Former and Current Child Nutrition Program State Agency Personnel

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  Pat Adams

  Pat Adams

  Pat Adams, a native of Thibodaux, Louisiana, recently retired (again) after a long and rewarding career in child nutrition programs. Pat was already a teacher when she was recruited to be the assistant supervisor in school food service in Terrebonne Parish in Houma, Louisiana, in 1979, and was promoted to supervisor in 1984. She remained with Terrebonne Parish until 1997, when she retired the first time and went to work for the Archdiocese of New Orleans school nutrition program. Pat again retired in 2009 to pursue other interests. Never one to sit still for long, on the day of our interview she was taking a break from chairing her local Mardi Gras committee.

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  Elizabeth Beavers

  Elizabeth Beavers and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Elizabeth Beavers is an Oklahoma native who dedicated many years of service to child nutrition in both Oklahoma and Texas. Her double major in home economics and business gave her a solid base on which to build a long and highly rewarding career.

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  Eugenia Bozeman

  Eugenia Bozeman and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Eugenia Bozeman served first as an area consultant and later as the manager coordinator for child nutrition programs in Georgia for over thirty years, and was also president of the Georgia School Food Service Association.

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  Marilyn Briggs

  Marilyn Briggs and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Marilyn Briggs began her career in child nutrition as School Food Service Director for San Juan Unified school district in Sacramento, California, during the 1970s. Later she served as Coordinator of the Nutrition Education and Training Program and worked on what became the prototype for the National Nutrient Standard Menu Planning System. She recently stepped down as state Director of Nutrition Services for California to work on her doctorate in nutrition science. She has held offices in the Society for Nutrition Education, the American School Food Service Association and American Dietetic Association.

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  Four Past-Presidents

  Bowens Martin Caldwell Nix and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Oral History interview with American School Food Service Association Past-Presidents (now the School Nutrition Association), Shirley Watkins Bowden, Dorothy Caldwell, Josephine Martin, and Mary Nix, regarding the founding of the National Food Service Management Institute (now the Institute of Child Nutrition), May 21, 2014, at the National Food Service Management Institute (now the ICN), The University of Mississippi.

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  Dorothy Caldwell

  Dorothy Caldwell and Institute of Child Nutrition

  After teaching home economics for two years, and then taking several years off to raise her five children, Dorothy Caldwell spent twenty years as food service director for Marianna, Arkansas schools. She then worked as the state director of child nutrition for the Arkansas Department of Education for another decade, serving as the president of the School Nutrition Association toward the end of this period. After a brief retirement Dorothy was recruited to come to USDA in Washington, DC, to work in Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services for another four years.

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  Melissa Campbell and John Dupre - Covid 19 Oral History Project

  Melissa Campbell and Institute of Child Nutrition

  During 2022 the Child Nutrition Archives conducted multiple interviews investigating how child nutrition professionals dealt with the Covid 19 pandemic and its effects on the operations of school feeding programs. This interview examines the response of the Louisiana Department of Education Child Nutrition Programs.

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  Earnestine Camp

  Earnestine Camp and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Earnestine Camp has been actively involved with school food service programs for over sixty years since she began teaching Home Economics at Yellville-Summit High School in Yellville, Arkansas, in 1942. In addition to teaching, she directed the school lunch program there from 1943 to 1951. She was an Area Supervisor in the School Food Service Section of the Arkansas Department of Education from 1953 – 1987. She served as Southwest Regional Director for the American School Food Service Association. Ms. Camp coordinated membership for the Arkansas School Food Service Association from 1986 – 1999. Since 1999 she has been active with the Association’s Foundation Program. The Arkansas School Food Service Association established the Earnestine Camp Manager’s Award and Ms. Camp has also been named a life member of both the American School Food Service Association and the Arkansas School Food Service Association. Sadly, Ms. Camp passed away on December 6, 2012.

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  Kris M. Chustz

  Kris M. Chustz and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Kris M. Chustz, a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is a recently retired school food service professional, having worked as a Manager, Area Supervisor, and Computer Training Coordinator for the Eastern Baton Rouge Parish.

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  Charles Cole & Pat Deckert

  Charles Cole, Pat Deckert, and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Charles Cole served the state of Texas as a math teacher, school principal, and finally as a Texas Education Agent, where he eventually oversaw the state child nutrition programs. Pat Deckert was a food service director and later a food broker before finishing her career as a consultant with the Texas Education Agency.

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  Mary Eleanor Cole

  Mary Eleanor Cole and Institute of Child Nutrition

  After finishing her Master’s at LSU, Mary Eleanor Cole was recruited by Mildred Stringfield to come to East Baton Rough Parish child nutrition programs to work on food and equipment specifications. After a number of years she became director in 1976.

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  Mary Davis-Palms

  Mary Davis-Palms and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Mary Davis-Palms is an Area Supervisor with the East Baton Rough Parish School Nutrition Programs. A graduate of Louisiana State University, Mary has thirty-four years of service in child nutrition.

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  Jo Dawson

  Jo Dawson and Institute of Child Nutrition

  A lifelong Alaskan, Jo Dawson attended fifteen different schools growing up, as her family followed he father’s career as a state trooper. Having worked as the National School Lunch Program Coordinator, the Child and Adult Care Food Program Coordinator, and the USDA Foods Coordinator, she now is the Alaska State Director for nutrition programs.

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  Annette Dupard

  Annette Dupard and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Annette Dupard is a native of Vacherie, Louisiana. She is a graduate of Southern University and a retired Food Service Manager for the East Baton Rouge Parish Child Nutrition Programs.

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  John Dupre

  John Dupre and Institute of Child Nutrition

  John Dupre recently retired after 25 years as State Director of Nutrition Programs for the State of Louisiana.

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  Sylvia Elam and Paul McElwain

  Sylvia Elam, Paul McElwain, and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Sylvia Elam’s involvement with the child nutrition profession goes back over thirty years. She is a native Kentuckian and holds an undergraduate degree in Home Economics from Morehead State University, with graduate work in Education. As a home economist she has worked in business and also taught at the secondary level. In the early 1970s she began work for the Kentucky Department of Education as a consultant in child nutrition. Since that time she has held various positions within the department from consultant all the way up to Assistant Director of Nutrition Services. She is now retired.

  Paul McElwain has been involved with the child nutrition profession for over 20 years. He too is a native Kentuckian and holds an undergraduate degree in Political Science from Morehead State University and also a law degree from Northern Kentucky University. He has held various positions within the Kentucky Department of Education and has been the Director of Nutrition Services since 1987. He served on ASFSA’s Public Policy and Legislative Committee for seven years. He is a past recipient of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Healthy School Hero Award.

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  Anita Ellis

  Anita Ellis and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Anita Ellis is a former educator who, as Assistant Director for the West Virginia Department of Education of Child Nutrition, directed the Nutrition Education & Training program. She has conducted training for teachers and food service personnel. She wrote the Kansas Department of Education, Pyramid Builders, Nutrition Curriculum K-6 and the Mississippi Department of Education, Pyramid Pursuit, Nutrition Curriculum K-3 and Grades 4-6.

  Mrs. Ellis has various experiences in school food service procurement as well as training. She has organized four (4) purchasing cooperatives in West Virginia and continues to assist them with brand approval and bid specifications. She does team teaching for the course, First Choice, A Purchasing Systems Manual for School Food Service. In addition, she developed the Instructor’s Guide for the first edition of First Choice, designing relevant learning activities and transparencies.

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  Pat Farris

  Pat Farris and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Pat Farris holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Dietetics and a Master’s Degree in Human Nutrition from Louisiana State University. She has held numerous positions in the field of nutrition, first working in hospitals, and later consulting in child and adult weight management. In 1980 Pat accepted a position with the Louisiana Department of Education’s child nutrition programs, and learned what school lunch was about for the next fourteen years. Since 1994 she has been with the Archdiocese of New Orleans, where she is currently the Director of School Food Services.

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  Sandra Fisher

  Sandra Fisher and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Sandra Fisher, a graduate of Penn State and Hood College, has spent her career working in Pennsylvania and Maryland. She started out as a hospital dietitian before getting involved with the development of the NET Program in Pennsylvania. She later spent twenty years in Maryland as a Processing Specialist for the Commodity Program.

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  Thelma Flanagan

  Thelma Flanagan and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Thelma Flanagan was involved in child nutrition programs in the State of Florida from the 1930s until her death in 2001. She was a strong advocate in the national drive for professionalism in food services. She became the Florida School Food Service Director in 1943, served as school lunch consultant to the USDA, was President of the American School Food Service Association 1949-1950, served as Chairman of the Southern States Work Conference Committee, and was the author of numerous publications regarding school feeding programs.

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  Perry Fulton

  Perry Fulton and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Perry Fulton of Alabama worked for nearly forty years in multiple areas of child nutrition programs. He spent more than a decade at the district level before moving to the state, where he specialized in troubleshooting financial issues and getting districts back on track. He was also instrumental is creating a statewide purchasing program for the State of Alabama nutrition programs.

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  Guam

  Guam and Institute of Child Nutrition

  This oral history interview was conducted with Ignacio Santos, Dina Lorenzo, Jesse Rosario, and DeAnndra Chargualaf from the Guam Department of Education, who were visiting NFSMI for training, on November 29, 2012. In this interview they discuss the challenges and benefits of child nutrition programs on Guam.

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  Rita Hamilton

  Rita Hamilton and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Rita Hamilton comes from a family with a history in child nutrition. Hamilton’s mother worked at the food service manager at Hamilton’s elementary school in rural Arkansas. After majoring in Home Economics at the University of Arkansas and working as an Arkansas Home Economics extension agent, Rita went on to serve as a state supervisor in the school nutrition programs at the Arkansas Department of Education.

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  Beth Hanna

  Beth Hanna

  Beth Hanna, PhD, RD, LD, SNS, is a registered dietician who received her PhD in Food and Lodging Management from Iowa State University.

  Her work experience includes serving as Director of Nutrition Services for West Des Moines Community Schools where she managed all aspects of the school nutrition program in compliance with federal and state regulations.

  Dr. Hanna also served as an instructor with Iowa State University and a consultant for the Iowa Department of Education, Bureau of Food and Nutrition. She reviewed child nutrition programs and offered specialized support in equipment layout and design.

  In addition to being a trainer for the Institute of Child Nutrition, Beth is a ServSafe instructor.

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  Judy Hendrix

  Judy Hendrix and Institute of Child Nutrition

  After college Judy Hendrix taught home economics, science, and geography at different times before getting into the child nutrition field. Hendrix then worked as a school nutrition director for one year before becoming an area consultant for school nutrition with the Georgia Department of Education. After working as an area consultant in various Georgia locations for a number of years, Hendrix returned as a food service director for a large school district, where she worked for a further four years before retirement.

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  Johanna Herron

  Johanna Herron and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Johanna Herron works with the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development to promote the Farm to School Program.

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  Phyllis Hodges

  Phyllis Hodges and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Phyllis Hodges of Dickson, Tennessee, spent fifteen years as Food Service Director, and was instrumental in founding a local nutrition association in Dickson County. She is a firm believer in training and networking. For the past five years Phyllis has been the Director of Procurement and an Educational Consultant for her state agency.

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  Esther Izaak

  Esther Izaak and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Esther Izaak was born on the island of Montserrat, where she attended secondary school. She continued her education at the University of the Virgin Islands, as well as studying in the United Kingdom. After several years teaching, she accepted the position of the director of the School Food Authority for St. Thomas and St. John. She is now the training director for St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John.

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  Charles Kirby

  Charles Kirby and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Mr. Kirby worked for the USDA for 25 years, which included serving as Southeast Regional Director for 15 years. Subsequently, he served as the State Director of Child Nutrition in Mississippi. During his tenure in Mississippi, he helped develop and operate a statewide purchasing cooperative for schools. Since retiring from Mississippi, he has provided consulting services in the area of purchasing and financial management to state and local school districts and the NFSMI.

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  Marcelle Landry

  Marcelle Landry and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Marcelle Landry, a proud native of the French Quarter, served for many years with the Louisiana Department of Education as Assistant Director, School Food Services, before joining the Archdiocese of New Orleans as Supervisor of School Food Services. Though now retired, Mrs. Landry is still very active with the Louisiana School Food Service Association, of which she is a past president.

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  Louise Lepeze

  Louise Lepeze and Institute of Child Nutrition

  After several years of working as a nutritionist in hospitals Louise Lepeze joined the Louisiana Department of Education child nutrition programs as an Area Supervisor in 1980. She later became the Section Chief. Lepeze left the state in 1991 to join USDA at the Southwest Regional Office in Dallas as the Net Coordinator, Nutrition Education and Training Program. She has been back in Baton Rouge since 2005, working for USDA in the area of School Meals Initiative.

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  Ellen Leppa

  Ellen Leppa and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Ellen Leppa, certified with the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences and the School Nutrition Association, served as Education and Training Specialist and Coordinator of On-Site Services at the National Food Service Management Institute on the campus of the University of Mississippi until her retirement in 2008. As coordinator Ellen worked with both State Departments of Education and conference planners of School Nutrition Associations throughout the country to provide trainers for preconference classes, general sessions, educational sessions, workshops and seminars on a large variety of topics. Some of the topics include Developing a Food Safety Program, Emergency Readiness, Biosecurity Guidelines, Personnel Management, Financial Management, MyPyramid, Nutrition 101 and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005. She was the project coordinator for the Building Human Resource Management Skills training tool for food service managers, the Financial Management Course for School Food Service Directors and the development/publication of Mealtime Memo, a fact sheet for child care providers. Ellen has worked in Child Nutrition Programs for over 40 years both at school district and State levels.

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  Jane Logan

  Jane Logan and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Dr. Jane Logan, a Pennsylvania native, was educated at Indiana State College, Ohio University, and The Ohio State University, and spent her working career in Ohio, Maryland, Virginia, and Mississippi. She is a former Virginia State Director for the School Nutrition Programs, as well as a past Executive Director of the National Food Service Management Institute.

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  Janice Low

  Janice Low and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Janice Low is a former Food Service Manager who started her career on the island of Lanai. Janice now works with the School Food Authority for the State of Hawaii. Janice is based in Honolulu.

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  Nadine Mann

  Nadine Mann and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Louisiana native Dr. Nadine Mann is the Director of Operations for the East Baton Rouge Parish Child Nutrition Programs. Nadine holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Louisiana State University and a Doctorate from Texas Woman’s University in Foods and Nutrition Institution Administration. She has been with the district for thirty-one years.

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  Josephine Martin - Chapter 1

  Josephine Martin and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Josephine Martin has been an area school nutrition consultant, a USDA regional nutritionist in the Southeast, and Georgia’s state child nutrition director. Prior to her retirement from the Georgia Department of Education in 1991, she was an Associate State Superintendent of Schools. She then served as the first Executive Director of the National Food Service Management Institute, The University of Mississippi.

  Since retirement from the National Food Service Management in 1996, she has taught courses in food service management at Georgia State University and in child nutrition management at the University of Georgia. She is actively involved as a consultant in child nutrition, as a trainer, and in developing training materials for child nutrition personnel.

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  Josephine Martin - Chapter 2

  Josephine Martin and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Josephine Martin has been an area school nutrition consultant, a USDA regional nutritionist in the Southeast, and Georgia’s state child nutrition director. Prior to her retirement from the Georgia Department of Education in 1991, she was an Associate State Superintendent of Schools. She then served as the first Executive Director of the National Food Service Management Institute, The University of Mississippi.

  Since retirement from the National Food Service Management in 1996, she has taught courses in food service management at Georgia State University and in child nutrition management at the University of Georgia. She is actively involved as a consultant in child nutrition, as a trainer, and in developing training materials for child nutrition personnel.

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  Josephine Martin - Chapter 3

  Josephine Martin and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Josephine Martin has been an area school nutrition consultant, a USDA regional nutritionist in the Southeast, and Georgia’s state child nutrition director. Prior to her retirement from the Georgia Department of Education in 1991, she was an Associate State Superintendent of Schools. She then served as the first Executive Director of the National Food Service Management Institute, The University of Mississippi.

  Since retirement from the National Food Service Management in 1996, she has taught courses in food service management at Georgia State University and in child nutrition management at the University of Georgia. She is actively involved as a consultant in child nutrition, as a trainer, and in developing training materials for child nutrition personnel.

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  Josephine Martin - Chapter 4

  Josephine Martin and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Josephine Martin has been an area school nutrition consultant, a USDA regional nutritionist in the Southeast, and Georgia’s state child nutrition director. Prior to her retirement from the Georgia Department of Education in 1991, she was an Associate State Superintendent of Schools. She then served as the first Executive Director of the National Food Service Management Institute, The University of Mississippi.

  Since retirement from the National Food Service Management in 1996, she has taught courses in food service management at Georgia State University and in child nutrition management at the University of Georgia. She is actively involved as a consultant in child nutrition, as a trainer, and in developing training materials for child nutrition personnel.

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  Donna Matsufuru

  Donna Matsufuru and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Donna Matsufuru is currently the School Food Service Supervisor for the state of Hawaii, and has held a variety of positions within the child nutrition field during her thirty-five years of service.

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  Clare Miller

  Clare Miller and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Clare Miller spent her career first working for the Louisiana State Department of Education as an Area Supervisor before becoming the Food Service Director for the Diocese of Lafayette. She then went to work for the United States Department of Agriculture in Washington, DC, from where she retired.

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  Nancy Miura

  Nancy Miura and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Nancy Miura is a retired School Food Service Manager and a past president of the Oahu School Food Service Association, having served several terms as president of the Oahu association. Nancy remains very interested in child nutrition and continues to attend the School Nutrition Association’s Annual National Conventions, along with Peggy Nakamoto, another Oahu School Food Service Association past president.

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  Nancy Miura & Peggy Nakamoto

  Nancy Miura, Peggy Nakamoto, and Institute of Child Nutrition

  After Nancy Miura & Peggy Nakamoto finished their individual oral history interviews they felt they had more to share, and sat down later the same day for a join interview.

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  Cyndi Nobles

  Cyndi Nobles and Institute of Child Nutrition

  A native of Baton Rouge, by way of New Orleans, Cyndi Nobles has spent her career in food service. After spending five years working for a food service management company, Cyndi has been with the Louisiana State Department of Education child nutrition programs for the last thirty years.

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  Vivian Pilant

  Vivian Pilant and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Born in 1941, Vivian Pilant grew up in Martin, Tennessee. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Home Economics from the University of Tennessee at Martin, a master’s degree in Institution Management and a doctorate in Nutrition from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She began her career as Director of School Food Services and Nutrition Education for Weakley County, Tennessee. In August 1970, she went to work as a Coordinator of School Food Services in Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida, where she remained for five years. In 1975, Dr. Pilant began work with the South Carolina Department of Education Office of School Food Services as a consultant or “state supervisor.” Two years later she took a position as a registered dietician with the South Carolina WIC program. From 1979 until 2009, she served as Director of School Food Services for South Carolina. Dr. Pilant served as president of the American School Food Service Association (ASFSA) (1994 – 1995). She has testified five times before Congressional committees on matters concerning food and nutrition education training. During her time as ASFSA president she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent treatment. Dr. Pilant died March 29, 2010, at the age of 69.

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  Tommy Ramey

  Tommy Ramey and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Tommy Ramey worked for 34 years in the State of Alabama beginning as a teacher/coach and retiring in 2000 as State Director of the Child Nutrition Programs for the Alabama State Department of Education. His major accomplishments include developing and instituting a commodity processing program that saved local education agencies (LEAs) $1.5 annually; being recognized by the USDA for having the most efficient method for delivery of USDA donated food; initiating the development of the State Nutrition Policies and Procedures Handbook; and initiating and assisting in the development and passage by the State Board of Education, certification standards for local child nutrition directors. Since his retirement, he has continued to be active in the child nutrition field by presenting programs on a variety of subjects throughout the nation.

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  Beth Rice

  Beth Rice and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Beth Rice is a native of Tennessee and studied at University of Tennessee Martin and University of Tennessee, Knoxville, before entering the field of child nutrition. Beth worked in a residential child care institution, for the Tennessee State Department of Education, and as a child nutrition director for Lake County, Tennessee, before joining the Fulton County School District in western Kentucky, from where she retired. Beth now works as a consultant for the Institute of Child Nutrition, instructing other directors in a course called Orientation to School Nutrition Leadership.

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  Cynthia Ruffin

  Cynthia Ruffin and Institute of Child Nutrition

  Cynthia Ruffin began her school nutrition career in Louisiana more than 35 years ago. She received a B.S. in Dietetics from Louisiana State University and an MBA from Southeastern Louisiana University. Cynthia has worked at the local school level, with the Louisiana Department of Education, and as the Director of Child Nutrition in St. Charles Parish Public Schools near New Orleans. Some of her career highlights include developing the Louisiana School Lunch Cycle Menus; expanding Breakfast-on-the-Go programs, implementing The Main Course, a culinary training program for food service technicians; and contributing significantly to district recovery after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. She was the recipient of the SNA of Louisiana Child Nutrition Director of the Year award in 2013. Cynthia often says that once you’ve been bitten by the school lunch bug, you’re infected forever! Her desire to remain involved with the school nutrition profession has led her to training in her post-retirement career. Cynthia is a consultant trainer for the Institute of Child Nutrition.