Joan Heusser, RD, CD, NBC-HWC, is the Health Promotion Disease Prevention Program Manager and a registered dietitian at the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System. She has worked at the Salt Lake City VA for 37 years in multiple areas of Nutrition, Health Promotion, Patient-Centered Care, Whole Health, and works with various food insecurity programs. Joan leads multiple initiatives at VA Salt Lake City, including a VA Farmers Market with 4 food insecurity programs, a community partnership Produce Prescription program, Culinary Medicine clinical staff education, and employee Whole Health Coaching. She has a Bachelor of Science degree from Brigham Young University and is a National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach.
Megan Bowman, MS, is a Registered Dietitian, serving as Assistant Chief of Nutrition and Food Services at the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System. She received her Bachelor of Science in Food and Nutrition from Montana State University in 2005 and her Master of Science in Human Nutrition from Arizona State University in 2007. She is currently detailed to VA Central Office as a Food Security Program Coordinator working to stand up a national office that functions to ensure Veteran food security. Megan is a Health and Aging Policy Fellow and sits on local and national committees geared at ensuring Veteran food security and quality management. She has also held an adjunct faculty position at Salt Lake Community College teaching Nutrition Science, for the last eight years.
Sarah Puig-Holzman is a graduate student in dietetics at the University of Utah. As she completes her coordinated master’s program with the Department of Nutrition and Integrative Physiology, she also serves as a student leader on the University’s Anti-Racism Taskforce, and the College’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee. She has been heavily involved in efforts to address food insecurity during her studies, completing her graduate research project with the Utah Department of Health to assess the issues facing
individuals who are food insecure to understand how to better meet their needs. Currently, she is working with the VA’s Health Promotion & Disease Prevention program on various projects focused on advocating for better access to nutrition and health resources for Veterans experiencing food insecurity. As a dietitian, Sarah plans to work in a community setting to improve food access, provide nutrition education and enable others to take control of their health. When she is not working, she is playing in the mountains, either trail running with her pup, skiing, hiking, or biking.
