Melissa is an award winning, nationally recognized food and nutrition expert, certified diabetes educator, media trainer, 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. Through her podcast interviews, social media outreach, and TV segments, Melissa helps people digest food and 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. Her Do M.O.R.E. with Dinner™ initiative delves into the daily dilemma of dinnertime and provides inspiration to “Make Ordinary Rituals Extraordinary.”

Melissa has extensive media experience as a spokesperson for the food, grocery and healthcare industries, and received the 2016 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ Media Excellence Award. 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.

As the host of the popular 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 agriculture to diabetes to behavioral economics.

Melissa lives in Chicago with her husband and son, and her daughter is a college freshman. Melissa enjoys weight lifting and all kinds of dancing from ballet to ballroom.