MDA Board of Directors Meeting
Meeting Venue: Papa Razzi, Wellesley
Date: 6/4/2015
Time: 6:00pm (5:30pm Dinner)
Presiding: Emily Stone
Recording: Lauren Brennan
Present: Emily Stone, Lauren Brennan, Erin Wholey, Emily Mackay Lotterhand,
Diana Lantry, Amy Rose Sager, Alexandra Pitkin, Cynthia Taft Bayerl, Mary Jane
Rogalski, Diane Nash, Cassandra Johnson, Julia Sementelli, Haley Hooks,
Jennifer Cardin-Smith, Peggy Leung-Strle, Katie Barragan, Jenny Karl, Joan Salge
Blake, Kara Kelly, Katrina Stephanides, Elizabeth Lundy, Jeanine Le Doux, Andrea
Gulezian, Cindy Crowninshield, Mary Harrity, Francecs Scarlata, Katy Hartman,
Laura Andromalos, Ellen Kramer, Liz Dahlgren, Sarah Conca, Amy Branham,
Kelley Bradshaw, Jennifer Heinen, Maria Sansevero, Caitlin Meagher, Kristen
Schreck, Mitali Shah, Lauren Fay, Meredith Louko, Michael DeAngelis, Daniel
Camerota ,
Strategic Plan:
VISION
Optimize the health of Massachusetts residents through food and nutrition
MISSION
Empower MDA members to be Massachusetts food and nutrition experts and leaders
VALUES
Member-centered
Accountability
Innovation
Social Responsibility
Exceed members expectations, foster a sense of community,
cohesion and connectedness
Ensure organization is fiscally and socially responsible,
organizationally aligned and adheres to the highest standard of
integrity
Embrace change with creativity and strategic thinking
Make decisions with consideration for inclusivity as well as
environmental, economic and social implications
Goal 1: Members and prospective members view MDA as key to professional success
Strategy 1: Provide and support a variety of innovative professional development opportunities
for career success
Strategy 2: Provide a range of leadership and volunteer opportunities to enhance knowledge
and skills for success in practice, workplace and communities
Strategy 3: Recruit, engage, and maintain a diverse member base
Goal 2: The public looks to and chooses registered dietitians as leaders and experts in
food and nutrition
Strategy 1: Build upon and strengthen organizational identity
Strategy 2: Empower members to enhance the visibility of registered dietitians to both the
general public and other health professionals
Strategy 3: Establish and strengthen strategic partnerships to further MDA and ADA initiatives
Goal 3: Empower members to positively impact the health of Massachusetts residents
Strategy 1: Impact food and nutrition policies and programs
Strategy 2: Provide opportunities for members to participate in the legislative process
Strategy 3: Establish and strengthen strategic partnership to further MDA and ADA initiatives
Consent Agenda Items:
Strategic Goal (1), Strategy (3):
Name: Emily Stone
Board Position: President
Agenda Item: Member Count
 Background information:
o The Member Count report is available on the Academy DMIS system. As
of May 26, counts by membership type are as follows:
Status
Total
Active
1740
Associate
1
Honorary
5
International
6
Life
3
Retired
80
Student
483
Total
2318
Strategic Goal (1), Strategy (1-3):
Name: Emily Stone
Board Position: President
Agenda Item: Membership Survey
 Background information: MDA conducted a membership survey on April 22 via
Constant Contact.
 358 members (approximately 16% of membership) responded. Board members
are encouraged to review the results and incorporate them into their plans for
next year. Please see the meeting attachments for the full results.
 Highlights include:
o Responses to “Should MDA change its name to Massachusetts Academy
of Nutrition and Dietetics?”: Strongly for changing the name – 20%, For
changing the name – 30%, Neutral – 32%, Against changing the name –
12%, Strongly against changing the name – 7%.
o The biweekly email This Week @ MDA is being received very positively –
82% overall like the consolidated email format. But, less than half (37%)
reported that they read every email.
o Popular locations for MDA events are downtown Boston,
Framingham/Natick, and Dedham/Needham. The most popular times are
Weds/Thurs PM. Popular times are Tues PM, Saturdays, Sundays, and
Monday PM. Fri PM, Sat PM, and Sun PM are least popular.
o Educational events/CEU opportunities are a top valued benefit of MDA.
Strategic Goal (1), Strategy (3):
Name: Emily Stone
Board Position: President
Agenda Item: Kraft / Kids Eat Right



In early March a new partnership between the Academy’s Foundation and Kraft
Foods caused quite a stir in the dietetics community, both nationally and here in
Massachusetts.
The MDA BOD voted unanimously to send a letter relaying our members
concerns to the Academy. The letter, drafted by subcommittee, was sent on
March 31. MDA also sent an email to the MDA membership regarding the issue.
The Academy briefly acknowledged our letter. The open rate on the email to the
MDA membership, was 41%.
Strategic Goal (2), Strategy (2):
Name: Emily Stone
Board Position: President
Agenda Item: Diet Orders Task Force Update
 Background information: Task force formed to determine how MDA can support
members implementing 2014 CMS ruling enabling diet order writing privileges for
hospital RDs.
 Gisele LeBlanc, Sarah Conca, and Emily Stone attended a meeting of the
Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) on April 2nd. We have preliminary
agreement that MMS will provide a statement of support for RDNs obtaining
order writing privileges. We are now working on drafting this language and
obtaining similar support from the Massachusetts Hospitals Association (MHA).
Strategic Goal (1), Strategy (1):
Name: Emily Stone
Board Position: President
Agenda Item: MDA Board of Directors History
 Mara Sansevero has compiled a consolidated list of all MDA BOD members
going back over 5 years. Thank you Mara for your time and energy on this
project!
 The list is included as an attachment for this meeting and will be posted on the
BOD page of the MDA website. If you have any additions or corrections, please
contact Mara or president@eatrightma.org.
Strategic Goal (1), Strategy (3):
Name: Katy Hartman, Katrina Stephanides
Board Position: MDA Membership Committee Co-Chairs
Agenda Item: Committee Update
 Budget progress, as of [05/05/15]:
o YTD Income
$ 1,540
o Budgeted Expenses $ 4,000
o YTD Expenses
~$ 3,378.20
 Work plan progress (since last board meeting):
o 12 events total were planned this year.
Strategic Goal (1), Strategy (3):
Name: Jennifer Heinen, Rachel Reynolds
Board Position: Socials for Success Co-Chairs
Agenda Item: Committee Update
 Budget progress, as of 5/12/15
o Budgeted Income
$0

o YTD Income
$ 250
o Budgeted Expenses $ 1,450
o YTD Expenses
$ 1,036.46
Work plan progress (since last board meeting):
o Successful Vietnamese Cooking Class at the Cambridge Center for Adult
Education in March with 10 members present. Everyone enjoyed learning
how to cook with new flavors, making traditional dishes such as green
papaya salad, spring rolls and banh mi sandwiches. The members were
emailed copies of the recipes created.
o Feed the Need 5k run in April was canceled due to lack of interest (no
one RSVP’d). This might be related to the Easter holiday or the race
requiring access to a car to attend. Considered these factors for next
years’ work plan.
o Upcoming SFS events include a Backyard Social at Audubon Boston on
5/28 and a Cookbook Club Social in June.
Strategic Goal (2,3), Strategy (1,3):
Name: Alexandra Pitkin
Board Position: State Policy Representative
Agenda Item: Liaison Update
 Background information:
o Sarah Conca, Mary Jane Rogalski, and Alex Pitkin interviewed a
candidate for MDA Liaison to the MA Nutrition Board, Liz (Elizabether)
Dahlgren. Liz is very interested in becoming involved with MDA and PPP.
She was invited by Caitlin Meagher to serve in this liaison role from July
1, 2015-June 30, 2017.
o Laura Andromalos is replaced by Theresa Moutafis as MDA Liaison to the
Partnership for Chronic Disease Prevention’s Healthy Eating Community
of Practice.
o Josefine Wendel has agreed to serve another year as MDA Liaison to the
MA Public Health Association.
Strategic Goal (3), Strategy (1,2):
Name: Sarah Conca
Board Position: Public Policy Research Assistant
Agenda Item: PPW Update
 Background information:
o As in years past, MDA will send six PPP members to the Academy’s
Public Policy Workshop being held June 6-9, 2015 in Washington, DC.
The highlight of the conference will be the last day, when PPP members
travel to Capitol Hill to discuss the Academy’s legislative priorities with
members of the MA Congressional delegation.
o Please email Amy Branham or Sarah Conca for more information.
Strategic Goal (1,2,3), Strategy (1,2,3):
Name: Alexandra Pitkin
Board Position: State Policy Representative
Agenda Item: Committee Update
 Budget progress, as of June 2015:
o Budgeted Income
$0

o YTD Income
$0
o Budgeted Expenses $ 34,510
o YTD Expenses
$ 34,410
Budget progress includes year end compensation for Public Policy Research
Assistant and also accounts for March’s Day on the Hill 2015 and June’s Public
Policy Workshop trip, which has yet to be completed.
Strategic Goal (1), Strategy (2, 3):
Name: Sharon Chan, Diana Lantry
Board Position: Volunteer Co-coordinators
Agenda Item: Volunteer Co-Coordinators Update
 Background information:
o Accomplishments to date:
1. Sample List of short messages to use in bi-weekly constant contact
announcements for “This Week @MDA” completed
2. Volunteer Coordinator Transition document completed
3. Thank You Volunteer section up-dated and posted with names of
volunteers
4. Volunteer Coordinator work plan completed
5. Volunteer Recruitment Opportunities form revision completed
o
Goals:
1. Place forms/templates/schedules on thumb drive for next volunteer
coordinator(s) for June meeting
2. Submit work plan and transition document before June meeting
3. Provide smooth transition of all information to in-coming coordinator(s)
Strategic Goal (1,2,3), Strategy (All):
Name: Kristen Schreck
Board Position: Treasurer
Agenda Items: Financial Reports
 Background information: MDA continues to be in good financial standing with
excellent reserves in the investment account and operating money in the Bank of
America account. We are still track to meet this year’s overall budget.
o See the attached Profit & Loss statement and Current Assets report for
details of MDA’s current financial status.
Strategic Goal (1,2,3), Strategy (All):
Name: Kristen Schreck
Board Position: Treasurer
Agenda Items: Fiscal Reminders for Transition Documents
 Background information: Prior to the end of the fiscal year, each
committee/position has been asked to prepare a “transition document.” As you
prepare this document, please consider adding the following information as it
pertains to your committee/position:
o Each committee/position is responsible for adhering to its budget for the
year and tracking its income and expenses. The committee is only
permitted to spend the amount allotted as expenses.
o Please remember to submit your Financial Committee Updates for each
board meeting.
o When expenses are submitted for reimbursement, an itemized receipt or
invoice must be included (including restaurant and bar bills).
Strategic Goal (1,2,3), Strategy (All):
Name: Kristen Schreck
Board Position: Treasurer
Agenda Items: Reminder about Expense Deadline
 Please remember that all expenses for this fiscal year should be submitted for
reimbursement by June 15. Don’t forget to include an itemized receipt.
Strategic Goal (3), Strategy (2):
Name: Amy Branham
Board Position: Public Policy Coordinator (PPC)
Agenda Item: Committee update
 Hosted a Public Policy table at April’s ANCE 2015
o Hosted a table with Public Policy information (eg. Current action alerts
and nutrition policy info), how to get involved, sign-up sheet for
Grassroots network, PPP members there to answer questions, PPP
Members wore badges to identify themselves. Will consider doing a
similar program next year.
Strategic Goal (3), Strategy (2,3):
Name: Amy Branham
Board Position: Public Policy Coordinator (PPC)
Agenda Item: Committee update
 PPW 2015 June 7th – 9th 2015
o The six MDA sponsored attendees have been finalized: Caitlin Meagher,
Lauren Fay, Mary Jane Rogalski, Amy Rose Sager, Sarah Conca, Amy
Branham. Amy Branham will attend PPW Bootcamp on Saturday June
6th. She will work closely with incoming PPC elect Melissa Page to share
information from Bootcamp via Transition Document and emails.
o MDA delegation will meet with all Massachusetts elected officials: 2
Senators, 9 Representatives. Meetings currently being scheduled.
o The Academy’s legislative priorities are:
o Older Americans Reauthorization Act (OAA) (S.192)
o Preventing Diabetes in Medicare Act (H.R. 1686)
o Treat and Reduce Obesity Act (net yet introduced)
Strategic Goal (1), Strategy (1 & 2):
Name: Chrissy Carroll
Board Position: Director of Education
Agenda Item: Update on MDA becoming an Accredited Provider of CPEs from CDR
 Background information:
o In March we shared that MDA sees value in accredited status and is
starting the process to become CDR Accredited Provider.
o Before applying for approved provider status, at least two education
events must be prior approved by CDR for CPEs
o We were not able to submit ANCE for CDR prior approval, as we began
to look into this process too close to ANCE and did not have time to
secure all documentation.
o
o
We submitted the Fed Up event for prior approval but were denied
because the panel discussion was originally only 0.5 hours. CDR
informed us that if requesting prior approval for “lecture/discussion”
CPEs, they must be at least 1 hour in length.
Chrissy Carroll will continue to head up this process, and will work on
securing prior approval for two events in the fall/winter.
Strategic Goal (2), Strategy (1,2,3): Goal 3: Strategy( 1,2,3)
Name: Cynthia Taft Bayerl
Board Position: MDA Delegate
Agenda Item: Academy Sponsorship Program Update
 Background information:
o See attachment
Strategic Goal (#), Strategy (#):
Name: Cynthia Taft Bayerl
Board Position: MDA Delegate
Agenda Item: Committee Update
 Budget progress, as of [Insert date]:
o Budgeted Income
$0
o YTD Income
$0
o Budgeted Expenses $ 1300
o YTD Expenses
$ 1300
 Work plan progress (since last board meeting):
o Participation in AND HOD. Information on corporate sponsorship shared
via MDA Today, Constant Comment, MDA Yahoo groups and Facebook.
President convened a small BOD workgroup to discuss action to
encourage members and BOD to express views. Questions also utilized
on MDA membership survey.
The Board put forth a motion to approve the consent agenda, it was seconded and
approved by the majority
Discussion Items:
The Board put forth a motion to approve the minutes from March 2015 BOD
meeting it was seconded approved by the majority.
The Board made a motion to approve the current agenda, it was seconded and
approved by majority.
There are no conflicts of interest with the Board Members and the current agenda.
Strategic Goal (1,2,3), Strategy (All):
Name: Kristen Schreck
Board Position: Treasurer
Time Allotted: 15 minutes
Agenda Item: 2015-2016 Budget

Background information: The finance committee has drafted the FY16 budget.
We are pleased to report that we have kept the deficit similar to FY15 (at
$48,735) while including $15,000 for potential website changes. We appreciate
all of your efforts to cut costs!
o See the attached FY16 proposed budget and corresponding work plans.
Request for Guidance:
 Does the board approve the proposed budget?
Request for Action:
 Vote on approving the proposed budget
Decision to be made:
 Approve the proposed budget
Vote Needed:
 Yes
A motion was made to approve the budget for the FY16 year, was seconded and
approved by the majority.
Moving forward the Board needs to think of ways to increase the revenue stream to
sustain MDA in the coming years. Mary Harrity from MDEF will likely be a great
fundraising leader and help think of ways to improve the budget deficit in the coming
year.
It was also noted that the licensure celebration a few years ago included a gala that was
very successful. This could be a great way to attract new members while generating
income. It’s noted that these events are not as successful when done annually.
Strategic Goal (2), Strategy (1,2,3):
Name: Cynthia Taft Bayerl
Board Position: MDA Delegate
Time Allotted: 10 min

AND HOD discussed the academy corporate sponsorship issues during its virtual
HOD meeting May 2 & 3. There was a lively discussion and 6 guiding principles
were developed. Delegates were given 4 days to respond to first draft and then
second draft. Attached is the first draft which is the only one available at this
time. AND had prior guidelines prior to the Kraft use of the Kids Eat Right brand
on cheese food.
 Second issue which was postponed was RD/DTR Role in Malnutrition will be
discussed during the fall FNCE meeting.
Request for Action:
 Proposal is that all branches of the Academy use the same guidelines and that
the affiliates are encouraged to use them. This would make the work of MDA
easier to at least start a discussion using this document once it is
available.[Insert details]
Decision to be made:
 Propose the formation of a small workgroup to review the document and discuss
with Exec Committee; ANCE committee and BOD during upcoming meetings and
that information be shared with our membership. They also might be able to use
in their business dealings with the public and private sector. The work plan and
proposals of this group be reviewed annually within the overall BOD work plan
Vote Needed:
 Yes.
The new AND corporate sponsorships guideline report’s anticipated release is likely
within the next few months. The report will likely define what a healthy food is and
what a partner’s products should entail. The Academy is encouraging all branches to
be in accordance with the new guidelines. Given the new guidelines are much more
rigorous than previous guidelines it would behoove the MDA BOD to fully understand
the new restrictions and apply accordingly to future partnerships as well as evaluate
current relationships.
A motioned was made to create an ad-hoc committee to review the new AND
guidelines once released, it was seconded and approved by the majority.
Recommended members of the committee should include, Mary from MDEF,
President-elect, Public Relations, Anyone who would like to volunteer should reach
out to Cynthia Taft Bayerl.
Strategic Goal (1), Strategy (2):
Name: Emily Stone
Board Position: President
Time Allotted: 5 minutes
Agenda Item: Comp Registration for event planners
 Background information: At the March BOD meeting, we discussed a draft
proposal of a policy that would allow committees to include money in their
budgets for those who plan MDA events to receive complimentary registration to
those events.
 Feedback on the proposed policy was: the Committee Chair should budget for a
certain amount of money per year to be used for free event registration for those
helping to plan events. This will be separate budget line and can be used at the
Committee Chair’s discretion. This budget line will be approved by the Finance
Committee, which approves all budgets, and will ensure that free event
registrations do not impact our final budget because they’ll already be built in.
Suggested language for the end of the policy: “All complimentary registrations
are subject to budget availability and to consent of the Committee Chair/Event
Organizer.”
 The policy is revised as:
o When a registration fee applies to an MDA event, complimentary
registration may be provided for event planners at the Committee Chair’s
discretion if dedicated funds for this purpose are included in the
committee’s budget. All complimentary registrations are subject to budget
availability and to consent of the Committee Chair/Event Organizer.
Decision to be made:
 Adopt the new policy
Vote Needed:
 Yes
There was proposal made at the last board meeting to set aside budget free event
admission to be used at the committee chairs’ discretion.
Feedback on this proposal including:
 When planning the event the free person wouldn’t register, the sign in sheet
will be submitted and event expenditures is how total costs should be tracked
 All tracking should include information about the complimentary registration
and the committee should be responsible for reporting.
 Certificates may be needed for licensure records. Records of attendance are
needed in addition.
 A free code to use on the new website might be beneficial.
 There has to be some type of re-evaluation if it’s working.
 The policy language does not line up with actions that are being suggested.
 Percentage vs. flat amount for the budget should be considered
Budget will stay as approved and voting will be tabled and re-evaluated with the next
finance discussion.
Strategic Goal (1), Strategy (1):
Name: Emily Stone
Board Position: President
Time Allotted: 5 min
Agenda Item: Transition Guides
 Background information: At the March BOD meeting, the BOD approved the
Transition Guide final format.
Request for Action:
 All outgoing BOD members should complete the form (see attachments) by June
30, preferably earlier. Many thanks to those who have already returned them!
When completing, please refer to the sample provided (also attached). If some
sections are not applicable, please leave those fields blank. Also, feel free to
add a section to the form for your specific role's needs. You may return the forms
to president@eatrightma.org.
Vote Needed:
 No
An email will be sent members to remind them to complete this documentation.
Other Business
1. Next Meeting: BOD Training and September meeting, TBD
2. All other business:
At recent event sponsored by BOND, Boston Organization of Nutritionists and
Dietitians of Color, Dr. Evelyn Crayton, the incoming AND president presented
data on the present and future geographic and ethnic diversity of AND
membership. The academy needs to think about how to encourage cultural and
ethnic diversity in the dietetics field.
Some ideas include:



Spotlight article in the newsletter of the BOND group
Scholarships to emerging RD of color
Job fair participation
An ad hoc committee to have a conference call to learn about BOND will be led
by Cynthia. All volunteers interested should reach out to Cynthia.
The technology committee is beginning to think about vendors for revamping the
website. Mara from technology is interested in connecting with anyone with
experience developing a request for proposal. All interested should reach out to
Mara. Once drafted, they will call on members to submit feedback.