Town Hall Meeting Speakers

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Speakers' Biographies

Sonia A. Kim, PhD

Epidemiologist, Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC

Dr. Kim is an epidemiologist in CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity. Her research interests include the effects of the food environment on individual dietary behavior, measurement of the community and consumer food environment, and policies and programs intended to improve access to healthy foods. Dr. Kim serves as co-lead of the CDC-funded Nutrition and Obesity Policy Research and Evaluation Network (NOPREN). Recent projects include leading the development of CDC’s State Indicator Report on Fruits and Vegetables, 2013 and co-authoring a paper entitled “The Food and Water System: Impacts on Obesity,” which presented the themes of the Food and Water System track of CDC’s Weight of the Nation 2012 Conference.

Dr. Kim worked for two years at the University of California Los Angeles on worksite wellness programs in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

She received her doctorate in nutrition health sciences from Emory University in 2005, and her bachelor of science in biochemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1999.

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Diane Peck, MPH, RDN

Public Health Nutritionist, Obesity Prevention and Control Program, Alaska Department of Health and Social Services

Diane Peck is a Public Health Nutritionist with the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services in the Obesity Prevention and Control Program. She is a registered dietitian nutritionist with over 25 years of experience in the field of nutrition and public health. Diane has been the State Fruit and Vegetable Coordinator for Alaska for 13 years. Recently, she has partnered with several other state and nonprofit agencies to establish the Alaska Food Policy Council and the Alaska Farmers’ Market-Quest Program.

Diane enjoys being able to promote local foods through her work in obesity prevention. At home, she works local foods into her diet by participating in a community supported agriculture wild harvesting, and tending a very limited garden.

She received a master’s degree in public health from the University of California at Berkeley and an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

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Kelli Stader, MPH, RD, CLS

Nutrition Coordinator and State Fruit and Vegetable Coordinator, Chronic Disease Prevention Unit, Wisconsin Department of Health Services

Kelli Stader is the nutrition coordinator for the Chronic Disease Prevention Unit at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. She also serves as the State Fruit and Vegetable Coordinator. In these roles, she works to create and support healthy nutrition environments in a variety of settings, including early care and education, schools, worksites, healthcare, and communities. Kelli focuses on policy, systems, and environmental changes that support healthy eating and equitable food access in order to prevent obesity and chronic diseases.

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