Kathleen Zelman

Kathleen Manning Zelman, MPH, RD, LD (born 26 September 1953), is an American nutritionist, dietitian, and writer who currently serves as director of nutrition for health website and database WebMD. She also currently sits as a director at large of the American Dietetic Association.

Biography

Zelman received her B.S. in foods and nutrition from Montclair State University after attending school there from 1971-1975. She then worked as a dietetic intern at Perth Amboy General Hospital in Perth Amboy, NJ, before passing the RD exam in 1976 and moving on to the pediatric nutrition department at New London General Hospital in New London, CT (1976), and then to Rhode Island Hospital (1977 – 1980) in Providence, RI. After marrying in 1979, she attended Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans, LA, and obtained her master’s degree in Public Health (1980-1982). From 1980-1984, she served as assistant professor of foods and nutrition at St. Mary's Dominican College in New Orleans, LA. She was inducted into the Delta Omega Society, a national honorary Public Health Society, in May 1991. In 1985, she started her tenure as dietetic internship director at Alton Ochsner Medical Foundation, also in New Orleans, LA, and worked there until 1993.

Zelman has served as a media representative and spokesperson on behalf of the Louisiana, Georgia, and American Dietetic Associations for various years from 1985–2003. After moving to Atlanta, GA, in 1993, she has worked as a nutrition consultant to media, food industry, publishers, chefs, restaurants and communication groups specializing in professional presentations, media work, media training, consumer education, materials development, recipe analysis and modification. As a member of the Georgia Dietetic Association , she has served as both a delegate to the American Dietetic Association and as trustee for the Georgia Dietetic Foundation from 1999 – 2003.

As a dietetic spokesperson, Zelman has also served on the professional advisory boards of the National Dairy Council (2003 – date), General Mills, Inc. (2004 – 2008), Nickelodeon’s “Go Healthy!” Advisory Board (2006 – date), Neogenis Labs (2008 – date) , and hunger charity Share Our Strength’s National Advisory Board (2009 – date). She has also served as a James Beard Foundation Award judge since 2009.

Zelman switched her focus more to communications when she began work as a media trainer starting in 2001. From 2001 on, Zelman has spoken at numerous international conferences and meetings for the salmon, almond, egg, dairy, and fish oil/fishmeal industries. In the 2002-2003 academic year, Zelman taught a course called Nutrition and the Media as an adjunct faculty member in the food and nutrition department at Georgia State University. Starting in 2003, she began working with WebMD Health, where she contributes weekly features and columns, oversees WebMD’s Weight Loss Clinic and serves as nutrition expert for the company. In 2007, she was awarded the American Dietetic Association’s Media Excellence Award for educating consumers on the roles of diet, health, and nutrition. In 2009, Zelman was elected as director at large of the American Dietetic Association and now sits on its Board of Directors. The American Society for Nutrition (ASN) named Zelman the 2011 recipient of their Nutrition Science Media Award for outstanding journalism.

In addition to weekly features on WebMD, Zelman has also contributed various articles and columns to Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Times Picayune, Sportslife Magazine, Nutrition Today and numerous nutrition industry publications. She has also made hundreds of print and television appearances including CNN, Good Morning America, NBC Nightly News, Wall St. Journal and New York Times.

External Links

• WebMD
• American Dietetic Association