Debbie Petitpain, RDN MS LDN

Wellness Dietitian, Medical University of South Carolina

Treasurer, and member of Speakers Bureau, Vegetarian Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

Debbie Petitpain, RDN MS LDN, presents at P-POD with the support of the Speakers Bureau of the Vegetarian Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.  She serves as a Clinical Dietitian with Sodexo at the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston.  For over 10 years there, she has provided direct patient care to those undergoing dramatic diet and lifestyle changes in an effort to lose weight, overcome medical problems and experience a more positive state of health!  She is now in the newly created position of Wellness Dietitian in the Office of Health Promotion, where she develops policies and programs to advance health on the MUSC campus and in the community.

Debbie holds a Masters degree in Nutrition from Boston University, and is the author or co-author of several articles published in peer-reviewed journals, as well as a chapter in the textbook “Advancing Medicine with Food and Nutrients”.   She has been a member of the Vegetarian Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics since 2000, and throughout the years has served it as Secretary, Nominating Committee member, South Carolina Coordinator, Speakers Bureau member, and now Treasurer.

Debbie has been honored by Charleston Trident Dietetic Association in 2013 as Outstanding Dietitian of the Year, and by American Dietetic Association Foundation in 2011 via the national Mary Abbott Hess Award for Recognition of an Innovative Food/Culinary Effort.  At home, she and her husband teach their two young daughters by word and deed how food nourishes the body, gives us energy, helps us grow and connects us to our community.  She believes the healthiest foods are those that come from as close to the ground as possible – and require a fork to be eaten!