Food Nutrition Expo and Conference (FNCE®) in Washington, DC - Food, Special Events & Tour - Part 2

I had such a great time in Washington, DC that I have more to tell you about this. Another place that I had a chance to eat at was the Farmers & Distillers and I love it so much that I ate there 2 times!! Farmer's & Distillers has been know for their fresh foods and for being majority-owned by family farmers, over 47,000 of them, either individually or through the unions that represent them. When you eat this food you can definitely taste the flavor of the food.

One of the special events that I had a chance to visit was the Diversity Dietetics Reception Meetup at the Historical Equitable Building. Going to this meet up gave me the appreciation of being a part of these group diverse with these incredible group of men and women dietitians and students. You probably wonder what group is the Diversity Dietetics. The Diversity Dietetics is a community to attract, encourage and empower students and young professionals of color who were seeking careers in the field of nutrition and dietetics. The phenomenal founders of this fantastic group are Deanna Belleny, MPH, RDN and Tamara Melton, MS, RDN, CPHIMS.

Another special event I went to is the Ketchum FNCE Reception where there was a panel discussion on diversity in nutrition communications. The wonderful moderator for this panel was Executive Director and Co-Founder of Diversity Dietetics, Tamara Melton. The lively diverse group of panelists consist of Wendy Lopez, MS, RD, CDE, Co-Founder of Food Heaven Made Easy, Jessica Jones, MS, RD, CDE, Co-Founder of Food Heaven Made Easy, Christy Wilson, RDN, Owner of Christy Wilson Nutrition, Rebecca Scritchfield, RDN, EP-C, Author, Body Kindness and Elizabeth Roark, MPH RD, Principle Nutrition Scientist, Frito-Lay. This panel discussion was right on time about the importance of having diversity and how every RD can increase diversity. Want to learn more about diversity and nutrition make sure you check out Wendy & Jess Podcasts at Food Heaven Made Easy, Rebecca Sritchfield Podcasts at Body Kindness and Christy Wilson - cooking videos - http://www.christywilsonnutrition.com/video/

The last event I when to at FNCE® was the Academy's Learning Lounge where Past-Chair of Dietitians in Integrative and Functional Medicine, Mary Purdy did a 15 minutes speech discussing about Being Brave: Carving out Your Leadership Niche. Mary did a powerful enlightening speech on how to find opportunities for more confident and proactive participation in your organizational or company setting that can help to make you a leader in both the company and the field. I was so inspired about Mary's speech and I truly appreciate her story about diversity. Check out her podcast and You-Tube videos called the Mary's Nutrition Show.

Unfortunately, I had to leave for my flight back to Atlanta and was unable to see the phenomenal closing ceremony speaker Simon T. Bailey Simon T. Bailey is a incredible best-selling author, innovator, educator and executive adviser. In the speech, Mr. Bailey pointed out diverse dietitians who are helping in the community and my dear friends started to tweet about my picture to everyone. To Mr. Bailey, thank you again so much and you truly a brilliance speaker.

Thank you Washington, DC for a wonderful and memorable time! Will come back very soon!

Special Announcement!! I will be speaking at Georgia State University - Nutrition Student Network Group on Integrative Functional Nutrition this coming Thursday! Hope to see you there!!