Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics names new president

June 4, 2012 — Registered dietitian Ethan A. Bergman, associate dean in the College of Education and Professional Studies and professor of food science and nutrition at Central Washington University, begins his one-year term June 1 as the 2012-2013 president of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly the American Dietetic Association).

With more than 73,000 members, the Academy is the world’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. Bergman is the Academy’s 87th president. He has served as president-elect since June 2011.

“I am honored to be serving as the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ president at this moment in our history,” Bergman said. “When speaking with my fellow Academy members, I frequently say, ‘I hope you feel as though you are changing lives – or at least that you can.’ We are experienced and positioned to do just that, thanks in large part to the Academy’s vision, mission and strategic plan.

“I join all Academy members in a commitment to improving the nutritional health of the public and advancing our Academy and the entire field of nutrition and dietetics,” Bergman said.

Bergman is an authority on children’s and infant’s nutrition, school meals and nutrition policy, and sports nutrition and fitness. In July, he will represent the Academy by taking part in the 2012 Olympic Torch Relay, as the torch makes its way through Great Britain toward London for the Olympic Games.

Bergman was named Central Washington’s Distinguished University Professor in 2001-2002 and was named by the Washington State Dietetic Association as Outstanding Registered Dietitian of the Year in 2000. He is a past delegate and past speaker of the Academy’s House of Delegates.

Bergman is a former high school biology, physics, mathematics and computer science teacher and a former volleyball and wrestling coach. He has served on the Academy’s Educator’s Task Force on Education Reform in Dietetics Education and on the Evidence-Based Practice Committee.

A graduate of Linn-Benton Community College and Eastern Oregon State College, Bergman received master’s degrees in biology from the University of Oregon and in interdisciplinary studies in biology, general studies and education from Western Oregon State College. Bergman earned his doctorate from Washington State University.

Source: The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics