Board of Directors

President*
Jessie Hoffman, PhD, RD, CDSH is an Associate Professor in the Department of Human Nutrition at Winthrop University, where she also serves as Graduate Director of the M.S. in Human Nutrition program. She earned her M.S. in Nutrition from UNC Greensboro and her Ph.D. in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Kentucky before completing her dietetic internship through Iowa State University. Her research and professional interests focus on gastrointestinal health, the gut microbiome, and the impact of nutrition and lifestyle factors on health. Jessie is also passionate about nutrition science communication and helping individuals navigate the abundance of nutrition information they encounter every day. Through her teaching, research, and professional work, she strives to make nutrition science approachable, practical, and evidence-based.

Secretary/Treasurer*
Reece Dawson

President Elect*
Kate Gerweck, MS, RD, LD, 

Delegate*
Erin Seprish, MBA, RDN, LD is an experienced healthcare food service manager, private practice owner, and Registered Dietitian Nutritionist. She is also the South Carolina Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Delegate, a past SCAND President, and a past Charleston Trident Dietetic Association President. Erin's 12 years of experience in management and patient care has given her a passion for effective communication with patients/clients to help them reach their goals. She currently works for Sodexo as a Clinical Nutrition Informatics Dietitian and works at her private practice, The Nutrition Core, in the evenings serving clients with eating disorders, disordered eating, and clients on GLP-1 medications.

Immediate Past - President
Abbie Hebron has been working in Charleston, SC as a pediatric dietitian for the past four years, currently as a member of the pediatric oncology team at Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital (MUSC). She moved to South Carolina from St. Louis, MO after graduating with her BS from Missouri State University. Since, she has also earned her MS in Dietetics from the University of Rhode Island and now practices as a CSP and CNSC. Most recently, she has become a therapy dog handler at SJCH, where she is able to spread joy and provide support during nutrition assessments and educations with the help of Cher, a sweet and sassy Golden Retriever. Abbie has been serving on the local CTDA board for four years, and is looking forward to her year as president this upcoming year. In her free time, Abbie enjoys baking, traveling, hiking, and playing tennis (or Pickleball as of recent) with family and friends.

Charleston Trident District President*
Katy Flowers, MS, RDN, LD, CNSC, has built a career that spans clinical nutrition, home infusion sales, and dietetics education. After several years in clinical practice and two years in nutrition support service sales, she now serves as a Dietetic Internship Coordinator for the Morrison Healthcare Dietetic Internship Program, helping future dietitians grow into confident, capable professionals.

Katy earned her bachelor’s degree in dietetics from Samford University and her master’s degree in dietetics from the University of Rhode Island. She is also a Certified Nutrition Support Clinician.

She has served on the Charleston Trident Dietetic Association Board for five years and currently serves as CTDA President. She is also excited to join the South Carolina Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Board this year and continue supporting dietitians across the state. Katy enjoys being outdoors and some of her regular hobbies include rowing, cycling, and beach walks in Charleston. 

Columbia Midlands District President*                 
Anna Vitale, RD, has been a dietitian for 6 years and has spent the last 5 years as a pediatric dietitian at Prisma Health Children's Hospital - Midlands. She primarily works with the inpatient pediatric cancer and blood disorders team, the inpatient pediatric acute rehabilitation team, as well as a variety of general pediatrics patients. Anna graduated from Clemson University in 2018. She then moved to the midwest to complete her dietetic internship and masters degree at The University of Kansas City Medical Center. During her internship, she completed all supervised practice hours through Children's Mercy Hospital, where she fell in love with the field of pediatrics. For the past year, Anna has served as secretary of the CMDA district and is looking forward to serving as president for the 2025-2026 year.  

Piedmont District President*
Hannah Lemon

Membership Chair / New Member Liaison
Angela Fish

Nominating Chair
Shannon Cottrell

Nominating Chair Elect
Katy Flowers

Scholarship and Awards
                      

Workforce Development

FiMSC Liaison
Hanna Kate Wilson, PhD, RD

Special Programs Coordinator
Jessica Morrison RD, LD is a Registered Dietitian with a Bachelor of Science in Dietetics. Jessica has a variety of experiences to include community nutrition, skilled nursing, and acute care.  In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her moms, friends, and cat, Rascal.

Public Policy Coordinator / Licensure Task Force Lead
Olivia Trapp, MS, RDN, LD, completed her undergraduate degree at Furman University and went on to complete her M.S. in Food, Nutrition and Culinary Sciences at Clemson University. She spent 3 years as a clinical inpatient dietitian before moving to primary care where she now serves pediatric and adult populations. Currently, Olivia is working with the SCAND Licensure Task Force on changes to our SC Dietetics law.

Nutrition Services Payment Specialist 
Martha Sabourin            

State Policy Representative                           

Consumer Protection Coordinator 
Jill Leshner                

Public Policy Partners Coordinator 
Erin Brown

 State Policy Representative Elect

Annual Meeting Chair
Farrah WIgand

Annual Meeting Past Chair
Susanna Slukhinsky, RD, CSR, LD, CDN, is a Licensed Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Professional Chef with over two decades of experience in clinical nutrition and culinary arts. She is the owner of Susanna Slukhinsky Nutrition, a private practice specializing in renal-focused care, where she creates personalized long-term nutrition plans for individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and polycystic kidney disease (PKD). Her expertise also spans diabetes, cardiac, gastrointestinal, hepatobiliary, transplant and maternity nutrition care. As a Board Certified Specialist in Renal Nutrition, Susanna combines her clinical expertise with her culinary background to help clients achieve realistic, sustainable dietary changes that fit their lifestyle, health goals, and budget. She has served as a renal dietitian at NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center and New York Artificial Kidney Center, and has extensive experience providing medical nutrition therapy in both inpatient and outpatient settings. In addition to her clinical work, Susanna was an instructor at Weill Cornell Medical College, where she taught the Culinary Medicine elective program. In this role, she provided didactic lectures to medical students on cardiac and renal nutrition and led cooking seminars to translate therapeutic diets into practical meals. Susanna holds a Bachelor of Science in Health and Nutrition Sciences from Brooklyn College (Cum Laude), a Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate from Cornell University, and multiple culinary certifications from the French Culinary Institute in New York. She is actively involved in professional organizations, contributing to publications and national conferences, and continues to be a leader in the field of renal nutrition and culinary medicine.

Annual Meeting Chair Elect
 

Continuing Education Chair 
Leah Price, RD

Sponsorship Chair                                         
Courtney Fuller is an accomplished clinical dietitian and clinical nutrition manager at Conway Medical Center, located in Conway, SC. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, AL, where she also successfully completed the Coordinated Program in Dietetics. Courtney has a passion for diabetes management, she currently co-directs the Conway Medical Center Diabetes Support Group and is working towards obtaining her Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist (CDCES) certification. Outside of her hospital responsibilities, Courtney's impact extends to the local community by conducting nutrition workshops at Sea Haven for Youth, a local non-profit organization providing a safe space for youths in crisis. Courtney considers herself as a life-long learner and is currently in the Conway Medical Center & Costal Carolina University Healthcare Leadership Academy where she will obtain a professional certificate in healthcare leadership upon course completion. This is Courtney’s first year serving on SCAND and she is looking forward to her role as Sponsorship Chair.

Academy Foundation Liaison & Special Programs Coordinator
Brooke Brittain obtained a B.S. degree in Health Promotion from Coastal Carolina University, a M.S. degree in Food and Nutrition from Florida State University and a Culinary Certificate from the University of South Carolina.  Brooke has worked in community nutrition for about sixteen years.  She is a registered and licensed dietitian as well as a Certified Health Education Specialist and a Certified Lactation Counselor.  Brooke is currently the Program Manager for Public Health Nutrition & Outreach with Clemson University. Through this position she designs and oversees program planning, implementation and training related to nutrition/health in rural environments. She is a team leader for Clemson Rural Health and works with Land Grant Local on various food insecurity projects. Previously she was the Program Coordinator for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP-Ed) at the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC).  With this program she provided nutrition education to all ages in a variety of settings in twenty-one different counties in the state of South Carolina.  Brooke has been the Education Chair, President Elect, President and Nominating Chair for CMDA. She has served as a District Leader, Special Projects Co-Chair and the Scholarships and Awards Chair for SCAND.  Brooke won the award for Emerging Dietetic Leader in 2017 for SCAND and CMDA and received the Recognized Young Dietitian of the Year award for CMDA in 2014. She was the Vice President and the Nutrition Section Chair for the South Carolina Public Health Association (SCPHA). In 2018, she received the SCPHA President’s Award and then in 2020 received the SCPHA Voice of Public Health Award. Brooke has been a speaker at various conferences and universities and has also been featured in various media platforms over the years.  She held a monthly radio segment on 96.3 FM with Don Frierson and The Urban Scene for a year. Brooke was also featured in six cooking segments with SC celebrity Marcus Lattimore at First Choice Community Center. 

Abstracts Chair
Melinda Boyd, DCN, MPH, MHR, RD, FAND, completed two undergraduate degrees: Muhlenberg College (BS in Biology) and Cedar Crest College (BS in Nutrition) before completing her dietetic internship with Sodexho (Mid-Atlantic). She is a registered dietitian in both the US and UK. She holds graduate degrees from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (MPH) and the University of Oklahoma (MHR). She has also completed a doctorate of clinical nutrition (DCN) from Rutgers University. She completed her advanced level training for the program in the areas of gastrointestinal disorders and women’s health, with an emphasis in PCOS. Melinda is part time faculty at Cedar Crest College, teaching MNT in the dietetic internship and other courses in the MHS degree program. Additionally, she serves as an adjunct professor at a variety of online schools, with courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. She has recently started back teaching in person at Greenville Technical College. She is a nationally recognized speaker on the topic of culturally appropriate patient care. In addition to servings as the State Policy Representative for SCAND, she is also the Chair of the Cultures of Gender and Age Member Interest Group (COGA MIG).   

Diet Manual Editor                                        
Emily Barrett, RD, LDN, has been working in the Charleston area for over the last 25 years focusing on home infusion and long term care.  As the clinical dietitian at Bishop Gadsden on James Island, her role as a RDN over the last 19 years has concentrated on rehab, long term care, assisted living, dementia, outpatient nutrition, nutrition special projects and  leader of the QAPI program.  She is  a graduate of the SC Leading Age Leadership Academy; Past President for MASPEN, Advisory Board member for the Trident Tech Culinary Program and the SCAND Diet Manual Editor. 

Marketing/Social Media Coordinator Elect
Katie Price

Newsletter Editor
Abby Deal