is a chef and RD, and she brings her love of food to her work. Her focus areas are inclusive menu and recipe development and plant-forward plates, with an eye towards accessible and budget-friendly ingredients and techniques. She loves learning what "home" tastes like for everyone and works diligently to ensure transparency & accuracy on menu labels. Off the clock, she enjoys listening to food podcasts, doing deep dives into food history and contemporary issues, crafting, and flipping through old cookbooks and menus for art and inspiration.