Dr. Tia Jeffery is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health, Nursing and Nutrition within the College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability, and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES) at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC), registered dietitian and certified health education specialist. She earned her BS in Dietetics from Oakwood College (now Oakwood University), MS in Human Ecology (Human Nutrition) w/ a cognate concentration in Exercise Science from The Ohio State University and PhD in Public Health from Walden University. She has close to two decades of experience as an RD/RDN in clinical practice, contractual nutrition and wellness programming, cooperative extension, and higher education. She has published articles reflecting her research and community programs in several peer review publications as well. Her teaching, research and practice areas include culturally tailored community-based interventions for chronic disease prevention and performance nutrition, integrative medical nutrition therapy, health promotion in underserved and non-traditional arenas, physical activity and aging, and nutritional strategies for sports performance/recovery. Her recent Academy member roles in leadership have consisted of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) Liaison for the Maryland Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and Communications Team member of the Religion Member Interest Group. Her fascination with the role of nutrition and exercise for healing the mind, body and spirit has led her into this career path.