Motivational Interviewing in Nutrition and Fitness

About Authors

Dawn Clifford, PhD, RD, is Associate Professor and Director of the Didactic Program in Dietetics in teh Department of Nutrition and Food Science at California State University, Chico. In addition, she co-founded and is currently Director of FitU, a peer mentoring nutrition and exercise counseling program on campus. She received the Outstanding Dietetic Educators and Preceptors, a practice group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Dr. Clifford conducts research and is an accomplished speaker in the areas of motivational interviewing and no- diet approaches to health and wellness. She published several research articles in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior and written curricula for Today’s Dietitian and Nutrition Dimensions. She is a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT).

Laura Curtis, MS, RD, is Director of Nutritional Services at Glenn Medical Center in Willows, California, where she provides clinical nutrition services to patients in acute care and is a nutrition therapists for the outpatient clinic. In addition, she serves as a preceptor to undergraduate dietetics students and is a part-time lecturer at California State University, Chico. Ms. Curtis has extensive training in motivational interviewing at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. As a nutrition therapists, she provides counseling to patients with conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and disordered eating, and to those considering bariatric surgery. In her counseling, she pairs motivational interviewing with the non-diet principles of intuitive eating and Health at Every Size.