During National Public Health Week we’d like to feature one of our own, hard working, public health dietitians, Sara Elnakib, PhD, MPH, RDN. Sara grew up in northern New Jersey, between Jersey City and Paterson. She completed her undergraduate work at Rutgers University and her Dietetic Internship as well as her Masters in Public Health at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ. Sara went on to obtain her PhD in Public Health at Rutgers Biological Health Sciences School of Public Health.
In high school Sara was in the Model UN program and had the opportunity to work on “big world problems” with students from across the country. This program led her to where she is today. Now Sara is an Educator/Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Family & Community Health Sciences at Rutgers Cooperative Extension. Her research focuses on the use of policy, systems, and environmental approaches to promote child health equity and environmental stewardship, primarily in school and community settings. This work is impactful at the state and local levels but also may have a national influence.
Sara’s day is always different. The work she does involves meeting with various stakeholders, schools, students, and faculty to discuss needs and programming. She present nutrition education programs, writes educational materials, connects with her grant teams, writes manuscripts and presentations to share data collected and attends national conferences. In addition to her work at Rutgers Sara is also on the board of Partners for Health Foundation and NJ Organics Recycling Foundation. She also chairs the Advisory Committee for Public Policy for the Society of Nutrition Education and Behavior and is a Regional Co-Chair for the NJ AND.
Sara has had many mentors in her career both within the field of nutrition and outside of it. Over the years she has learned that everyone needs a mosaic of mentors, and each mentor provides a different kind of support. Sara feels fortunate to have so many amazing colleagues who have supported her throughout her career and hopes to be paying it forward through her support of students and young professionals.
Sara encourages students and new RD’s to “volunteer for any opportunity you get as a student, during this time you have a chance to build your skills and learn about the field and what you enjoy. Volunteering for different opportunities can help you clarify for yourself what parts of our profession you will enjoy and where you want to contribute to the field.” The best thing about nutrition and dietetics is its’ diversity. There are so many opportunities to be a part of the field.
When not at work, Sara loves to enjoy the diverse cuisine that NJ has to offer and explore the beauty our state has to offer. Please tag Sara on linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-elnakib/
