What’s Cooking with GSDA Programming?
The 2020-21 year is off to a great start and we have some exciting events lined up which are all social-distance friendly! Our theme and mission of our programming this year is diversity and inclusion in the dietetics field.
Our first event of the year was a virtual networking and happy hour event. Utilizing zoom breakout rooms provided an intimate and personal feel to the networking. Prompted discussion questions were provided to facilitate valuable topics relevant to dietetics, career, business, life and more! Based on the positive feedback received, more networking events like this will pop up in the future.
Following the networking event, we had the Trident Seafoods Virtual Tour and Talk. Participants learned about the process of making a Trident Seafoods product and enjoyed a presentation by Certified Food Scientist, Senya Joerss. Joerss discussed sustainable fishing practices, the latest on the health benefits of seafood, and the science of fish oil supplements.
Future Events
Future events will include a book club series with books written by Black, Indigenous, People of Color authors and activists. The discussion held about the book will work to center the experiences of BIPOC and anti-racism in the health and dietetics field.
Our first book club is scheduled for Monday October 26th 6:00-7:00 pm and will be centered around the book “So You Want to Talk About Race” by author, activist, and Seattle native, Ijeoma Oluo. Join us in reading this enlightening book that facilitates discussions on race and racism. Each chapter of the book addresses an important topic related to race in America. Be sure to grab your copy of the book and join the conversation!
Our two other book club events will be held in January and April of 2021 (exact dates TBD) and will discuss the books “The Body is Not An Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love” by author and activist, Sonya Renee Taylor and “Fearing the Black Body. The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia” by Sabrina Strings Ph. D. author and Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Irvine.
On November 5th from 5:30-6:30 pm, GSDA is partnering with Black Farmers Collective – a group of urban food system activists in Seattle dedicated to providing opportunities to improve the health of our communities through all aspects of the food system. Farm representative Hannah Wilson will host and facilitate important discussions around the connections between our community, health, food justice. Plus, she’ll highlight the long-term goals of her organization and how they align with these issues. Attendees will also get some great tips on starting an indoor food growing system!
In February of 2021, a virtual marketing presentation will be given by our own GSDA President-Elect, Brianna Ballard. Marketing yourself as a dietitian and having confidence in your skills is a valuable trait to have which can help to further your career whether it is in a clinical setting, interviewing or private practice.
This year is sure to be informative and also fun! We hope you join us and even welcome the benefits of our socially-distant event programming.