Susan Gross has lived in Southern New Jersey since the 70’s. Originally from Central Pennsylvania, she stumbled upon nutrition as a career during her freshman year of college. Originally a fashion student, she was intrigued by the fast paced environment where nutrition students were immersed in the food’s lab across the hall from her fashion classes. By December of her freshman year, she switched her major to nutrition.
Susan received her bachelor’s in Nutrition and Dietetics from Immaculata College, now a University, and a Master’s of Science in Human Nutrition with a minor in Nutrition Education from Drexel University.
While Susan has been retired for 7 years, she has made vast contributions to the field and worked in a variety of settings. She began her career working as a clinical dietitian. Then spent 23 years working on nutrition programming for the United States Department of Agriculture. When Susan moved to Atlantic County she became an extension home economist/assistant professor, where she taught college for a year. Susan was the statewide coordinator for K-12 NJ Department of Education and WIC Nutritionists.
In 1992 she became co-founder and co-owner of Seashore Nutrition PA, a nutrition consulting firm specializing in nutrition care for older adults. Her company was responsible for the nutrition care, assessment, and treatment plans of residents of Long Term Care Facilities. To increase her knowledge in the area of nutrition and aging, Susan obtained her Board Certification in Gerontological Nutrition (2007-2017).
In addition to her extensive career, Susan was an active member of the New Jersey Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, where she served as elected president of the southern seven county district and later the state president. Though retired from the practice of nutrition, Susan still maintains her credentials through continuing education.
In 2021, Susan was recognized by the New Jersey Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics with the Carolyn Sebastianelli Distinguished Member Award. She notes,
“Reflecting back on my career as a registered dietitian nutritionist, I remain extremely proud, loved every bit of the experience, and would do it all over again.”
When asked about the biggest challenges she faced as a dietitian, Susan replied that applying the academic science of nutrition she learned during her master’s to the real world was her biggest challenge. She states,
“[I] overcame the challenge by ‘translating’ the science to practical nutrition tips that apply for use across the lifecycle.”
Susan’s advice for students interested in entering the field of dietetics is to, “consider, in addition to your major at the undergraduate and graduate levels, a minor or a course in nutrition informatics and/or nutrition genomics.”
She also notes that it is important to learn to love change. Her number one rule in life is, “things and people will change, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse…Be flexible. Be adaptable.”
Her favorite thing to do in New Jersey is walk along the Longport beach. In her free time she enjoys traveling with her husband, Michael.
