Sound Bites RD

Sound Science. Smart Nutrition. Good Food.

About

Melissa Joy Dobbins MS, RDN, CDE

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Melissa is an award winning, nationally recognized food and nutrition expert, media spokesperson, speaker, blogger and podcaster with more than 20 years’ experience and a proven track record of providing real solutions for real people so they can enjoy their food with health in mind.

People are hungrier than ever for realistic options that empower them to make healthier choices, while bringing back the enjoyment of food. No one wants to feel guilty, especially when it comes to their food! Wondering whether to buy organic or conventional, what to make for dinner, which snack to grab or if dessert is okay? Melissa helps people digest food and nutrition information so they can make their own well-informed decisions based on facts, not fear – and most of all, come away with meaningful steps toward better nutrition and health.

Melissa’s background includes nearly a decade of clinical nutrition and client counseling as well as corporate wellness, public speaking, academia, and research. She’s a former supermarket dietitian, a certified diabetes educator, and also specializes in weight management, family nutrition, and food safety/technology. A former national media spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the National Dairy Council, Melissa has been a regular voice in the media for over 15 years. She has conducted hundreds of TV interviews and has been quoted in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Shape, Fitness, and O Magazine. Utilizing her communications expertise, Melissa enjoys coaching other food, nutrition and wellness experts on media, social media and public speaking skills, with an emphasis on creating and delivering meaningful messages that engage and empower audiences.

Balancing work and family life, Melissa enjoys spending time with her husband and two children (7 and 15 years old). In 2012, Melissa started running as a “mid-life experiment” and has since completed thirteen races (ranging from 5K to 15K) as well as her first triathlon. Now she’s taking ballet for the first time in over 25 years and loving it. In the kitchen you can find her cooking up a family favorite or trying a new recipe that is not only good for you, but tastes good, too!

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Melissa’s background

Raised in northern and central Illinois, Melissa first became interested in nutrition when she was studying ballet at the National Academy of Arts high school in Champaign-Urbana. It was there that she saw firsthand how unhealthy habits could be detrimental to health and how susceptible we can be to fad diets and misinformation. Melissa went on to receive a Bachelor of Science degree in Food and Nutrition from Southern Illinois University and a Master of Science degree in Nutrition Education from the University of Missouri, Columbia.

Melissa’s background includes:

  • nearly a decade of hospital-based counseling and community programs
  • more than 15 years of extensive media experience
  • professional speaking, webinars and corporate wellness seminars
  • launching the first consumer nutrition education program and serving as the retail dietitian for a major supermarket chain
  • eight years as communications manager for the dairy council
  • being published in the “Journal of Nutrition Education” and “The ADA Manual of Clinical Dietetics”
  • writing patient and consumer educational materials, internet articles, book reviews, radio scripts, blogs and more
  • health professional outreach, education and training
  • teaching undergraduate and graduate level nutrition courses
  • nutrition research
  • mentoring dietitians
  • volunteering in local and national nutrition organizations

Professional Affiliations & Awards

Melissa and her family after receiving the Media Excellence Award from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

 

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