April Payne

Embedding the foundation of healthy eating and physical activity in individuals is the bedrock of my Master of Science in Health Promotion and my Bachelor of Science in Dietetics. As a Nutrition Associate in the Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) Program, I fine-tuned my counseling skills and abilities to effectively communicate the healthy lifestyle message. Furthermore, I gained experience in designing and developing materials on nutritional topics such as diabetes education, urban gardening, healthy food choices, Virginia-grown fruit and vegetable education, sports nutrition, and many more topics throughout my professional career, education, and volunteer activities.

I volunteered much of my free time to many organizations and businesses to acquire the experience and knowledge needed to be a well-rounded individual. Virginia Cooperative Extension Agency in Henrico County provided me the opportunity to shadow some of their agents in the field. I worked under the Family and Consumer science agent and Family Nutrition Program Assistants for adults and children. It was a marvelous experience assisting in educating community members and participating in implementation of successful, research based programs. I had the wonderful opportunity to work with Henrico County School Nutrition Services to implement a farm-to-school pilot program that introduced children to the foods available to them in their cafeteria from their local farms. The curriculum included teaching how to build a healthier lunch tray and a presentation from a local farmer discussing the available fruits and vegetables. Volunteering with the Central Food Bank of Virginia opened doors for me as a team leader in charge of groups of volunteers. The food bank trained the leads to motivate volunteers and how to deploy groups to ensure the volunteers time was used wisely.

 At the Lackey Free Clinic, I assisted in implementing the UCAN program (Understanding Control through Activity and Nutrition), which was an eight-week program that taught a group the free clinic diabetic patients how to make healthful choices while incorporating physical activity during class and on their own. It was incredible to see the retention of the clients who benefited with positive feedback and success from the program. While volunteering at the Newport News Health Department, I facilitated the planning and implementation of the community-wide Health Promoters Program, along with teaching the Smile for Good Health Program offered to pre-kindergarten through second grade students. I also attended many teleseminars on diabetes and built-environment discussions.

I look forward to working with the citizens and stakeholders of Spotsylvania and surrounding areas. The community is superb, and I will work diligently to improve the well-being of all community members.

Education

• Master of Science in Education. Health Promotion concentration. Virginia Tech, 2009.
• Bachelor of Science in Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise. Dietetics concentration. Didactic Program in Dietetics approved by the Commission on Accreditation for Dietetic Education. Virginia Tech, 2007.

Experience

• Henrico County (Virginia) Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) Office  (Nov 2010-Nov 2012), Nutritionist Associate 
  • Planned and implemented nutrition classes for health department clients.
  • Analyzed client eligibility for the WIC program and initiated recommendations to meet government guidelines.
  • Counseled one-to-one with nutrition-risk patients.
  • Collected and analyzed hematological, anthropometric and dietary data.
• Henrico County School Food and Nutrition Services ( November 2012-December 2012), Intern
  • Assisted in the marketing and implementation of the Food Explorer Program.
  • Attended community expos and events promoting school nutrition programs.
  • Shadowed all employees of the school Food and Nutrition Services.
• Rappahannock General Hospital  (May 2012-Sept 2012), Intern
  • Assisted the hospital dietitian in duties pertinent to medical nutrition therapy.
  • Counseled with patients to determine nutrition-related concerns and assessed nutrition diagnosis.
• Gardens at Warwick Forest Retirement Community  (May 2009-Nov 2012), Volunteer Dietetic Assistant      
  • Assisted the resident dietitians with quarterly and annual assessments.
  • Developed menus to meet individual dietary guidelines.
  • Consulted with patients to attain food preferences and allergy information.
• Wintergreen Resort (Dec 2009-Feb 2011), Snowboard Instructor
  • Taught mountain safety and snowboarding classes to resort clients.
  • Oversaw a positive and quality experience of each individual guest.
• Newport News Health Department (May 2010-Nov 2010) Volunteer Health Educator 
  • Aided with health promotion and education to general public.
• Children’s Menu Research Project  (Fall-Spring 2008) (Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA)
  • Investigated children’s menu options.
  • Conducted restaurant manager interviews pertaining to children’s menu choices.
  • Collected and analyzed data in support of university research.
  • Ensured crucial deadlines were met to support the research project.

Leadership

• Central Virginia Food Bank Team Lead (2012-2013). Supervised volunteers completing designated tasks.
• Pi Beta Phi Fraternity Alumni Advisor (2011-2013). (College of William and Mary chapter) Provided guidance and planning of PanHellenic activities.
• Lobbying for Licensure of dietitians in Virginia (2012). Promoted professional issues with the Virginia General Assembly.
• Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth (2012). Contributed to website information, research and design.
• Henrico County School Nutrition (2012). Advocated the Food Explorer program for second graders to try Virginia-grown foods.
• Virginia Medical Reserve Corp Volunteer (2010-present).  Enlisted “Pack This, Not That” healthy options for disaster preparedness.
• Volunteer Health Educator, UCAN program (2010). Presented healthy diet education to chronic disease patients.