It’s All About Food - Food for Life - 02/26/13

Part I: Susan Levin PCRM’s Food For Life Susan Levin, M.S., R.D., is director of nutrition education at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting preventive medicine, especially better nutrition, and higher standards in research. As director of nutrition education, Ms. Levin researches and writes about the connection between plant-based diets and a reduced risk of chronic diseases. Through her work, she also addresses the need for nutrition guidelines that reflect PCRM’s New Four Food Groups (fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains). In addition, Ms. Levin assists in teaching nutrition and health classes to participants in a clinical study exploring the links between diet and diabetes. Ms. Levin received her Master of Science in Nutrition from Bastyr University in Seattle, Washington. There she focused on clinical counseling for a variety of nutrition-related issues. After receiving her master’s degree, Ms. Levin completed a dietetic internship at Bastyr University and became a registered dietitian. Her internship rotations included work on HIV/AIDS issues in the public health sector, clinical work at the Swedish Medical Center, and counseling of diabetic patients at the Joslin Diabetes Center. Ms. Levin received the Charlotte Newcombe Scholarship twice during her post-graduate work at Hunter College in New York. She received her bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Before joining PCRM, Ms. Levin taught English to biomedical English majors at the Peking University Health Science Center in Beijing. Her lectures on nutrition to the school’s professors and students emphasized the healthfulness of the traditional plant-based Chinese diet. Ms. Levin is also an avid long-distance runner. Part II: Dawnyel Pryer PCRM’s Food For Life Ms. Pryor manages the Food for Life Nutrition and Cooking Class program, supervising 85 instructors teaching 1,300 classes across the United States in 150 cities. Ms. Pryor also manages the marketing of the organization’s continuing education events and The Cancer Project’s and diabetes initiative’s programs, products, and services. Ms. Pryor’s previous work includes four years with the American Institute for Cancer Research where she was an education associate focused on managing and promoting the organization’s nutrition educational events. Before, she was the program associate of the Education and Youth Development Division at Children’s Defense Fund focused on advocating for youth gun violence prevention and for juvenile justice. Ms. Pryor is the founder and chair of the District of Columbia Junior Advisory Committee of the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance and the Ovarian & Gynecological Cancer Coalition/Rhonda’s Club. She also sits on the board of directors of the Ovarian & Gynecological Cancer Coalition/Rhonda’s Club. Ms. Pryor has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Howard University.