Dayle Hayes is an award-winning author, educator, and nutrition consultant based in Big Sky country – Billings, Montana. As a parent, community volunteer, and nutrition professional, Dayle is dedicated to creating healthy school environments.

She collected dozens of school success stories for Making It Happen, a joint CDC-USDA project; wrote a chapter on communicating with students in Managing Child Nutrition Programs: Leadership for Excellence; and developed two popular kits (School Wellness: A Golden Opportunity and Enriching Family Mealtimes) for school health leaders and educators. She is also co-author on the Position of the American Dietetic Association: Nutrition Guidance for Healthy Children Ages 2 to 11 Years (2008).

From 1994 to 1998, Hayes served on ADA Board of Directors where she chaired the Public Initiative Team and Technology Task Force. She has also served as president and media spokesperson for the Montana Dietetic Association and is currently co-chair of Billings Action for Healthy Kids. 

In recognition of her leadership and professional dedication, Dayle has received numerous honors and awards, including: Montana Dietitian of the Year, an Excellence in Nutrition Education Award, and an American Dietetic Association Excellence in Consultation and Business Practice Award.

Dr. Mary Kay Meyer is a registered dietitian who has been active in the DPG since 1996 serving as Newsletter editor for four years before being elected to Chair Elect.

Mary Kay is an Education Specialist with the Child Nutrition Division of the Alabama Department of Education.   Presently her job responsibilities include development of training programs, writing grants, and developing a school based CDR dietetic internship.  She has been in the foodservice business for over 30 years.  Before coming to the state department, she worked with the National Food Service Management Institute Applied Research Division at the University of Southern Mississippi for nine years as a research scientist.   She conducted child nutrition research with children, teachers, and school administrators in elementary, middle, and high schools.

One of her areas of interest is childhood obesity.  She has served on the board of Action For Healthy Kids in Alabama and Mississippi.  She believes wholeheartedly that nutrition is a vital part of our schools and supports all efforts by the DPG to keep members informed of the critical issues facing our schools and wellness of our future leaders.

Diane Duncan-Goldsmith, MS, RD, LD 

Treasurer

Diane has been Director of Food Service for the Iowa City Community School District since 1987.  Prior to this she was an administrative dietitian at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, a consulting dietitian for Washington County Hospital, and a relief dietitian at St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids.  She obtained her masters in food and nutrition from the University of Iowa and her bachelor of science degree from Augustana College.  She has been active at the state and local levels with both the School Nutrition Association Iowa (SNAI) serving as state president 2002-03, and the Iowa Dietetic Association serving on the executive board for two years.  She is a member of the Midwest Dairy Association Iowa Dairy Nutrition Advisory Committee, and represents SNAI on Iowa’s Healthy Kids Act Nutrition Committee, Iowans Fit for Life, and Iowa Action for Healthy Kids.  Her family includes her husband and three daughters, two of whom attend Iowa State University and the youngest who will be a high school senior this fall.

Sue E Holbert, RD, LD

Secretary

Sue Holbert is a Principal Nutrition Scientist for The Schwan Food Company located in Marshall, MN. As a registered dietitian new to the school arena, she joined SNS back in 2007 and has been the Member Spotlight author for the last 2 years.

As an industry Registered Dietitian focused on health and wellness, she drives product innovation, influences key decision leaders and navigates the nutrition environment.  Her most recent accomplishments include work with the California Department of Education allowing exemption of naturally occurring trans fats and Schwan’s most recent public announcement in support of Child Nutrition changes.  As the nutrition expert behind Schwans Food Service, Sue works with internal leadership to position products and drive innovation so school products not only taste good, but also meet the nutritional needs of kids.

Her leadership roles include Past President of the Kansas Nutrition Council; State Media Rep, Web site Chair and Membership Chair for the Kansas Dietetic Association. She was also a Young Dietitian of the Year award recipient in Kansas.

Sonya Kaster RD, LDN, SNS
Newsletter Chair

Sonya Kaster is a wellness consultant and owner of PHX Consulting. As a wellness facilitator she focuses on the School and Community environment primarily in the non-profit sector. She is a freelance writer, motivational speaker and wellness facilitator.

Sonya has worked with various school districts in Texas. She has worked in all aspects of Child Nutrition including operations, buyer, menu planning, and nutrition education at all levels, from students to parents and administrators. Her current clients include both the Oliver and got breakfast? Foundations. Both foundations focus on creating healthy school environments and enabling students to reach their potential.

Julie Skolmowski, MPH, RD, SNS
Membership Chair

 Julie Skolmowski, MPH, SNS, RD has been a member of SNS DPG since 2002 and currently serves as Membership Chair. Julie recently served as Treasurer from 2007-2009 and has been Membership Chair since 2009. During her term as Treasurer, Julie spearheaded enhancement of SNS DPG's sponsorship program to attract sponsors to more opportunities, enabling SNS DPG to expand services for members. Julie currently also serves on the ADA Member Value Committee. As Membership Chair, Julie has strengthened communications with volunteer state liaison program and is currently coordinating efforts to recruit and enhance services for student members.

Julie is a Food Safety Specialist at USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service. Previously Julie worked for the School Nutrition Association.

Julie holds a BS in Human Nutrition and Food Service Management from the Ohio State University in Columbus, OH, a Master’s in Public Health Nutrition from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Chapel Hill, NC, and a Certificate in Business Administration from Georgetown University in Washington, DC. Julie also holds the School Nutrition Specialist credential of the School Nutrition Association.

She is also a member of the District of Columbia/Maryland Area Dietetic Association and the Food and Culinary Professionals DPG.

Carolyn Spoone Holt, MS, RD, LDN, FADA 
Awards/Scholarship Chair

Carolyn Spoone Holt is currently serving as Director of the Volunteer Services Department at Morristown Hamblen Healthcare System.  She has spent twenty of her thirty years practicing as a registered dietitian in an acute care setting.  When not practicing in the clinical arena, she has enjoyed serving as the Director of Marketing and Community Relations, the Director of a multidisciplinary weight management program, an Adjunct Faculty member at Carson Newman College, and a consultant in several long-term care facilities in East Tennessee.  During her work in marketing and community relations, she was responsible for writing news articles for the local media on nutrition related topics, scheduling and coordinating school health fairs, conducting hospital tours for pre-school and elementary students, and featuring programs on nutrition for the community.

The daughter of a retired elementary school teacher, Holt had plans of becoming a teacher. A visit to the University of Tennessee Knoxville introduced her to the dietetics program and she knew this was the perfect fit. As a result, she has enjoyed an exciting career in dietetics and the added pleasure of taking this knowledge outside of the acute care setting to the classroom and in policy making.  In 1998, Holt decided to campaign for a seat on the Hamblen County Board of Education and was successful in doing so.  She has served eleven years on the BOE and feels she has made a difference in the nutrition and health of students in the school district as a result of serving on this body.  As the emphasis on the impact of nutrition on learning heightened, Holt decided to become more active in the School Nutrition Services DPG.   

A former Outstanding Dietitian of the Year for Tennessee, Holt is currently the affiliate delegate in the HOD and has done so for five years.  In the HOD, she has served as a mentor and table facilitator for each of two years.  She attended the inaugural Leadership Institute sponsored by ADA in Tuscon, Arizona.  She is a past president of the Tennessee Dietetic Association, Knoxville District Dietetic Association, and has served both associations in several elected offices and committee appointments.

In 2003, she was named to the TSBA All Tennessee School Board and the board was named the TSBA School Board of the Year in Tennessee.  She has served as chair of the school board for four years. Additional, Holt is active in the local education foundation having served on the board for eleven years, and is currently chairing the Education Committee of the P-16 Council.

She is the mother of a son, Matthew, who is a junior at Morristown Hamblen West High School.  

Jill Eagan, MPH, RD
Nominating Committee Chair

Jill Eagan, MPH, RD, currently serves as Nominating Committee chair for the SNS DPG.  Jill has also served as an elected board member for the Houston Area Dietetic Association in various positions.

 Jill is a Child Nutrition Education Specialist at Region 4 Education Service Center in Houston, Texas. She has been employed at Region 4 since 2002. Her responsibilities include providing training and technical assistance to districts, charter schools, RCCI’s, and private schools in implementing federal and state child nutrition requirements and conducting School Meals Initiative (SMI) Reviews.

 
 Jill received her Bachelor of Science degree in Food and Nutrition from Southern Illinois University and her Masters in Public Health from the University of Texas Houston School of Public Health. She is also a registered dietitian. In 2006, Jill was recognized by the Houston Area Dietetic Association as Young Dietitian of the Year.

Virginia (Ginny) Lee Mermel, PhD, CNS, CLC
Sponsorship Chair

Ginny is a Healthcare Risk Management Consultant specializing in communications and curriculum development and training. She has worked in academia as well as the medical foods and healthcare publishing industries. Ginny spent the majority of her career developing behavioral tools for the management of weight and diet related diseases. She became involved in childhood nutrition issues through her interest in weight driven diseases. Because of her expertise in his area, Ginny was chosen to assist with research and writing of the American Medical Association Expert Panel Report on Pediatric Obesity Treatment, published in 2007.

Ginny is active in a number of community-based wellness programs. She has chaired the School Health Advisory Council (SHAC) for the Billings Montana Public Schools since its inception in 2006. The SHAC has garnered state and national awards for its progress in school wellness. She represents the school district’s interests on several other wellness committees and councils, including Billings Action for Healthy Kids, and the Healthy Places Advisory Council sponsored by the local Public Health Department and the statewide School Workgroup and Safe Routes To Schools Committees. She is a member of both the Montana (MDA) and American Dietetic Associations and the National Association of Science Writers. Ginny is a founding member of the Weight Management DPG. She is currently serving as Public Policy Coordinator for MDA.

Ginny has spent the past year launching a BackPack Meals Program to ensure Billings Public School students who experience food insecurity have nutritious meals on weekends, over holidays and school breaks. Both Ginny and the SHAC which she chairs have been recognized for their efforts to address childhood hunger.

Ginny received both an MS in Nutrition and a PhD in Nutritional biochemistry with minors in Exercise Physiology and Physiological Chemistry from the University of California Davis. She is a Board Certified Human Nutrition Specialist (CNS) and holds a Lifestyle Counselors Certification (CLC) in weight and stress management from the LEARN Institute.

Ginny has published numerous papers related to diet and nutrition as well as co-authored college nutrition texts, college health texts, and developed a tool known as a Course Solution Integrator (CSI), which integrates textbook materials with select, interactive online tools, CDs, DVDs, and other ancillary materials.

Donna S. Martin, EdS, RD, LD, SNS
Electronic Communications Chair

Donna S. Martin, EdS, RD, LD,SNS has been active in SNS DPG serving until recently as Newsletter Chairman for 3 years.  Currently she is responsible for the development of a new website for SNS.  In this capacity she is responsible for keeping the practice groups web site up to date and user friendly for members and prospective members.

Donna is the Director of School Nutrition for the Burke County Public School System in Waynesboro, Georgia.  Burke County Public Schools has 5 schools with over 4,700 students.  Her prior experience includes being a dietetic internship director for 11 years and being the Director of the Richmond County Board of Education School Nutrition Program in Augusta, Georgia which had 58 schools for 9 years.

Donna received her undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia, completed a dietetic internship at University of Alabama in Birmingham, earned a master’s degree in Clinical Nutrition from University of Alabama in Birmingham and earned an Educational Specialist Degree from Augusta State University.

Her previous volunteer work included being a delegate for Georgia for 9 years.

Donna sees the website as an excellent way to communicate timely information to members and also as a tool to recruit more members to the practice group.  I am pleased and honored to be serving the SNS DPG as Electronic Communications Chair.