Board of Directors 2025 – 2026

Honorary Board Member: Evelyn Crayton, EdD, RDN, FAND

Past-President: Annabelle Wilson

Executive

President: Jessica Hayes-Conroy

Jessica Hayes-Conroy (she/her) is an Associate Professor of Gender, Sexuality, and Intersectional Justice and Chair of the Public Health Program at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Trained as a geographer, her scholarship explores the intersections of food, health, and embodiment, with particular attention to how social and biological processes intertwine. Jessica’s work engages feminist and critical theories of the biosocial body, affect, and knowledge production, often seeking points of connection between scientific and interpretive traditions. She teaches courses across a wide range of topics, including qualitative methods, the politics of health, critical epidemiology, political ecology, and theories of the body.

3 fun facts about Jessica:

1. I’m a devoted fan of comic art and graphic medicine
2. I’m an identical twin
3. I’m a former cyclocross racer

Vice President: Kate Burt

Kate G. Burt, PhD, RDN (she/her) is an Associate Professor in the Health Promotion and Nutrition Sciences Department at Lehman College, CUNY, and a researcher whose work focuses on equity in food systems and the profession of dietetics. Kate earned her PhD in Nutrition and Food Policy from Teachers College, Columbia University. Her scholarship examines how structural racism and bias shape nutrition science, policy, and practice. Alongside her research, Kate is deeply committed to mentoring, advocacy, and building inclusive, justice-oriented professional communities.

3 fun facts about Kate:

1. I design and hand-make silver and gemstone jewelry by wax carving and metal smithing.
2. I love a good hike in cold, crisp winter air.
3. I plan my garden around annual themes — one year it was all miniature plants, another year everything was purple.

Treasurer: Nikita Rose

Nikita Rose (she/her) is a dietitian working in a long-term care home in Digby, Nova Scotia. I attended Mount Saint Vincent University where I completed by undergraduate degree in dietetics and masters of science in Applied Human Nutrition. For my thesis, I worked with Dr. Jennifer Brady; A founding member of WCD who provoked me to conduct oral history interviews on Founding members of WCD. Through my research I was able to better understand why WCD is needed to progress, diversify, and challenge current approaches towards dietetics and health related disciplines, while also acknowledging other ways of knowing. Today, I aim to bring what I have learned through WCD into my current work and how I approach and provide care to the population I work with.

3 fun facts about Nikita:

1. Coffee is my hyper fixation and a daily requirement for me
2. I feel happiest by the ocean
3. Food was my first true love.

Secretary: Kaylee Michnik

Kaylee Michnik is a Registered Dietitian with over ten years of public health experience building relationships with community, government, Indigenous, and academic partners in, and beyond Canada. Her work focuses in the areas of food systems, health equity, school health and systems science. Kaylee has a PhD in Population and Community Health Sciences from the University of Saskatchewan with research focused on school food policy, practise and advocacy under a new national school food program in Canada. Kaylee also has a masters degree in Natural Resources Management from the University of Manitoba where her education and research focused on Indigenous food systems and sovereignty and its application for anti-colonial nutrition education, research, and practice. Kaylee cares about work that improves and strengthens cultures, environments, and societies. 

3 fun facts about Kaylee:

Melissa Walter (she/her) is a Registered Dietitian with 9 years of experience in dietetics education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Gillings School of Global Public Health. She also serves as the Director of PRISM, a web application designed by dietitians to support dietetics programs with competency tracking and internship management. Melissa holds Bachelor of Science degrees in both design and nutrition and completed her Master of Public Health (MPH) in Nutrition and Dietetics from the Gillings School of Global Public Health. She is currently pursuing her Doctorate in Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership at UNC Wilmington. Melissa is particularly passionate about environmental justice and equity as they relate to nutrition, with a focus on issues such as PFAS contamination and food and water quality.

3 fun facts about Melissa:

1. She’s been bitten by 3 copperhead snakes!
2. Her favorite sandwich is peanut butter, dill pickle, and mayo (a family favorite, though no-one remembers where it came from).
3. One of her pups loves to talk (and argue!) using recorded buttons.

Sharmini Balakrishnan (she/her) is a Registered Dietitian with over 5 years of experience in public health. She completed her Master of Public Health (MPH) in Nutrition and Dietetics from the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto and her undergraduate degree in Applied Human Nutrition from the University of Guelph. Sharmini’s primary area of work is in community nutrition. She strives to apply a social justice lens in all areas of her work.

3 fun facts about Sharmini:

1. I’ve been cliff jumping 
2. I am trained in the classical dance form Bharathanatyam 
3. I spend my free time reading and hiking with my dog

Dr. Francoise Knox-Kazimierczuk is an Associate Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation, Exercise, & Nutrition Science at the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio. She has 20 years of clinical experience, over a decade of research and dietetics education experience, which has allowed her to work with a variety of patients, chronic diseases, and deliver numerous interventions. She is a staunch advocate for women’s health and reproductive justice, working to improve birth outcomes for pregnant women and their infants through her research and community outreach. Dr. Knox-Kazimierczuk is passionate about addressing gaps in women’s health through engaging and cultivating community assets to shift narratives, policies, and resources. Her goal is to provide women with the support and resources they need to assert their power and navigate their health journey.

3 fun facts about Francoise:

1. She is happiest in the kitchen cooking and baking (she can make anything if she tastes it once)
2. She is a Reiki Master and Healing Touch Practitioner
3. She has worked to integrate Hygge and Sisu into her winter rituals.

Jill White is Associate Professor Emeritus at Dominican University, where she continues to teach online as well as at Valencia College in Orlando. Her clinical experiences as a Pediatric Dietitian centered around the South Side of Chicago where she began her academic career precepting students from Chicago internships, including Malcolm X College Dietetic Technology Program. Her research and dissertation work addresses increasing people of color in Dietetics. She initiated a Coordinated Programat Dominican, Cultural Diversity in Child Nutrition and piloted the first Independent Supervised Practice Program (ISPP) in collaboration with Alabama State Extension. She continues to advocate and speak nationally and internationally. She is the current Past President of World Critical Dietetics. Her graduate and undergraduate courses address Basic Nutrition as well as issues around Food, Multiculturalism and Social Justice.

3 fun facts about Jill:

1. Between my husband and I we have 12 children and over 30 grand and great grandchildren
2. My favorite exercise is e-biking
3. My favorite food is salad

Lou Aphramor (they/qwe) is a white, trans genderqueer radical dietitian, public scholar and performance poet. They are interested in collectively reimagining the stories we live out around food, bodies, and health, to develop liberatory alternatives. This involves practices for thinking beyond binaries of healthy/unhealthy, good/bad, human/nonhuman, or queering as process. They show how experiences of trauma and oppression are relevant to so-called diet related diseases in a framing that exposes, and seeks to interrupt, ableism, racism, fatmisia , colonialism, and related ideologies inherent in public health nutrition narratives.

3 fun facts about Lou:

Ghazal Rohani T. (She/her) is a student at UBC pursuing her BSc in Food, Nutrition, and Health. With over 4 years of experience working with nutraceuticals and exploring the applications of academics to real world cases she aims to understand what drives daily choice in diet patterns and long-term health. As the eldest daughter in an immigrant household and first generation to grow up in Canada she’s self-taught in financial literacy and has made it a mission to progress in academics and better understand socioeconomic challenges facing food justice.

3 fun facts about Ghazal:

1. I’ve gone on a hot-air balloon ride in Cappadocia 
2. I’ve been sky-diving
3. I like telling stories through videography (especially when I’m travelling)

Cindy (Luyue) Zheng, MS, RD, is a Ph.D. candidate in Nutritional Sciences at the University of New Hampshire (United States). Born and raised in China, she studies the cultural dimension of food security, focusing on dietary acculturation and local food systems engagement among immigrant communities. As a scholar-practitioner, she is passionate about advancing ecological literacy and strengthening a nutrition landscape rooted in social justice, community knowledge, and systems thinking.

3 fun facts about Cindy: 

1. I’m a podcaster with two shows—one co-produced and one solo-hosted.
2. I enjoy crochet, knitting, and embroidery as creative downtime hobbies.
3. I once tried ice climbing in New Hampshire and loved stepping outside my comfort zone.

Elsa Michelle Esparza is a Registered Dietitian with a Master’s in Public Health from UC Berkeley. Her career has spanned public health nutrition settings including an anti-hunger advocacy nonprofit, a research institution, a family foundation, and now the educational sector. She currently serves as Program Director of the new Dietetic Internship at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health, which she led through accreditation. In developing the program, Elsa was introduced to the Critical Dietetics community, whose work has deepened her understanding of critical, justice-oriented approaches to nutrition practice. She strives to root the program in cultural humility and be guided by a Critical Dietetics framework, leaning on the WCD community of scholars and practitioners for ongoing dialogue and collective wisdom

3 fun facts about Elsa:

1. I happily trade sleep for a slow morning
2. Pottery is my new hobby and the clay keeps me humble
3. An ideal day for me includes a good antiquing stroll

Greta Allen (she/her) is a public health dietitian dedicated to advancing nutrition justice. With experience across SNAP, WIC, and the National School Lunch and Breakfast programs, her career has been built at the intersection of direct service and advocacy. Greta is a strong collaborator who brings people together to pursue community-led solutions. She is committed to supporting World Critical Dietetics’ mission to critically examine power and promote justice within the dietetics, and broader nutrition field.

3 fun facts about Greta:

1. I started a CSA program during my dietetics undergraduate program that still exists today, over a decade later!
2. I’m trying to get my dog as the highlight picture for every location I visit on the BringFido app. 
3. I used to teach pilates, spinning and marathon training programs. Now I’m happy to exercise just for myself.

Tiffany Duque holds an MPH in Global Health and Nutrition (Emory University) and a BS in Nutrition and Dietetics (University of Wisconsin-Madison). With over 20 years of experience in global nutrition, community interventions, and programming, Tiffany leads high-impact research and programs across diverse cultural and multi-disciplinary settings. She specializes in evidence-based public health and implementation strategies, research, guideline implementation, capacity building, and mentoring. Her leadership spans academic, government, professional society and NGO sectors, pioneering innovative approaches and multi-stakeholder collaborations to drive actionable solutions in global health, nutrition, equity, and poverty reduction.  Tiffany has lived in several cities and countries and currently lives in the Los Angeles area with her family (two teenagers!).

3 fun facts about Tiffany:

1. I’m a competitive swimmer and compete with the US Masters National Team at US and international competitions
2. I’ve lived in 4 countries: US, Mexico, Colombia, South Africa
3. I spend my “free time” listening to podcasts while driving my 2 teenagers around! 

If you are interested in joining the Board or have any questions, please complete the Contact Us form and we will be in touch!