Education
MS in Health Education and Promotion at Mississippi State University (US)
Dietetic Internship, Mississippi State University (US)
BS in Nutrition, Food science, and Health Promotion at Mississippi State University University (US)
Professional Certifications/Memberships in Good Standing
Certified Health Education Specialist (38923), 2023-2028
Guided Imagery Certified Facilitator, 2023- present
Tai Chi Facilitator, 2024- present
ServSafe Certified Manager and Instructor/ Proctor, 2025-2030
Registered Dietitian (U.S.), (1093102), 2013 - present
Registered Dietitian (Canad) - Ontario (16762) & Alberta (3128), 2024 -present
Florida Licensed Dietitian (ND6651), 2013 -present
Minnesota Licensed Dietitian (5278), 2024 -present
District of Columbia Licensed Dietitian (DI200001653), 2024 -present
Pennsylvania Licensed Dietitian (DN008985), 2025 -present
Missouri Licensed Dietitian (2025010608), 2025- present
World Education Services Certified International Academic Qualifications, April, 2023
International English Language Testing System (IELTS), April, 2023
Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening scores > 8.0
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics/Commision on Dietetic Registration (US)
The College of Dietitians of Ontario
The College of Dietitians of Alberta
Society for Public Health Education
Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior
Teaching Kitchen Collaborative, Nutrition Committee Lead & Advisory Board Member
Whole Health Charter Committee for the VHA
Additional Presentations, Training, & Publications
The Comprehensive Teaching Toolkit (Author), published March 2025
Teaching Kitchen Symposium, Pre-Conference Teaching Kitchen Workshop Facilitator, November 2024
International Congress on Nutrition and Dietetics, Poster Presenter (Recipe for Success: How to Craft User Friendly Recipes; Identifying Culinary Training Needs for a Teaching Kitchen Dietitian; Harnessing Kitchen Ergonomics to Increase the Joy of Cooking), June 2024
Today’s Dietitian Spring Symposium, Speaker: More than a Cooking Demo, May 2024
Health Education Specialist Practice Analysis (HESPA) III, Professional Panel Member, February & April 2024
Teaching Kitchen Collaborative (TKC), VHA Member Representative, 2018-2024
White House Summit: Food Security and Culinary Medicine Interventions, September 2023
Teaching Kitchen Research Conference, Presented How to Start and Scale a Teaching Kitchen, October 2022
Healthy Kitchens Healthy Lives, Harvard School of Public Health & Culinary Institute of America, Lessons from the VHA Teaching Kitchen Program, February 2022
Healthy Teaching Kitchen Toolkit for Nutrition and Food Services (Author) 2022 Edition
What’s Growing On? Featuring the NF/SG Teaching Kitchen program, January 2022
National Kidney Foundation, Cooking for Kidney Health, Conference on Renal Nutrition, September 2021
Food & Nutrition Conference Expo (FNCE), Dietitians Take the Lead in Teaching Kitchens, October 2020
American Journal of Public Health, Published as co-author“Healthy Teaching Kitchen Programs: Experiential Nutrition Education Across Veterans Health Administration, 2018 in the Am J Public Health, November 2019
Food & Nutrition Conference Expo (FNCE), Poster Presentation on Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Healthy Teaching Kitchen (HTK) Program: Quality Improvement Results After Attendance at a Single Class, Philadelphia, PA October 2019
Founded the VHA Garden of Eatin’ & Therapeutic Horticulture Program, February 2019
Co-authored Growing and Serving Safe Produce
How it Started
I became a dietitian so I could help people connect with food in a manner that is both enjoyable and supportive of their overall wellness and personal goals in life. I am fascinated by food and cooking as both an art form and science, and actually started out in food science before pursuing dietetics and culinary arts. Eating is a universal experience yet with so many variations and nuances across the world. No one perceives flavors the exact same way, just as nobody perceives colors in precisely the same hue. Food is a common denominator among people- and an entry point through which we can influence and guide our own health and wellbeing. I am motivated to maintain a healthy lifestyle to preserve my functional capabilities for as long in life as I can so I can participate in all the things I enjoy, and find gratification in my work helping others do the same.
Melanya’s Career
I am a creative, strategic, and visionary registered dietitian and certified health education specialist with a culinary background, serving both the United States and Canada. As a leader in the culinary medicine field for nearly 15 years, I specialize in the design of health-related behavior change program design and administration, rehabilitative and recovery nutrition, and education. My passion is helping clients overcome challenges to achieving optimal nutrition by enhancing the experience of eating and discovering their own balance of health and enjoyment. I am the founder of Taste & Thrive where I provide her nutrition and health education services via contract for a variety of healthcare, nonprofit, and educational entities - including Nutritional Rehabilitation, where I serve acquired brain injury and spinal cord injury clients find their new path forward in managing health and adapting food-related behaviors to their new capacity.
Prior to the launch of my consulting business, I spent 10 years serving the U.S. Veterans Health Administration (VHA) as a Registered Dietitian, Employee Whole Health Coordinator, and National Program Lead of the VHA’ Healthy Teaching Kitchen program, the largest culinary medicine program at an integrated healthcare system in the world. My mission is to empower people through practical cooking skills, nutrition knowledge, and strategic guidance to make nourishing and enjoyable food-related decisions for life-long wellness by meeting them where they are and helping them cultivate a rewarding relationship with food and health.
Influential Moment
Like a lot of people, most of our family get togethers growing up involved food in some form or fashion. Food is a universal language- something every person on this planet can relate to. Furthermore, eating is not just a means of sustenance, but also a means of sharing and receiving love and compassion for ourselves and others.
In 2014, I launched my first teaching kitchen program - a learning lab designed to get participants hands-on in the kitchen to learn new skills, adaptations, and connect with food and nutrition in a new light. Not only developing practical cooking skills but also learning about nutrition and cultivating self compassion. I began this program serving Veterans with complex physical and cognitive challenges following a return to civilian life in a residential rehabilitation treatment center, and it grew from there.
I enjoyed the challenge of pioneering new solutions and strategies for those with different abilities and capacities and found I was able to connect with the Veterans through food, camaraderie, and cooking in a way that traditional nutrition counselling did not provide. There is something about going through a new, challenging experience together that builds trust - and cooking together, plus sharing in the act of creativity does just that and so much more!
I want to share my love of food with the world- so I went on to build out and lead a national teaching kitchen program, across 130+ healthcare facilities, mentoring and educating over 350+ RDs in the field to deliver this form of nutrition therapy. And after 10 years, I left to begin a consulting business and move to Canada, to share my expertise with more people and organizations looking to empower populations with limited access, disadvantages, disparities, or limited functional capacity to find a path forward in nutrition to optimize their health and functional capacity.
Why Nutritional Rehabilitation?
Nutritional Rehabilitation is an excellent fit for my experience, skillset, and passion for helping people find the best path forward to achieving their ideal health goals. With my background serving Veterans, I have the unique experience of working with a broad variety of complex cognitive and physical cases that my clients present with, and am quite skilled at finding creative solutions to helping them overcome the barriers to better health. I enjoy the opportunity to educate, counsel, and empower clients to make meaningful changes to the way that they eat and interact with food, including how they think about food or make food-related decisions. It never gets old and is endlessly rewarding work.
On Melanya’s off days…
I wholeheartedly support a strong work-life balance - if working with my clients has taught me anything, it's that life is ever changing and you should not take your current capabilities for granted. Outside of work, I enjoy experiencing nature, whether it's a camping trip or simply enjoying my coffee in the backyard, listening to the birds. I also participate in a medieval reenactment club called the Society for Creative Anachronism, in which I do many activities including sewing my own costumes, planning and administering events, sword fighting, and swapping battle stories around a fire.
