Annual Conference Sessions

Welcome!

8:00 AM – 8:10 AM (CDT)

Please see our RD Perks document here. These links help RDs receive samples through companies.

See the rotating TAND slides that has updates and current happenings of the affiliate.

Unbreakable: Nutrition and Activity for Midlife Bone Health

Karina Christopher, PhD, RDN, LD

8:10 AM – 9:10 AM (CDT)

Description: The menopausal transition brings significant hormonal and physiological changes that influence women’s nutritional needs, body composition, and bone health. This session examines how estrogen decline affects bone mineral density and increases the risk for osteoporosis during perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause. Participants will explore evidence-based nutrition strategies—including optimal intake of calcium, vitamin D, protein, and other key nutrients—to support bone formation and reduce bone loss. The session also highlights the role of resistance training, weight-bearing exercise, and balance activities in stimulating osteoblast activity and maintaining skeletal integrity. Attendees will leave with practical tools to design individualized nutrition and physical activity interventions that strengthen bone health and enhance quality of life for midlife and older women.

Learning Objectives:

1. Discuss psychological, vasomotor, genitourinary, and other physiological changes that occur in perimenopausal, menopausal and postmenopausal women.
2. Examine bone mineral density changes and risk of osteoporosis among perimenopausal, menopausal, and postmenopausal women.
3. Create nutrition and physical activity interventions to improve bone health.

The Farm Bill: Implications for the Food System and Dietetic Practice

Christina Badaracco, MPH, RDN, LDN

9:10 AM – 10:10 AM (CDT)

Description: Negotiated and signed every 5–7 years, the US farm bill has tremendous implications for food production, nutrition assistance, international trade, and many other fields. As the 2018 farm bill has expired and must be reauthorized in the coming months, all clinicians and consumers need to understand its implications for health, our diverse areas of work, and opportunities for positive influence. Christina will review the bill’s many programs and how their myriad impacts on the food system and human health, helping the audience to understand the connections between federal food policy and the work they do every day. She will present how RDNs can strive for a more just, healthy, and sustainable food system through work across various practice areas and recommend resources for additional learning.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify influences behind the creation and evolution of the farm bill throughout US history.
2. Explain the impacts of the current state of the US agricultural system on societal, economic, environmental, and health factors.
3. Implement strategies in daily practice that advocate for and support food and farming systems that promote better health.

Research Highlights

10:20 AM – 10:50 AM (CDT)

Posters linked below:

• What Is The Relationship Between Evening Dietary Intake to Overall Dietary Intake in Adults  Living with Overweight and Obesity?  Aline Botelho Kobayashi
• Knowledge of Caffeine Levels in Caffeinated Products among College Students. Tracy Fryer, Madalyn Trope, Lorena Viloria Diaz
• The Impact of Nutrition Trends on College Students. Kate Elam, Taylor Harrell, Karah Brown

More than Milk: How Donor Milk Helps to Create Health Equity in Vulnerable Infants

Sarah Elizabeth Eriksen, MD, NABBLM-C, IBCLC

10:50 AM – 11:50 AM (CDT)

Description: This presentation aims to equip the listener with an brief update of current breastfeeding landscape as well as barriers we face in improving our breastfeeding rates in TN. We will then turn our attention to why this matters by looking at how human milk plays a critical role in creating health equity in fragile populations- namely premature and sick infants.

Learning Objectives:

1. Learner will be able to articulate social determinants of breastfeeding.
2. Learner will understand differences between mom’s own milk and donor milk.
3. Learner will be able to articulate how donor milk builds health equity.

TAND Updates, Awards and Scholarships

TAND Board Members

12:10 PM – 1:10 PM (CDT)

RDN Staffing & Compensation: What the Data Says & Where We’re Headed

Angie Hasemann Bayliss, MS, RDN

1:10 PM – 2:10 PM (CDT)

Description: With the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Master’s Degree requirement for RDNs in the rear-view mirror, RDNs are now facing the challenges from their aftermath – turnover, staffing shortages, and a changing compensation landscape. While we don’t have a crystal ball, this presentation will use evidence-based data to review turnover, recruitment, retention, and the current compensation market for RDNs – and to forecast where current trends may be leading. This will include a review of how to utilize the Academy’s 2024 Compensation and Benefits Survey, as well as a compilation of firsthand experiences from over 30 hiring managers.

Learning Objectives:

1. Recognize trends in RDN staffing and the impact of turnover and staffing shortages.
2. Evaluate the current market for RDN compensation, including how to utilize the Academy’s resources.
3. Implement ideas for improving retention in your workplace.

Protein and Fiber: Closing the Gap Between Guidelines and Reality

Mary Finckenor, MA, RDC, CDCES, BC-ADM, CSSD, CCRP

2:15 PM – 3:15 PM (CDT)

Description: Despite clear dietary guidelines, most Americans fall short of recommended intakes for both protein and fiber—two nutrients essential for satiety, glycemic control, gut health, and cardiometabolic health. With growing interest in high-protein diets, gut health, and GLP-1 therapies, understanding how to communicate the “why” and “how” of meeting these needs has never been more important.
This session will translate the latest evidence into actionable counseling strategies—empowering professionals to educate patients and help them nourish themselves more effectively. Attendees will learn practical, food-first approaches and communication techniques that make nutrient goals realistic and achievable in everyday eating.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify evidence-based requirements for protein and fiber across adult populations.
2. Explain the physiological roles of protein and fiber in satiety, glycemic control, gut integrity, and healthy aging.
3. Describe the clinical consequences of chronic underconsumption of protein and fiber, including impacts on metabolic health, muscle loss, and gastrointestinal function.