Our Mission: Our Editors
SuperKids Nutrition editing team is trained and formally educated as Registered Dietitians and/or Nutrition Scientists; learn more about these expertises by reading: Who are Registered Dietitians and Nutrition Scientists. We utilize expert knowledge from a diverse, nationwide group of Registered Dietitians and Nutrition Scientists. Our nutrition resources are evidence-based and reviewed for accuracy and timeliness by our qualified editorial board.
SuperKids Nutrition Advisory Committee
Our nutrition advisory committee helps shape the SuperKids Nutrition vision. Their expertise, passion and commitment to making a difference through good nutrition in the lives of children helps us achieve our mission.
Meet the Editors
Founder - Editor in Chief
Melissa Halas-Liang, MA, RD, CDE is a Registered
Dietitian, Certified Diabetes Educator, Certified Nutrition Support Dietitian
and holds a Masters degree in Nutrition Education. Melissa has the
Certificate of training for Childhood and Adolescent and Weight Management.
She has over 15 years of diverse experience in nutrition management, clinical
trials, teaching, media and writing and currently serves as Co-President
elect of the Los Angeles District of the California Dietetic Association.
Read more about her children's book and
the Super
Crew.
Contributing Editors
Jacqueline J. Zimmerman, MS, RD is a Registered Dietitian and earned her Master of Science degree in Nutrition Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. Currently, she is a bionutrition research dietitian at Columbia University’s Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research. Jacqueline has an interest in promoting accurate nutrition and health writing, sustainable food systems and simple, good food. To this end, she maintains a blog titled Food = Life at www.jjznutrition.com.
Ashley A. Reynolds, MS, RD, LDN is a registered dietitian who received her MS in Nutrition Communication from Tufts University. She is currently part of the public relations and social influence team at Mullen in Boston, MA working with a variety of food and nutrition clients. Her areas of expertise range from nutrition communication and writing to pediatric nutrition and dietary therapy for epilepsy.
Heather R Mangieri, MS, RD, CSSD, LDN is a registered dietitian, board certified specialist in sports dietetics and founder of Nutrition CheckUp, a private nutrition practice focusing on sports nutrition, weight management, wellness and nutrition communications. Find out more about Heather’s practice by visiting www.nutritioncheckup.com.
Jessica Fishman Levinson, MS, RD, CDN, is a registered dietitian and the founder of Nutritioulicious, a nutrition counseling and consulting practice in New York City. She has extensive experience as a nutrition writer, editor, and speaker, and is the co-author of We Can Cook: Introduce Your Child to the Joy of Cooking with 75 Simple Recipes and activities (Barron's, 2011), a cookbook for children ages 3 to 6.
Joanne P. Ikeda, MA, RD is a nationally recognized expert on pediatric obesity and the dietary practices of ethnic and immigrant populations. Ikeda has been a pioneer in conducting community collaborative research on the food habits and dietary quality of California's low-income immigrant and ethnic populations.
Rosanne N. Rust, MS, RD, LDN, www.rustnutrition.com, has over 20 years experience in the field of Dietetics having both a Bachelors and Masters Degree in Clinical Dietetics and Nutrition. Learn more about her online nutrition coaching service at www.rosannerust.com
Toby Amidor, MS RD CDN is a registered dietitian with a master's degree in clinical nutrition and dietetics from New York University. She is the nutrition expert for FoodNetwork.com and a consultant specializing in culinary nutrition and food safety. She has spent time privately counseling children with childhood obesity and related diseases. Toby has taught courses at Teachers College, Columbia Univerity, The Art Institute of New York City and their online division.
Andrea D. Sinclair, RD, LD is a Registered, Licensed Dietitian with over 26 years of diverse nutrition expertise in community and clinical settings.
Dr. Susan Shapiro, PhD, MS, RD is a Registered Dietitian who combines her education and training in Medicine, Nutrition and Psychotherapy to provide a comprehensive approach to helping people who have issues with food, and physical and psychological illnesses.
Meri Raffetto, RD is a Registered Dietitian with dual degrees in Nutrition and Psychology; she has extensive experience in nutrition counseling, education, and medical nutrition therapy. To sign up for her free e-newsletter visit www.reallivingnutrition.com.
Julie M. Moreschi, RD, MS is currently enrolled in a PhD program in Public Health at the University of Illinois-Chicago. She is a faculty member of the Nutrition Department of Benedictine University and currently works on a "Safe Schools/Healthy Students" grant project in a local school district.
Denise L. Pickett-Bernard, PhD, RD, LD has worked as a chef and college culinary instructor, wellness center nutritionist, and has served as an adjunct nutrition faculty member at both Florida International University and Nova Southeastern University.
Melissa Pflugh, MS, RD is the Program Manager for a school-based health program called Healthy Schools Healthy Families (HSHF) in New York, NY and is a member of the House of Delegates of the American Dietetic Association and Chair of the Pediatric Special Interest Group of the Greater New York Dietetic Association.
Angela Lemond, RD is an experienced registered and licensed dietitian in pediatric weight management.
Christina Johnston, MS, RD is a registered dietitian with a master's degree in nutritional science and holds a co-chair position for both the Partnership for a Healthier Alexandria Healthy Lifestyles Workgroup and the Northern District Virginia Dietetic Association State Legislation.
Advisory Committee
Erika Ichinose Pijai, MS, RD, CDN is a Registered Dietitian and Program Associate for the Nutrition and Health Programs for Cornell University Cooperative Extension-New York City. She serves on the SuperKids Nutrition Advisory Committee where she shares both her expertise and passion to help prevent childhood obesity.
Christen Cooper, MS, RD is a Registered Dietitian with a Master’s degree in Nutrition Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. With Cooper Nutrition Education & Communications (www.coopernutrition.com), she combines her nutrition expertise, business experience, and language capabilities to develop nutrition-based classroom curricula, publications, seminars and research studies.
Future Nutrition Experts
SuperKids Nutrition Inc. provides an elective rotation for graduate and undergraduate dietetic/nutrition interns in compliance with strict competency guidelines established by their University and according to the Didactic Program in Dietetics established by the American Dietetic Association. We believe that websites can provide effective nutrition education and helpful health information in the community. A recent study in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior found websites may be better sources of nutrition information than video games or printed pamphlets in low-income mothers. Students need to understand how to utilize the internet and other technological sources of information as vehicles for promoting healthy eating and educating the public and other health care professionals on the importance of early nutrition intervention. They also need to be aware of how to help consumers discern reputable nutrition sites. Our rotation involves community outreach programs aimed at showing interns first hand just how hungry audiences are for learning the "how to" of healthy eating.
