MEET OUR DIETITIAN

Hi! My name is Cary and I've been a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Licensed Dietitian in the state of Oregon for over 15 years. Since becoming a Registered Dietitian I've continued learning and growing through continuing education, including becoming a Certified Personal Trainer and Certified Medical Exercise Specialist.  My work experiences and passion for helping our communities live healthier lives was the inspiration behind HealthyU Nutrition as non-profit organization.

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I started my college education at Mount Hood Community College in Gresham, Oregon. After earning my Associated Degree, I transferred to Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon to complete my Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition Science and Food Service Management in Spring of 2007. I was accepted into the Oregon Health and Science Universities Dietetic Internship program Fall of 2007. I completed the 1250 hours of supervised practice and additional course work required to graduate in Spring of 2008. After passing the credentialing exam in the summer of 2008, I began my career as a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist.

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My first position as a Registered Dietitian was with the Oregon State Hospital helping the residents improve their overall health and wellness.  In my 9 years at OSH, I was able to work with residents to create individual nutrition plans with their treatment teams, I developed and lead group nutrition education classes, and worked with our Food Service department on menu development to assure our menu was both healthy and flavorful. I left the Oregon State Hospital to work for the Oregon Food Bank managing the Statewide Nutrition Education Program. I was very fortunate in this position to be able to travel around Oregon helping our partner organizations bring a nutrition and cooking skills program to their communities in an effort to improve health and reduce hunger.

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After 2 years with the Oregon Food Bank I decided to start HealthyU Nutrition so I could combine my experience and passion of working with individuals to improve their health and wellness, as well as develop a similar community nutrition education and cooking skills program for people with chronic health conditions. During my time at the Oregon Food Bank I heard from multiple people across the state that they wished there was a community nutrition program designed to help people with chronic health conditions improve their nutrition knowledge and cooking skills to better manage their condition. Too often people recently diagnosed with Diabetes, Hypertension, Kidney Disease, and other chronic conditions that can be managed through diet are talked at by health care professionals, rather than provided with the support, guidance, and skill development they need to truly improve their health and quality of life. HealthyU Nutrition was started with the principle of providing individuals with that support, guidance, and skill building people need to take control of their health and well-being. ​

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My approach to individual nutrition counseling and coaching is to learn about you and your lifestyle  so we can work together to identify what realistic changes can be made to help you achieve your goals. 

 

Everyone's plan is different since a one size fits all approach to diets and meal plans do not work for most people long-term. I focus on a judgement free approach that is centered on your goals, while keeping my information and support based on current standards of practice and evidenced-based. Whether you need to modify your diet to manage a chronic health condition, need support navigating the best diet and exercise choices for your lifestyle, or you're looking for additional accountability to stay on track, schedule a consultation to learn how we can work together to achieve your goals!

 

Our community nutrition education and cooking skills program has been developed using a facility dialogue approach to encourage active participation and constructive conversation. During the classes we will address a specific topic, learn from each other and a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, then cook a meal together that reinforces the topic of the day. Participants will be sent home with ingredients to make the same meal at home to reinforce the information and skills learned during the class. To learn more about our Community Program, please visit our Nutrition Education Program’s page.