RDN Spotlight: Briana Harper, MS, RD

WHAT IS YOUR ETHNICITY/RACE? DID YOUR FAMILY HAVE ANY CUSTOMS RELATED TO FOOD?

Black. I grew up in Alabama, so I'm a soul food girl all the way. Gotta love a pot of collards, some fresh cornbread, and a good ol' "meat and three" joint. I also love that somebody nearby is always growing some type of food. So, a joy of a rural summer is someone always offering some extra collards, squash, or tomatoes from their harvest.

WHAT DOES YOUR TYPICAL DAY LOOK LIKE?

I am currently a Nutrition Operations Specialist at the American Heart Association. I work from home, and my days are filled with lots of collaboration on various projects. I work on the "Heart-Check" team, so I mainly do regulatory work in my role, ensuring that products meet requirements for our program and reviewing labels and promotions to ensure regulatory compliance and compliance with our program guidelines. I also work on B2B marketing of our program, and I help out on a team that manages our organization's food company engagement initiatives.

WHERE DID YOU GO TO SCHOOL AND COMPLETE YOUR DIETETIC INTERNSHIP?

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO CHOOSE NUTRITION AND DIETETICS AS A CAREER?

I've always had a fascination with learning how the body works, so I knew that I'd want to be in a health profession. In undergrad, when I was introduced to the fact that food and nutrition was an actual career AND an area of health that is often overlooked, I immediately knew that I wanted to spend my life in this field of work.

WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE FOR YOU IN BECOMING A DIETITIAN?

For me, the biggest challenge of becoming a dietitian was finding a dietetic internship. Between the costs, the scarcity of funding opportunities, and the shortage of openings in programs, that process was very discouraging. I ended up doing an ISPP, and even that process was difficult because I had to find my own preceptors, and honestly, it felt like a few people I approached didn't want to teach someone who looked like me (and they would not). I will ALWAYS be grateful for Diversify Dietetics. I reached out to one of the founders (Tamara) when DD was still pretty new, and she didn't know me, but she listened to my story, responded, and immediately jumped in to connect me to some amazing preceptors who stepped up and helped me get all the training I needed. There is power in community!

HAVE YOU HAD ANY MENTORS IN YOUR CAREER? IF YES HOW HAVE THOSE MENTORS AFFECTED YOUR CAREER/LIFE?

YES! Tuskegee had phenomenal dietitians on faculty who encouraged us, believed in us, and pushed us through every door they could pry open for us. I also have had peers to serve as mentors- we were all finding our way, but we found it together. Again, community is powerful! For everyone who held a door open for me, I feel like I owe it to them and the profession to do the same for others.

WHY DO YOU THINK DIVERSIFYING THE FIELD OF NUTRITION IS IMPORTANT?

Everyone eats, no matter their skin color, socioeconomic background, gender, religion, etc. However, dietary patterns, access to food, dietary preferences, access to food preparation methods, nutrition education, etc. will all vary among personal variables, so it's important to have voices from diverse backgrounds in rooms having these conversations about nutrition policies and initiatives, in settings working with patients, and in communities influencing those in their orbits who otherwise may not be considered or assisted when attempting to address nutritional issues.

WHAT IS A PIECE OF ADVICE YOU WOULD GIVE A STUDENT OF COLOR INTERESTED IN ENTERING THE FIELD OF DIETETICS?

What is a piece of advice you would give a student of color interested in entering the field of dietetics?Just because you look around and don't see many people who look like you, doesn't mean you don't belong there. Always strive to keep perfecting your craft, be open to different experiences in the field, and network! While my black RD network has been lifesaving / lifegiving, I've met some solid allies who have been fresh air to my soul as well. While there are definitely a few folks who would love to see you fail, there are so many who are rooting for you!!!

Briana is a Diversify Dietetics mentor. Her mentee just got accepted into DD's inaugural internship class (with funding!). Brianna is HYPE about this and so glad her mentee didn't have to struggle as much as she did thanks to the AMAZING resources of this community.

Do you know an RDN of Color who we should feature in our Spotlight Series? Or are you an RDN of Color who would like to be featured? Contact us today!

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