Melissa is The Guilt-Free RD® – “because food shouldn’t make you feel bad!” She is the CEO of Sound Bites® Inc., and promotes sound science, smart nutrition and good food. Melissa is best known for her Sound Bites® Podcast and her Media Training workshops for dietitians and other health professionals.

Melissa has extensive media experience as a spokesperson for the food, grocery and healthcare industries, and received the Media Excellence Award from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in 2016. She specializes in training other health professionals on media, social media and presentation skills. Her trainings have a particular emphasis on creating and delivering compelling science-based messages that engage and empower audiences.

Through media interviews and social media outreach, Melissa helps people digest nutrition information so they can make their own, well-informed decisions based on facts, not fear. As a certified diabetes educator for 20 years and a former supermarket dietitian, Melissa shares evidence-based information and realistic solutions to help people enjoy their food with health in mind. Combining her communications expertise and agricultural interests, she leads sustainable nutrition conversations and facilitates productive dialogues about food and farming.

As the host of the Sound Bites® Podcast, Melissa explores the science, psychology and strategies behind good food and nutrition in conversations with her guests who are experts on a variety of topics ranging from farming to fad diets. The show debuted in the Top 20 Nutrition Podcasts on iTunes and was named one of “11 Podcasts You Need” by Cosmopolitan Magazine, one of the “Best RD-run Podcasts” by Today’s Dietitian Magazine, and one of “8 Podcasts Worth Listening To” by Diabetes Forecast Magazine.

Melissa lives in Chicago with her husband and son, and her daughter is a junior in college.  She enjoys all kinds of dancing from ballroom to ballet and is currently working toward her black belt in Shotokan Karate.