Meet Our Board

Kate currently works as a part-time contractor to the CDC where she teaches a class for employees on healthy eating.  She is also a part-time instructor at Georgia State University, teaching nutrition to nursing students.  Kate has previously been involved in GADA as the treasurer and was the head of the webinar task force for GDA.  Recently, Kate attended ADA’s Leadership Institute in Scottsdale, Arizona.  Kate holds a Bachelor of Science from Georgia State in Nutrition, a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Colorado in Spanish, and a Master’s of International Management from Thunderbird, the Garvin School of International Management.

Arlene Murrell is a registered dietitian and certified lactation educator and currently serves as the Nutrition Affairs Program Manager for the Southeast Dairy Association (SUDIA).  Arlene began her career in 1979 at Bellevue Hospital Medical Center, New York City where she served as clinical dietitian and then as the Assistant Director of outpatient nutrition services.  After leaving Bellevue Hospital, Arlene served as the District Director of Nutrition Services for the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, which included the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program for over 17 years. She also worked as Nutrition Program Manager for the GA Department of Human Resources and the Fulton County Department of Health and Wellness.

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Current Position: Metabolic Dietitian, Emory University, Department of Human Genetics, Since August 2009
Prior Work Experience: Clinical Dietitian, Southern Regional Medical Center, 1 year
Education: University of Florida, Bachelor of Science, Nutrition
University of Florida, Master of Science, Nutrition
Dietetic Internship: Southern Regional Medical Center
GADA Positions Held: Membership Chair, August 2009 - July 2010

Antonio received his undergraduate education in dietetics from Life University in 2003. He recently obtained a Masters degree in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix, Atlanta campus. Antonio became a Community Health Ambassador (CHA) in 2006 at the Morehouse School of Medicine – Mini Medical School. He received the Georgia Dietetic Association (GDA) Distinguished Service Award for a Grassroots Efforts in 2007. He has been an active member and has served on committees for the ADA, GDA, GADA, the Georgia Coalition for Physical Activity and Nutrition (GPAN), and the Georgia HeadStart, Health Service Advisory Committee (HSAC). His work experience includes community health development and advocacy, geriatrics, public health and pediatric nutrition. He is the owner and director of Valens Consulting Group, a private medical nutrition therapy practice group. Antonio is an emerging dietetic professional, with a special interest in health information and literacy.

Theresa Hedrick has a B.S. in Food Science from Clemson University and worked in the food industry for several years before returning to school.  After obtaining a M.S. in Nutrition and completing her dietetic internship at Georgia State University, she became a dietitian.  She currently works as a Clinical Dietitian specializing in cardiology at Emory University Hospital Midtown.  Additionally, she is freelance writer of nutrition articles for magazines and guest lectures at Mercer University.  Her research has twice been published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.  She has been an active member of ADA and GDA since 2005.  She currently serves on the GADA nominating committee and as chair of the GADA membership committee.

BS in Nutrition from Hunter College, NY
MPH – Walden University
Currently working as a clinical and food service dietitian for UHS Pruitt – Long Term Care and as a nutrition consultant for Acadia Health System

After graduating from Penn State, I had a dietetic traineeship with the Central Pennsylvania Dietetic Association in Harrisburg, Pa. I lived for twelve years in Cleveland where I held a variety of adult clinical jobs and obtained a Masters Degree from Case Western Reserve University.  We moved to the Atlanta area for 2-3 years and are stil here 22 years later!.  Most of my Atlanta career has been at Chidren's Healthcare of Atlanta.  I worked for twelve plus years as clinical dietitian, including managing the ketogenic diet for epilepsy.  I started getting involved with the initial build of our electronic medical record, representing the Clinical Nutrition Department at meetings.  I was offered a job with the Clinical Informatics Department when they increased the department.  I have been in this role for the past 6 years. 
My volunteer activities include the following:
GADA:  Nominating Committee  - this is my third time -  National Nutrition Month last year
GDA -   Previous roles include reimbursement, nominations, Council of Professional Interest (plans annual meeting)
PNPG* – Currently Scholarship and Speaker Support Committee chair -  Previously was a newsletter editor, followed by becoming Communication chair (supervised 2 newsletters(4 editors) and 2 web editors.
ADA -   EAL volunteer, reviewing fatty acids and their contribution in the prevention of chronic disease (completed)
ADA – Currently a member of the Nutrition Informatics sub-committee on Interoperability and Standards
Personal:  married with two grown children and two dogs
*PNPG is Pediatric Nutrition Practice Group, if you need it spelled out.

Caitlin S. Russell received her Master of Science in Nutrition from Georgia State University in December 2010. She received the American Dietetic Association’s Outstanding Dietetic Student Award, Georgia State University’s Outstanding Didactic Program in Dietetics Award and the Georgia Dietetic Association’s Outstanding Student Award in 2010. Caitlin has volunteered with the Georgia Dietetic Association since 2009 and began volunteering in the Shepherd Center’s nutrition department in 2010.

I was born and raised in Chicago, IL and have been living in Atlanta for the past 4 years for the purposes of attending school. Graduated cum laude with a B.S. in Dietetics, from Life University. It is also at Life, where I am in the process of completing my dietetic internship program/Masters. I have been a GADA board member since 2008 as the webmaster and my first detail as a webmaster was for Music 101, an independent dance music record label in Chicago. I oversaw every detail of the reconstruction of the website, from its structure and functionality to the graphic layout of the website. Along with being webmaster, I also was the label manager in charge of distribution, promotion and marketing globally.

Tamara S. Melton, is a registered and licensed dietitian, and founder of TSM Nutrition Consultants.  Tamara is certified in Adult Weight Management through the American Dietetic Association. She has assisted many clients to achieve weight loss through individual counseling sessions.  Tamara has also worked with clients who are at a normal weight, but who wish to improve their overall wellness. Tamara has also worked in the field of childhood obesity.  Tamara possesses valuable experience in corporate wellness consulting. She has helped to develop, deliver and assess different aspects of several successful wellness programs for several Atlanta area businesses.  Tamara gained much of this experience while working for two years as a Wellness Nutritionist for the Strong4Life program at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. Tamara is a part-time professor at Georgia State University. Tamara also writes the blog called Real World Wellness.

Megan Gower completed her B.S. in Nutrition from Georgia State University in 2009.  While attending GSU she was a member of the Nutrition Student Network and served on the Public Relations Committee from 2008-2009.  From there, she went on to Southern Regional Medical Center where she completed her internship in 2010.  After completing her internship she worked briefly at Buford Elementary School as part of the nutrition staff, but is currently staying at home with her newborn and 5 year old sons.  Megan has volunteered with the Center for Helping Obesity In Children End Successfully since 2008 and while completing her undergrad volunteered with Project Open Hand.

Bethany received her Bachelor’s in Dietetics from the University of Georgia in May 2010. While at UGA, Bethany was a member of the Northeast Georgia Dietetic Association (NEGDA) as well as the Student Dietetic Association (SDA) at UGA. During the 2009-2010 school year, she served as the Vice President for SDA. Bethany completed her internship at Southern Regional Medical Center in Riverdale, Georgia, in June 2011 and is now the dietitian at Kennesaw State University’s Center for Health Promotion and Wellness. Bethany joined GADA in the Summer of 2010 (as an intern) and worked on the National Nutrition Month Committee during the 2010-2011 year. She took the position as National Nutrition Month Committee Chair in the summer of 2011 and is very excited about the opportunities GADA has to promote food & nutrition throughout Atlanta.