226: Increasing Diversity in Dietetics with Deanna Belleny, Co-Founder of Diversify Dietetics

Though the general trend of diversity and inclusion is increasing, wellness fields like dietetics and health promotion have not experienced as much growth or attention as other industries.

Today's guest, Deanna Belleny, co-founder of the non-profit Diversity Dietetics, is seeking to change this by providing support, mentoring, and barrier deconstruction with the goal of increasing the ethnic and racial diversity in the field of nutrition.

In addition to her non-profit work, Deanna Belleny is the Assistant Director of Health Systems Transformation at the Harvard Medical School Center for Primary Care

In this episode, Deanna discusses the decision to start Diversify Dietetics, including the lack of representation and resulting microaggressions she experienced early on in her education and career. She shares some of the barriers to entering dietetics that minorities experience, the impact the lack of diversity has on the field, and how white dieticians can expand their perspectives.

Lastly, Deanna explains the goal of Diversify Dietetics, the current programs and initiatives they've built, and leaves listeners with a tangible tip on where to start to be a part of the solution.

This podcast episode is brought to you by Resilience Reboot for Leaders.

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The first group starts Feb. 16th – each employee is $125 with discounts for 2 or more employees.

For links mentioned in today's episode visit: http://bit.ly/Redesignpod