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Sheila Weiss, RDN, LD, FAND
Sponsorship Chair
With more than 20 years of nutrition policy and communications experience, Sheila’s areas of expertise include nutrition education and outreach, food policy and promotion, restaurant and foodservice industry, issues management, and partnership building. Sheila is passionate about FCP – she is a Past Chair, founded the Restaurant and Hospitality Subgroup, and served as Chair of the Nominating Committee. She lives in Baltimore, MD, which actually isn’t so bad. When she isn’t working or talking to potential FCP sponsors, she revels in the company of her gelato-loving husband, cart-wheeling daughter and poorly trained, but incredibly sweet dog.
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Erika Wong, MS, RDN
Communications Chair
Erika has experience in weight management, bariatrics, and culinary nutrition. She trained at Tufts University and Massachusetts General Hospital before moving back home to join the Center for Health and Wellbeing at the Four Seasons Hotel in Westlake Village, CA. Here she provides nutrition presentations and cooking classes. Erika has also worked in private practice and now teaches cooking classes for kids. She lives in southern California with her husband and three (hungry) children!
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Shelley Johnson, MJ, RD
Membership Chair
Shelley is the National Senior Lead, Food Systems and Heart-Check at the American Heart Association. She is a subject matter expert on food and nutrition regulatory schemes, performing nutrition and health claim reviews on food packaging for the Heart-Check food certification program. She received her BS in nutrition at Southeast Missouri State University and an M. Juris. In Global Food Law at Michigan State University.
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Kelly Bristow, MS, RDN
Agriculture Subgroup Chair
Kelly is a registered dietitian who connects food and nutrition professionals with agriculturalists to create advocates of modern agriculture. As Bayer Crop Science’s Global Nutrition Affairs Lead, she manages Bayer’s Nutrition Expert Network of dietitians, global partnerships for science and nutrition, and drives internal nutrition strategy and positioning. Kelly and her husband live in St. Louis with their two children. She enjoys cooking, spending time outside and cheering on her local baseball, hockey & soccer teams.
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Marie Whelen, MS, RDN, LD
Food Safety, Science and Regulatory Subgroup Chair
Marie is a Houston based consultant specializing in food safety, menu planning, and workplace health promotion. With over ten years as a culinary nutrition instructor at the Art Institute of Houston, her work supports community health programs and the hospitality industry. Marie is thrilled to rejoin the FCP Executive Committee as a subgroup chair. A Texas Distinguished Dietitian award recipient, she enjoys cooking, gardening, and traveling with her husband.
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Alexandra Bosshardt, MPS, GRI, RDN
Restaurant/Hospitality Subgroup Chair
Alexa Bosshardt, MPS, GRI, RDN (Retired), is a “seasoned” research chef and hands-on industry consultant who passionately devoted most of her 40+ year career to providing recipe development and nutritional marketing services to food and beverage manufacturers and large restaurant chains. With a culinary degree from Johnson & Wales and multiple degrees from Cornell, Alexa’s “superpower” has been educating students in Food Safety and Culinary Nutrition, plus teaching cooking for corporate wellness and nonprofits.
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Christina McGeough, MPH, RDN, CDCES
Supermarket/Retail Subgroup Chair
Tina is passionate about addressing food insecurity and building healthy relationships with food and our bodies. A proud Puerto Rican Latina, she brings her culture, Spanish (and Spanglish!) language skills, and love of community to her work. She enjoys making quick, flavorful, and nutritious meals, and finds joy in exploring other cultures through their food traditions. For Tina, food is more than nourishment, it’s a way to connect and celebrate identity to support health.
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Hilary Thesmar, PhD, RD, CFS
Awards & Honors Chair and 2026 International Trip Chair
In her role as the Chief Science Officer & senior vice president of food safety programs for FMI, Dr. Thesmar provides leadership for all FMI food safety and health and well-being programs to support members and provide a safe, affordable and healthy food supply. Dr. Thesmar received degrees in Food Technology and Food Science from Clemson University and a degree in Human Nutrition from Winthrop University. Dr. Thesmar is an active volunteer for organizations including AFDO, IFT, IAFP and FCPDPG.
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Mary Herrstrom, MBA, RDN, LDN
Webinar Chair
As the Corporate Director of Nutrition Services at Acts Retirement, Mary oversees the nutritional care and wellness programs for 26 communities in nine states. Mary is a Master Gardener and enjoys growing vegetables and volunteering to help others create gardens of their own. She and her husband live in Collegeville, Pennsylvania with their dogs Willa and Trout and their cat Max. Mary and her husband have 2 grown sons, both serving in the U.S. Navy.
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Amy Myrdal Miller, MS, RDN, FAND
FCP Resources Project Manager
As president of Farmer’s Daughter Consulting, Amy Myrdal Miller works with clients across our food system on agriculture, food, and culinary projects. She is the co-author of the fourth edition of Cooking a la Heart and editor of the fourth edition of The Culinary Institute of America Techniques of Healthy Cooking textbook. Amy received the Academy’s Distinguished Lecturer Award for 2015, and she was recognized as the Outstanding Dietitian of the Year for California in 2025.
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Elisabeth Jalkiewicz, RD, LDN
On The Menu Editor
Liz Jalkiewicz, RDN, has over 15 years of experience in dietetics, including roles in long-term care, retail, and communications. Now an entrepreneur, she empowers fellow dietitians to self-publish on Amazon through her signature online course, Click to Publish. Liz owns Liz Jalkiewicz Nutrition LLC and authors The Dietitian Editor blog. She’s an active Academy member and serves as FCPs On the Menu Editor. Liz lives in Baltimore with her husband and their two kids Follow along @thedietitianeditor.
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Amy Childress, MA, RDN
Tastings Editor
Amy Childress, MA, RDN has been a healthcare dietitian for over 20 years and has worked in hospitals in both Los Angeles and New York. Amy is currently working as a Food Service Director in Healthcare for a contract management company. She currently lives in Queens and enjoys yoga, camping, and trying all of the different food NYC has to offer.
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Assistant Tastings Editor
Gabriella Balla, RD
Gabby has over 10 years of experience in the foodservice industry, with her dietetics expertise ranging from clinical nutrition to menu innovation and recipe development. As a district health & wellness leader for Collegiate Hospitality, she promotes and educates on food safety with a strong focus on allergy management and special dietary needs. Gabby earned her degree in nutrition from Drexel University and serves on the Nominating Committee for the Pennsylvania Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics. Her greatest passion involves bridging the gap between the world of nutrition and the culinary arts to help members of both disciplines understand how food can be both delicious and nutritious.
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Milton Stokes, PhD, MPH, RD, FAND
Tastings CPEU Coordinator
Milton has been at the intersection of food, agriculture, and nutrition for the last 10 years working on some of the most urgent issues facing people and planet–issues like food and nutrition security as well as sustainability. He is the Senior Director of Food and Nutrition at the International Food Information Council.
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Jaclyn Murphy, RDN, CDN
Recipe Contest Chair
Jaclyn Murphy is a New York-based registered dietitian and regional wellness manager for FLIK Hospitality Group. Jaclyn began her career in clinical healthcare before attending The Culinary Institute of America, which elevated her skill set, both in the kitchen and in her nutrition practice. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking, traveling, and experimenting in the kitchen.
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Liz Marr, MS, RD
FCP-Foundation Co-Chair
Liz is a past chair of FCP and former Academy spokesperson with extensive food and nutrition communications experience. Liz is director of business operations for Q Magnetics, LLC, Broomfield CO. She is also co-author of The Richest Soil Grows the Deepest Roots, a historic memoir of her mother’s early years on her family farm intertwined with her family saga spanning five generations in the Missouri River bottoms of Platte County, MO.
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Robert (Bob) Earl, MPH, RD, FAND
FCP-Foundation Co-Chair
Robert (Bob) Earl is a life-long foodie, second generation dietitian, and food policy expert. He is Vice President, Regulatory Affairs with FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education). He’s worked for food companies and their associations; Food & Nutrition Board, National Academy of Medicine; and was the first RDN in the Academy’s Washington, DC office. Bob was FCP’s 12th and 25th chair. Within the Academy, he served as House of Delegates Speaker, on Academy and Foundation Boards, and held many other leadership positions. Bob received the Academy’s Medallion Award in 2008 and will receive the 2025 Distinguished Lecture award.
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Emily Krause, MFCS, RD, LD, FAND
Assistant Sponsorship Chair
Emily is the Director of Nutrition, Health and Wellness Initiatives at the National Pork Board where she is accountable for leading internal key stakeholder education and external partner engagement to increase awareness and manage the building and development of essential relationships to elevate pork’s credibility and visibility in nutrition. Previously, Emily spent 7 years with Coborn’s Inc., a Minnesota-based grocery retailer.
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