Learn new strategies To empower yourself & expand your Nutrition practice
For Spring 2024's EmpoweRD Summit:
recorded Fall 2023 summit available
(9 CEUs)
Special equity pricing for Interns, individuals from marginalized groups, Private practice group Pricing (see below)
Are you ready to take your nutrition counseling and coaching skills to the next level?
You'll learn the following and much,
much more!
What you can do to increase confidence and trust in your practice
Identify how trauma reveals itself in food and weight experiences
Build awareness for how trauma might be playing out in your client's ability to progress with food
Identify ways to respond to trauma symptoms as they present in a session
Develop confidence using Motivational Interviewing counseling skills to tackle body image conversations
Demonstrate how to share a weight-inclusive approach with a client using the ask-offer-ask technique
Differentiate between client aspirations, outcomes, and behaviors while implementing "easy button" strategies to simplify health behaviors
Recognize the difference between clinician goals and patient/client goals
Understand what expert mode is and how to establish a new framework to move forward in sessions to reduce systems of harm
Identify factors that contribute to client resistance and what you can do in a session to minimize or prevent resistance.
And so much more!
empower 2023 - speakers
Alissa Rumsey,MS, RD, CDN, CSCS
Alissa Rumsey (pronouns she/her/hers) is a registered dietitian, certified intuitive eating counselor, and the author of Unapologetic Eating: Make Peace With Food and Transform Your Life. She is the founder of Alissa Rumsey Nutrition and Wellness, a weight-inclusive virtual nutrition practice. Alissa supports nutrition entrepreneurs as a business coach and supervisor, helping them to confidently start and grow their businesses. She is the founder of the Dietitian Entrepreneur Foundation Course, an online program that teaches clinicians how to set up and launch their nutrition business, and The Liberated Clinician, a weight-inclusive group-coaching program that combines business coaching and supervision, all done in community. Her expertise has been featured in hundreds of media outlets and she speaks regularly at events, online trainings, and conferences around the country. She calls New York City home.
Learn more about Alissa at www.alissarumsey.com.
Amy Helms, LISW-CP, MS, CEDS-S, RD, LD, CCTP, CCATP, PSEP
Amy is an experienced clinician and believes in the power of human connection and self-compassion to foster growth and powerful transformation. Amy has dedicated her career to nutrition counseling, supervising, and teaching in the field of nutrition, body image, intuitive eating, eating disorders, infertility, women’s health, and food allergies.
She believes in combining an individualized approach with the latest evidence-based techniques. She practices within the Intuitive Eating principles.
Amanda Mittman, MS, RDN, LDN
Amanda is a Registered Dietitian specializing in eating disorders, disordered eating, intuitive eating, and body image. She is the owner of Happy Valley Nutrition, Western Massachusetts’ ONLY group practice of weight-inclusive, fat-positive, Health at Every Size(™) aligned dietitians supporting adolescents through adults.
In addition to counseling clients and running her practice, she is a Visiting Lecturer teaching nutrition classes at the University of Massachusetts. As the Bitchin' Body Image RD, Amanda supervises clinicians on how to incorporate body image counseling skills into their practice. She is a frequent speaker on topics such as body image, Health at Every Size (™), Intuitive Eating, weight stigma, and recognizing eating disorders and disordered eating in clinical practice.
Laura B. Koller, MS, MSEd, RD, LDN CDCES
Laura is a clinical dietitian who is passionate about helping dietitians achieve high rates of client success by making behavior change as easy and stress-free as possible. She started her career as a junior high schoolteacher and has now been working with people on dialysis and with diabetes for more than 20 years. She is also the founder of Transform RD.
Laura believes change doesn’t have to be hard, there are infinite options for change, and every client can succeed - even that one client you’re shaking your head about right now. She loves showing dietitians what’s possible when they start exploring change strategies from disciplines such as education, psychology, sociology, and neuroscience. When she first started practicing these change strategies with her own nutrition clients, it changed absolutely everything for her - and that’s why it’s now her mission to share these simple yet powerful strategies with as many dietitians as possible, so everything can change for them, too. Learn more at
www.TransformRD.com
Dawn Clifford, PhD, RD
Dawn Clifford is a Professor at Northern Arizona University. She teaches courses in nutrition education and behavior change counseling and has experience implementing and directing university-based health coaching programs.
Dr. Clifford conducts research and is an accomplished speaker in the areas of motivational interviewing and weight inclusive approaches to health and wellness. She is a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers and is the author of 5-Minute MI: Motivational Interviewing in Nutrition and Health When Time is Short and co-author of Motivational Interviewing in Nutrition and Fitness.
Shani Jordan-Goldman, MS RD CDCES
Shani is a clinical dietitian and the founder of Nutrition Cheat Sheets. For the past 10 years, she has been working everywhere from acute care to long-term care to outpatient MNT counseling. Shani also teaches a grad nutrition course on geriatric nutrition, and spends as much time as she can showing new RDs how to make it in the real world of clinical nutrition and everything that goes along with that.
Shani remembers how hard it was for her when she was starting out - having preceptors that made her cry, feeling completely lost most of the time, struggling to get even her most basic questions answered. It’s her mission with Nutrition Cheat Sheets to help as many RDs avoid that same struggle, and feel like they’re starting their careers with confidence.
Tracy Brown, RD, LDN
Tracy is a trauma informed nutrition therapist/eating disorder dietitian, stress recovery coach and nutrition counseling skills teacher. She walks beside people wanting to heal their relationship with food and weight as well as feel safer and less stressed in their bodies.
Since 2006, she has guided people one on one and in groups in healing from disordered eating and chronic dieting, many of which also have other stress-related conditions. She is the creator of 3 courses that provide trauma informed and body image counseling skills and supervision to health professionals as well. Learn more at www.embodieddietitian.com
Charlie Golightly, MPP-D, RD, RYT
Charlie is a queer & gender expansive dietitian, educator, speaker, and supervisor for dietitians who give a damn. They take an intersectional, therapeutic approach to their work to support and uplift courageous clinicians and the clients who are lucky to have them. In their private practice, Moxie Mind, they provide reflective, collaborative supervision to heart-led clinicians, in both individual and group supervision spaces. Charlie also teaches nutrition at MSU Denver and hosts Counseling Skills for Dietitians Who Give a Damn, a virtual training series for RDs to hone their skills through an affirming lens.
Joyce Faraj-Ardura, PhD, RD, LDN
Joyce is a nutrition counseling coach with a passion for empowering fellow dietitians and nutrition professionals to enhance their coaching and counseling skills, equipping them to better support and retain their clients while promoting lasting behavior change. With a Ph.D. in Nutrition and Mental Health, years as a tenure track professor, and former nutrition program manager at a clinic, she brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her work.
Driven by her belief that counseling skills are paramount to client success, she has become a sought-after mentor. She is the founder and CEO of the Nutrition Counseling Academy. She believes that a practitioner's medical nutrition therapy and nutrition knowledge are just as important as their counseling skills to support behavioral changes.
Dr. Faraj-Ardura lives in New Hampshire and balances her professional and entrepreneurial pursuits with her role as a dedicated mother of three. You can learn more about Dr. Faraj-Ardura's programs and services for RDs at https://www.nutritioncounselingacademy.com/
empower 2023 - speakers
Alissa Rumsey,MS, RD, CDN, CSCS
Alissa Rumsey (pronouns she/her/hers) is a registered dietitian, certified intuitive eating counselor, and the author of Unapologetic Eating: Make Peace With Food and Transform Your Life. She is the founder of Alissa Rumsey Nutrition and Wellness, a weight-inclusive virtual nutrition practice. Alissa supports nutrition entrepreneurs as a business coach and supervisor, helping them to confidently start and grow their businesses. She is the founder of the Dietitian Entrepreneur Foundation Course, an online program that teaches clinicians how to set up and launch their nutrition business, and The Liberated Clinician, a weight-inclusive group-coaching program that combines business coaching and supervision, all done in community. Her expertise has been featured in hundreds of media outlets and she speaks regularly at events, online trainings, and conferences around the country. She calls New York City home.
Learn more about Alissa at www.alissarumsey.com.
Amy Helms, LISW-CP, MS, CEDS-S, RD, LD, CCTP, CCATP, PSEP
Amy is an experienced clinician and believes in the power of human connection and self-compassion to foster growth and powerful transformation. Amy has dedicated her career to nutrition counseling, supervising, and teaching in the field of nutrition, body image, intuitive eating, eating disorders, infertility, women’s health, and food allergies.
She believes in combining an individualized approach with the latest evidence-based techniques. She practices within the Intuitive Eating principles.
Amanda Mittman, MS, RDN, LDN
Amanda is a Registered Dietitian specializing in eating disorders, disordered eating, intuitive eating, and body image. She is the owner of Happy Valley Nutrition, Western Massachusetts’ ONLY group practice of weight-inclusive, fat-positive, Health at Every Size(™) aligned dietitians supporting adolescents through adults.
In addition to counseling clients and running her practice, she is a Visiting Lecturer teaching nutrition classes at the University of Massachusetts. As the Bitchin' Body Image RD, Amanda supervises clinicians on how to incorporate body image counseling skills into their practice. She is a frequent speaker on topics such as body image, Health at Every Size (™), Intuitive Eating, weight stigma, and recognizing eating disorders and disordered eating in clinical practice.
Laura B. Koller, MS, MSEd, RD, LDN CDCES
Laura is a clinical dietitian who is passionate about helping dietitians achieve high rates of client success by making behavior change as easy and stress-free as possible. She started her career as a junior highschool teacher and has now been working with people on dialysis and with diabetes for more than 20 years. She is also the founder of Transform RD.
Laura believes change doesn’t have to be hard, there are infinite options for change, and every client can succeed - even that one client you’re shaking your head about right now. She loves showing dietitians what’s possible when they start exploring change strategies from disciplines such as education, psychology, sociology, and neuroscience. When she first started practicing these change strategies with her own nutrition clients, it changed absolutely everything for her - and that’s why it’s now her mission to share these simple yet powerful strategies with as many dietitians as possible, so everything can change for them, too. Learn more at www.TransformRD.com
Dawn Clifford, PhD, RD
Dawn Clifford is a Professor at Northern Arizona University. She teaches courses in nutrition education and behavior change counseling and has experience implementing and directing university-based health coaching programs.
Dr. Clifford conducts research and is an accomplished speaker in the areas of motivational interviewing and weight inclusive approaches to health and wellness. She is a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers and is the author of 5-Minute MI: Motivational Interviewing in Nutrition and Health When Time is Short and co-author of Motivational Interviewing in Nutrition and Fitness.
Shani Jordan-Goldman, MS RD CDCES
Shani is a clinical dietitian and the founder of Nutrition Cheat Sheets. For the past 10 years, she has been working everywhere from acute care to long-term care to outpatient MNT counseling. Shani also teaches a grad nutrition course on geriatric nutrition, and spends as much time as she can showing new RDs how to make it in the real world of clinical nutrition and everything that goes along with that.
Shani remembers how hard it was for her when she was starting out - having preceptors that made her cry, feeling completely lost most of the time, struggling to get even her most basic questions answered. It’s her mission with Nutrition Cheat Sheets to help as many RDs avoid that same struggle, and feel like they’re starting their careers with confidence.
Tracy Brown, RD, LDN
Tracy is a trauma informed nutrition therapist/eating disorder dietitian, stress recovery coach and nutrition counseling skills teacher. She walks beside people wanting to heal their relationship with food and weight as well as feel safer and less stressed in their bodies.
Since 2006, she has guided people one on one and in groups in healing from disordered eating and chronic dieting, many of which also have other stress-related conditions. She is the creator of 3 courses that provide trauma informed and body image counseling skills and supervision to health professionals as well. Learn more at www.embodieddietitian.com
Charlie Golightly, MPP-D, RD, RYT
Charlie is a queer & gender expansive dietitian, educator, speaker, and supervisor for dietitians who give a damn. They take an intersectional, therapeutic approach to their work to support and uplift courageous clinicians and the clients who are lucky to have them. In their private practice, Moxie Mind, they provide reflective, collaborative supervision to heart-led clinicians, in both individual and group supervision spaces. Charlie also teaches nutrition at MSU Denver and hosts Counseling Skills for Dietitians Who Give a Damn, a virtual training series for RDs to hone their skills through an affirming lens.
Joyce Faraj-Ardura, PhD, RD, LDN
Joyce is a nutrition counseling coach with a passion for empowering fellow dietitians and nutrition professionals to enhance their coaching and counseling skills, equipping them to better support and retain their clients while promoting lasting behavior change. With a Ph.D. in Nutrition and Mental Health, years as a tenure track professor, and former nutrition program manager at a clinic, she brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her work.
Driven by her belief that counseling skills are paramount to client success, she has become a sought-after mentor. She is the founder and CEO of the Nutrition Counseling Academy. She believes that a practitioner's medical nutrition therapy and nutrition knowledge are just as important as their counseling skills to support behavioral changes.
Dr. Faraj-Ardura lives in New Hampshire and balances her professional and entrepreneurial pursuits with her role as a dedicated mother of three. You can learn more about Dr. Faraj-Ardura's programs and services for RDs at
Engaging & Interactive Sessions
Our sessions will be designed to maximize participant learning, and all will include a discussion based or hands on learning component. So make sure you attend live!
Actionable Insights
and Takeaways
You'll leave with lots of takeaways and strategies you can implement right away into your nutrition counseling and coaching practice from a variety of areas (trauma-informed, inclusivity, MI, dealing with resistance, weight inclusive, etc)!
Continuing Education
for RDs/DTRs
Who doesn't like CEUs?! By attending live or watching the replay, you'll get 9 CEUs, including the ethics CEU requirement. You will have access to the replays for a year.
Prizes & Rewards!
We know that you'll benefit the most if you attend live, and you will be rewarded for attending live. We also recognize that not everyone will be able to attend live, so there will also be prizes for those who watch the replay and submit their takeaways that weekend!
Ticket Options:
General Admission
$197
2-day virtual conference
Replays available for 6 months
9 CEUs for RDs & DTRs
Handouts and slides
Mid-day yoga session
This event is sponsored by:
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does this summit take place?
This will be a fully virtual event hosted through zoom. You can join from anywhere.
What if I can't attend the live sessions?
Live attendance is encouraged, but not required. You will get access to the replays. There will be a handful of prizes for those who attend live, and if watching the replay, then there will be a prize drawn and you can participate if you submit a homework/takeaway assignment before the end of the weekend.
What is your refund policy?
We do not have a refund policy. Depending on which ticket you purchase, you will have access to the replays for 6-12 months.
Do I have to be an RD to join?
Absolutely not! While all. the presenters are dietitians, you do not need to be a registered dietitian to attend. This event is designed to empower and support all health professionals, entrepreneurs, students/interns, and coaches who want to enhance their counseling and coaching skills.
Are CEUs provided?
9 CEUs will be provided to RDs and DTRs for both live attendance or watching the replays.
I still have some questions. Who can I ask?
If you have any further questions or need more information, please reach out to the event organizer and founder of the Nutrition Counseling Academy, Dr. Joyce Faraj-Ardura. You can contact her via email at nutrition.counseling.academy@gmail.com. Alternatively, you can send her a direct message on Instagram at @nutrition.counseling.academy.
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©2023 Nutrition Counseling Academy | All Rights Reserved
Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Earnings Disclaimer
©2023 Nutrition Counseling Academy | All Rights Reserved