The document summarizes the speaker's extracurricular activities during their internship, which included attending various conferences, webinars, seminars, and community events on topics related to nutrition, public health, food policy, and social determinants of health. Some of the events focused on childhood obesity prevention, the school food system, sustainable food production, and diabetes education and awareness in the Latino community. The speaker gained exposure to research and engaged with professionals in fields related to their studies in nutrition and public health.

1. Extracurricular
Conferences, webinars, seminars, volunteer, workshops, health fairs, and community events attended
during my internship as optional educational enrichment and networking opportunities
Ongoing
American Diabetes Association (NYC) Latino Initiatives Health and Education Subcommittee Chair
I continue to collaborate with an interdisciplinary committee of professionals from multiple industries
to organize and manage special mission – focused events, community health education outreach
efforts, and contribute to organizational fundraising strategies with focus on raising disease awareness
and connecting under-served Latino communities afflicted by Diabetes to resources.
August 2014
“Cafeteria Man” film screening and panel discussion with Tony Geraci, Barbara Turk, Director of
Food Policy for Mayor Bill De Blasio, and Rhys Powell, president/founder, Red Rabbit
This movie exposed me to the growing “garden to table” movement evolving within the school
food service industry as well as the cultural, socio-economic, agricultural, financial and political aspects
that influence the coordination and execution of a “greener” plate for America’s youth. I was also
captivated by Geraci’s efforts and successes against the initial skepticism of fellow administrative players
and the community populations he aimed to serve. It was an honor to network with the esteemed
panelists after the screening.
September 2014
“Early- Life Influences to Adolescence on Obesity: From Pre-Conception” hosted by The New York
Academy of Sciences at The Sackler Institute for Nutrition Science
This all day conference focused on exploring the latest in scientific research on the various biological and
environmental factors that may influence the potential development of Obesity within the lifecycle. My
favorite presentation discussed the influence of the social and ecological environments on the
development of the intestinal micro biome.
October 2014
Start with Breakfast webinar
Nutrition education strategies to introduce the major components of a complete,
balanced breakfast to various age groups, especially, school-aged adolescents and parents, were

2. discussed. There was an emphasis on the influence of nutrition on school performance and
emotional/social development.
November 2014
Pediatric Grand Rounds – “Reducing Childhood Obesity Disparities: The Importance of Prevention in Early
Life” with Dr. Elsie Taveras from Mass General Hospital for Children, Harvard Medical School
Dr. Taveras shared experiences form her extensive career in pediatric medicine to illustrate the
significant influence of linking community resources, such as parenting education and school food
nutrition programs, to clinical interventions on the efficacy of obesity prevention initiatives.
School Food forum at Hunter College
NYC School Food is an optional federal and state funded nutrition program available to private
and public city schools. Product Research and Development Supervisor Meserete Davis reviewed
the strict criteria and involved process that potential food distributors must go through before
their services and products are considered for inclusion into the New York City School Food
service program’s menu pending compliance with USDA and NYC Department of Health
nutritional standards. The various special diet menus offered RDN menu pre-approval standards,
and student special diet request 504 application filing procedures were discussed. Cost per plate
reimbursement, student test lab pre-approval critiques, the various food waste reduction and
healthy habit promoting programs implemented across NYC school districts concluded.
Social Health/ Social Impact event at the Bronx Museum of the Arts w/ RD, Meri Terese
Racanelli form Goya Foods Inc.
MeriTerese Racanelli, Food Scientist/Clinical Nutritionist, discussed the benefits of ancestral foods in
reducing the risks of hypertension, diabetes and obesity in the Hispanic community. George Torres
interviewed Pro basketball player and Diabetes Advocate, Gary Forbes about his experience living with
Type 1 Diabetes and overcoming disease stigma. The panel discussion on the influence of social media
outreach efforts on diabetes treatment, self-care, and public access to key public health information as a
means promoting disease prevention and improving self management among afflicted, at-risk
populations was very insightful and introduced a rising professional platform.
December 2014
Food Production and Our Environmental Responsibility Webinar
Meat production carbon footprint of greenhouse emissions and Meatless Monday campaign’s minimal
impact due to huge carbon footprint from lipsticks, deodorants, detergents, to apples linked meat
industry emissions, was revealed. Human biological methane production and 30 yr increase/dependency

3. on meat production and process of increasing yield from fewer resources in short time frames was
explained. Grass vs. Corn fed beef: According to sponsor panelist, grass fed beef yields less beef per
animal, increases the need for more cattle to satisfy demand, and will lead to overuse of natural
resources – land, water, food, energy and raise related production costs.
Next Steps: The World Wildlife Federation is focused on ranking fruits and vegetables by their green
house gas emission per kg per 1000cal. The WWF is investigating how to best measure the
environmental footprint of food via serving sizes, total GHG per meal, per kcal. Professional Scope of
Work of RD will be to explain GHG emissions and relation of nutritive values of fruits and vegetables
currently under analysis to the public and contribute to the creation of sustainable, resilient healthy
food and water systems.
February 2015
Food Policy for Breakfast- Race, Racism, and Food Justice: Advancing a More Equitable
Food System in NYC
During this captivating food policy panel discussion, I became aware of the role of urban
planning, specifically, zoning practices and regulations, on the creation of an equitable,
sustainable food system. The current expansion of Whole Foods market in the Harlem
community was a reference example of how land ownership propels changes in food retail.
March 2015
NYC Restaurant Expo at the Jacob Javits Center
Attended Marlisa Brown MS, RD, CDE, CDN’s “Gluten-Free, Food Allergies, Low Sodium,
Diabetes, or Low Fat Requests…Know What your customers Really Need and How to do it Safely
without Driving the Back of the House crazy!” seminar at the2015 NYC Restaurant Expo.
May 2015
Elective Rotation with the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services’ Director
and Advisor of Food Policy
I had the honor to be included in internal, multi-department meetings and events on current NYC food
policy issues coordinated and attended by my preceptors, including: “Lunch for Learning” meeting with
students, parents, and community coalition members interested in appealing for the continuation of the
free school lunch program across the age groups, Aging in NYC fund seminar on Food Insecurity among
Seniors, the Union Settlement House Advantage panel discussion, Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice for
Neighborhood Safety monthly update, one on one meeting with RDN’s leading NYC public health
initiatives for the Dept of Health and Mental Hygiene including the NYC Food Standards, shadowing and
hands-on practice opportunities with the Department for the Aging during the annual audits and
inspections of affiliated senior nutrition programs, Health and Hospitals Corporation meeting on
Institutional Food and Liberalized Diets. I assigned an opinion editorial on the senior food system in NYC

4. and the completion of a Food Retail project on potential programming for the SCOUT/Summer Youth
division of the Mayor’s Office.
August 2015
American Diabetes Association Feria de Salud at St. Mary’s Park
I served as the senior manager of the Health and Wellness Education Workshop tent during the
American Diabetes Association’s (ADA) annual Feria de Salud 2015 in St. Mary’s Park. As the
standing Latino Initiatives Health and Wellness Subcommittee Chair, I was directly involved in
the planning process, volunteer recruitment and management, day of event execution, and post
event re-cap outcomes-based analysis of the Diabetes focused community health fair’s success
in accomplishing ADA mission objectives.
September 2015
National Dairy Council’s “Healthy Choices for Children: The Learning Connection”
An interdisciplinary panel presented scientific evidence-based studies that explored the various
social, economic and educational implications of food insecurity in NYC. The positive effects of
breakfast and physical activity- based wellness programs on the improvement on school learning
environments was discussed, including measurable actions that can be initiated to improve
wellness in city schools.
October 2015
“Food Policy for Breakfast: Challenging Food Industry Practices and Messages on Nutrition: What Role
Health Professionals?”
I was able to learn from Action for Healthy Food director, Dr. Jim Krieger, and the director for the Rudd
Center for Food Policy and Obesity, Marlene Schwartz’s career experiences challenging major food
industry corporation practices in the interest of public health.