Heather has served as the Didactic Program in Dietetics director at Virginia Tech for the past 13 years where she teaches courses in the profession of dietetics, food communications, and management in nutrition and dietetics. Prior to her academic position, she worked as the Kroger Mid-Atlantic Corporate Dietitian for six years where she provided nutrition education to customers, pharmacists, store management, community stakeholders and on multiple media channels. Prior to that, Heather was the Director of Nutritional Services in an 800-member continuum of care retirement community and served as a consultant for multiple long-term care communities and two hospice organizations. She received both her B.S. and M.S. degrees in Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise from Virginia Tech and completed a supervised practice program with Aramark in Philadelphia. Heather is a recipient of the 2017 NDEP Outstanding Dietetics Educator Award for Area Six, the Virginia Distinguished Dietitian of the Year award in 2012, the Outstanding Alumni Leadership Award from her home college in 2012, and the Young Dietitian of the Year Award for Virginia in 2002. For the past ten years, Heather has been actively involved in the Nutrition and Dietetics Educators and Practitioners Applications Committee and served as the chair.