L I Z Z Y K R O E G E R

MS, RDN, LDN

C O N T A C T

Address 2800 Riverview Rd. Apt. 1032 Birmingham, AL 35242

Email kroeger@uab.edu

Phone 919-623-8807

PhD Candidate, Defense Date: February 28, 2020

E D U C A T I O N

Bachelor of Science, Nutrition East Carolina University, Greenville NC May 2013, GPA: 3.859/4.0

Master of Science, Nutrition East Carolina University, Greenville NC May 2015, GPA: 3.824/4.0

Doctor of Philosophy, Nutrition University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham AL Exploring Diet Quality of Children in Early Care and Education Centers: Measures, Policies, and Center Characteristics / February 28, 2020

Committed to providing high quality learning experiences to

students in face-to-face and online courses. My research

embodies this interest in teaching - training students to

conduct research in the community setting using both

qualitative and quantitative methods. Currently, my

research focuses on the diet quality of children ages 3-5

years in Alabama Early Care and Education Centers.

P R O F I L E

Chancellor’s List (Spring 2010, 2012-15; Fall 2012, 2014)

CIRTL Teaching Scholarship (Spring 2016)

A W A R D S - R E C O G N I T I O N S

Awarded to students who illustrate a dedication to

teaching.

Outstanding scholarship recognized for earning a 4.0

during that semester.

Dean’s List (Fall 2009-2011, 2013; Spring 2011) Outstanding scholarship recognized for earning a 3.5

during that semester.

Outstanding Graduate Award (Spring 2013)

Awarded to two students in the May 2013 Nutrition

Science graduating class who exemplified top

academic success.

Steel Chef Competition Winner (Spring 2013)

Cooking competition at East Carolina University.

Competition required participants to preparing an

entrée and a side item or dessert with two secret

ingredients, turnips and mint.

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C O M M U N I T Y E N G A G E M E N T

My work within the community has both research and teaching components. A brief

description of both components are provided for each community engagement activity.

Pitt County Farmer’s Market (2012-2013)

Coordinator of a Vidant Community Benefits Grant aimed to increase fruit and vegetables consumption in rural communities through nutrition education and food demonstrations. TEACHING: Conducted weekly cooking demonstrations at the Farmer’s Market and taught people how to incorporate local fruits/vegetables in their diets. RESEARCH: Collected quantitative and qualitative data for grant renewal from weekly demonstrations.

Farmer’s Market Nutrition Education Coordinator, Greenville NC

Snack Rx (2012-2015)

Snack Rx is an afterschool nutrition education/healthy snack program and includes garden club, nutrition education and field trip experiences to promote career exploration for over 400 children of Pitt County, NC Boys & Girls Clubs. Since October 2012, 74 ECU student volunteers have prepared over 10,000 healthy snacks and assisted with 1,000 hours of nutrition education in 7,000 service hours. TEACHING: Developed and taught nutrition curriculum for weekly lessons. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Pitt County received the North Carolina Area Council Award for Program Excellence in Health and Life Skills in

Graduate Research Assistant & Nutrition Educator, Greenville NC

recognition of the Snack Rx Program (2013). After year 1 of project implementation, the program was expanded to 4 Boys & Girls Clubs and my job responsibilities took a shifted to managing grant applications, reporting, budgeting, research, and mentoring Snack Rx coordinators. RESEARCH: Aimed to understand the program’s ability to educate the children

Birmingham Evidence-based Start to My Eating (BEST ME) initiative (2015-current)

nutrition trainings at Birmingham Childcare Resources, to over 30 Early Care and Education (ECE) centers. Mentored undergraduate and graduate-level nutrition students to collect data in ECE centers. RESEARCH: Collected both qualitative and quantitative data at over 85 ECE centers to explore diet quality in ECE centers the relationship with policies and center characteristics.

Graduate Research Assistant, Birmingham AL As part of the work with my PhD, my team developed BESTME, a partnership between the School of Health Professions and the Department of Nutrition Sciences. TEACHING: Delivered

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HRP 411 Students Mentored to Conduct Community-based Mixed Method Research Volunteer research mentors for HRP 411 are assigned a team of undergraduate, honors-level students who are expected to present 3 research posters at the UAB Undergraduate Research Expo, over 3 semesters. Students under my mentorship exceed course expectations, having presented their award winning research at conferences.

T E A C H I N G / M E N T O R I N G

Lin, Khan, Robertson, Patel, Wilson (2017-2018). Explored menu substitutions of the lunch menus in ECE centers and diet quality implications

Layne, Meeks, G. Moon, J. Moon (2018-2019). Developed a pilot nutrition education curriculum that aimed to translate nutrition education in Early Care and Education (ECE) classroom to the children’s homes

Amezaga, Carlisle, Epps, Diaz, Joiner (2019-current). Developing a food frequency questionnaire that addresses dietary patterns of Latino and Hispanic clients at the Community of Hope Health Clinic in Birmingham, AL

Dixon, Hildebrand, Allen, Baghel (2017-2018). Assessed the relationship between diet quality and socioeconomic status in ECE centers. Awarded first place at 2018 Nutrition Symposium

Blevins (2016-2017). Compared the diet quality of children in ECE centers to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Won first place in the 2017 UAB Spring Undergraduate Research Expo (https://www.norc.uab.edu/news/357)

Other Students Mentored to Conduct Community-based Mixed Method Research

Snack Rx Research Assistants (2012-2014). Oversaw 4 undergraduate students who were in charge of delivering nutrition education to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Pitt County from curriculum I developed for this program. Mentoring these students included weekly meetings to talk about how things were going and troubleshooting problems they may have been having. In addition, I conducted site visits to aid in daily activities and provide feedback

BESTME Research Assistants (2016). Mentored graduate-level research assistants. As their primary contact, I trained these students to collect data. Students were trained to visually estimate food amounts, conduct needs assessments, and input data for the BESTME initiative.

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Dietetic Intern Preceptor for Community Research Rotation Jones & Bordfeld (2018). Dietetic internship preceptor for two students due to their interest in community research. During their time with me, they completed their own research poster presented at the Alabama Dietetic Association annual meeting

Courses Taught

NTR 421/521 Nutrition Assessment and the Nutrition Care Process (Spring 2020). Online. University of Alabama at Birmingham; 36 undergraduate nutrition minor and graduate-level students HRP 411 Honors Team Community Project (Fall 2017-2019; Spring 2018-2020). Face-to-Face. University of Alabama at Birmingham; 4-9 School of Health Profession Honors students per semester NTR 232 Life Cycle Nutrition (Spring 2016; Fall 2019). Online. University of Alabama at Birmingham; 45 undergraduate, non-major students “I loved this class, especially for it being an online course. You made it feel real, like

we had practice applying what we learned, which I’ve never had in an online course

before. I think the assignments in this class are crucial for the development of a

successful RD.”

“I really enjoyed this class; I think it was my favorite out of all the classes I took this

semester. I feel like I learned a lot of useful information and overall really enjoyed

taking this course. I enjoyed the creativity of the assignments!”

Courses Assisted

NTR 601 Advanced Medical Nutrition Therapy (2016). Online. University of Alabama at Birmingham; 30 graduate-level students

NUTR 4600 Senior Seminar (2014). Face-to-Face. East Carolina University; 25 undergraduate-level students, required for major

NUTR 4313 Medical Nutrition Therapy II (2014). Face-to-Face. East Carolina University; 25 undergraduate-level students, required for major NUTR 4312 Medical Nutrition Therapy I (2013). Face-to-Face. East Carolina University; 25 undergraduate-level students, required for major

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Teaching Professional Development CIRTL Scholar Teaching Certificate (2018). Distinguishes emerging leaders in evidence-based teaching practices among future faculty and attest to engagement in teaching as research, learning community and learning through diversity. There are three levels of the CIRTL certificate and as of Spring 2018, I have completed the highest level, the scholar teaching certificate. To obtain the scholar level, you are required to conduct teaching as research. For my project, I assessed graduate-level student perceptions of a team-based learning (TBL) project to inform the development of a rubric to assess team members in TBL embedded courses Quality Matters Certification (2019). A nationally recognized, standards-based program focused on continuous improvement of online and blended courses and programs. Completion of this certification prepares instructors to prepare high quality, evidence-based courses

R E S E A R C H

Funded Grants

BESTME / Nestle Healthcare Nutrition Inc. Educational Grant (2015-current). Graduate Research Assistant, BESTME Early Childhood Nutrition Program, $100,000

Snack Rx / Vidant Medical Center Foundation Community Benefit Grants Program (2013-2015). Graduate Research Assistant & Nutrition Educator, $25,000 per year. Awarded 3 times for phases 1-3 BB&T Leadership Enhancement Grant (2013). Graduate Research Assistant, Transformative Leadership Undergraduate Nutrition Education, $10,000 (http://blog.ecu.edu/sites/poeight/blog/2014/01/23/nutrition-students-develop-their-professional-leadership-styles/)

Publications

UAB Quality Enhancement Plan Teaching Innovation and Development Award (2016). Graduate Research Assistant, An investigation of performance attributes of individual teamwork skills in online graduate education.

Kroeger EN, Jones P, Fernandez JR, Pavela G, Evans R, Bertrand B. Nutrition policy in early care and education centers: A comparison of diet quality among state licensure and child and adult care food program participation. Preventing Chronic Disease. Submitted March 26, 2020. Under Review.

Kroeger EN, Pavela G, Fernandez JR, Jones P, Evans R, Bertrand B. Exploration of diet quality predictors in early care and education centers. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. Submitted March 23, 2020. Under Review.

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Oral Presentations

Kroeger EN, Worthington C (2020). Telling a story through qualitative research: Reasons for late night eating and willingness to change. Society of Nutrition Education and Behavior, Journal Club (invited).

Bertrand B, Kroeger EN (2019). Using a Student Led Research Project to Build Undergraduate Teamwork and Critical Thinking Skills through Design of a Nutrition Curriculum for Early Care and Education Centers and Home Setting. Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions (ASAHP) Annual Conference, Charleston SC.

Kroeger EN (2018). Characterizing Attributes of the “Dream Team” Member in Online Courses. UA Systems Scholars Institute, Birmingham AL.

Kroeger EN (2014). Perspectives of the nutritionist about counseling patients. Día del Nutriόlogo, Mexico City, MX (invited).

Kroeger EN, Bertrand B (2013). Snack Rx at the Boys and Girls Clubs, Pitt County. Vidant Health Foundation Community Benefits Grants Program Focus Meeting, Greenville NC (invited).

Research Posters (20)

Meeks G, Layne A, Moon G, Moon J, Bertrand B, Kroeger EN (2020). Teacher and parent perceptions of the Traveling Chef curriculum for young children. Alabama Dietetic Association. Montgomery AL.

Meeks G, Layne A, Moon G, Moon J, Bertrand B, Kroeger EN (2020). Understanding teacher and parent perceptions of a pilot nutrition education curriculum. UAB Undergraduate Research Expo, Birmingham AL.

Joiner A, Martinez C, Carlisle C, Epps M, Amezaga Y, Kroeger EN, Bertrand B (2019). Design of a nutrition education program for adult clients of Community of Hope Health Clinic. UAB Undergraduate Research Expo, Birmingham AL.

Kroeger EN, Fernandez JR, Bertrand B (2019). Diet quality assessment in early care and education centers: A comparison of three common methods. Society of Nutrition Education and Behavior, Orlando FL.

Kroeger EN, Fernandez JR, Jones P, Bertrand B. Diet quality in early care and education centers: A comparison of menu, served, and consumed lunch measures. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. 2020; 52:39-44.

Kroeger EN, Carson T, Baskin M, Langaigne A, Schneider C, Bertrand B, Herbey I, Harper L, Biggio J, & Chandler-Laney P. Reasons for late night eating and willingness to change: A qualitative study in pregnant black women. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. 2019; 51(5):598-607.

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Khan R, Lin C, Patel L, Robertson S, Wilson W, Kroeger EN, Bertrand B (2018). The

importance of snacking: A pilot study intervention in an early childhood education center.

2018 Nutrition Symposium, Birmingham AL.

Baghal S, Hildebrand R, Allen K, Dixon M, Kroeger EN, Bertrand B (2018). A pilot study:

Utilizing nutritional analysis to conduct an Intervention in an early childhood education

center. 2018 Nutrition Symposium, Birmingham AL. Awarded first place.

Kroeger EN, Brenda B, Fernandez JR. (2018). Diet quality in early care and education centers:

Does policy have power. 2018 Nutrition Symposium Birmingham AL.

Kroeger EN, Bertrand B, Fernandez JR. (2018). Identification of valued individual attributes to

create a team-based learning rubric for online courses. UAB Quality Enhancement Plan

Retreat, Birmingham AL.

Khan R, Lin C, Patel L, Robertson S, Wilson W, Kroeger EN, Bertrand B (2018). One snack at a

time: A pilot snack intervention in an early childhood education center. UAB Undergraduate

Research Expo, Birmingham AL.

Baghal S, Hildebrand R, Allen K, Dixon M, Kroeger EN, Bertrand B (2018). One plate at a time: A pilot diet quality intervention in an early care and education center. UAB Undergraduate Research Expo, Birmingham AL. Bordfeld, V., Milam, AM., Kroeger EN, Bertrand, B, Fernandez, JR. (2018). A tale of two centers: A deeper look into potential contributions to diet quality in early childhood education centers. Alabama Dietetics Association, Birmingham AL.

Khan R, Lin C, Robertson S, Patel L, Wilson W, Kroeger EN, Bertrand B (2017). Got nutrients? Improving inadequate micronutrient intake in 2-5 year olds in early childhood education centers through individualized interventions. UAB Undergraduate Research Expo, Birmingham AL.

Baghal S, Hildebrand R, Allen K, Dixon M, Kroeger E, Bertrand B (2018). Money does not mean healthy: A comparison of early care and education center diet quality among income status. UAB Fall Undergraduate Research Expo, Birmingham AL. Khan R, Lin C, Patel L, Robertson S, Wilson W, Kroeger EN, Bertrand B (2018). Simple substitutions or detriment to diet quality? The impact of lunch menu substitutions on diet quality in early childhood education centers. UAB Undergraduate Research Expo, Birmingham AL.

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2019-current Pediatric Obesity Research Group, Active Member Nutrition Obesity Research Center, UAB

2019-current Dietitian Education Program, Advisory Board Member Department of Nutrition Sciences, UAB

2019 Program Manager, Search Committee Department of Nutrition Sciences, UAB

2017 Lifestyle Management Program Director, Search Committee Department of Nutrition Sciences, UAB

2013 Assistant Professor, Search Committee Department of Nutrition Sciences, ECU

Kroeger EN, Muhammad J, Laney P, Bertrand B, (2015). Prospective Change through Theory Based Multi-level Interventions: The Nutrition Matters Program. Community Engagement Institute, Birmingham AL.

Kroeger EN, Bertrand B, Babatunde O, Knight S (2015). The transformative model: Assessing and developing leadership skills of nutrition students (poster). Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo, Nashville TN.

Bertrand B, Kroeger E, Harman T, Hallatt T, Kruse K, Harris N (2013). Snack Rx - helping Boys & Girls Club participants "think smart" and "stay strong" and promoting professional skills development for undergraduate dietetics students. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo, Houston TX.

O T H E R A C A D E M I C E X P E R I E N C E S

Committee Participation

Baghal S, Dixon M, Hildebrand R, Allen K, Kroeger EN, Bertrand B (2017). One plate at

a time: Proposed intervention for food group and nutrient imbalances in early care

and education centers. UAB Undergraduate Research Expo, Birmingham AL.

Kroeger EN, Brenda B, Fernandez J. (2017). The Impact of Policy on Diet Quality in Childcare Centers. Obesity Week, Baltimore, MD.

Blevins M, Kroeger EN, Bertrand B, Fernandez J. (2017). Is there power in policy? Investigating the potential impact of diet quality in child daycare centers. UAB Undergraduate Research Expo, Birmingham AL. Awarded first place.

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2019 Featured Graduate Student, UAB Graduate School Annual Report

2017 Website Nutrition Consultant, Sight Savors contract to develop website (https://sightsaversamerica.org/kids-nurtition/)

2014 Online Interview, Back to School Nutrition Basics (http://www.ecu.edu/news/hottopics14.cfm)

2014 Online Interview, Snack Rx, front page of ECU website (http://www.ecu.edu/news/snackrx.cfm)

2014 Online Interview, Graduate Student Featured Profile, ECU (http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/gradschool/Elizabeth-Kroeger-Student-Profile.cfm)

2013 Radio Interview, Discussion of Snack Rx on Greenville Grapevine radio program, WRHD STAR 94.2, recorded/aired March 27

2013 TV Interview, Discussion of Snack Rx, WITN News Channel 2013 TV Interview, Steel Chef Competition- Turnip Cupcake Baking

Demonstration, WITN News

2017-current The Obesity Society, Active Member 2015-current Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Member 2010-2013 Student Dietetic Association, Vice President 2010-2013 Chemistry Club, Active Member 2009-2012 ECU Student Athlete, Cheerleading

2015-current Registered Dietitian / Nutritionist 2015-current Licensed Dietitian / Nutritionist, Alabama licensed 2015-current CITI Research Training Certificate 2012-current HIPAA Training Certificate

2019 Quality Matters Workshop, Birmingham, AL 2019 Alabama Dietetic Association Conference, Montgomery, AL 2019 Society of Nutrition Education and Behavior, Orlando, FL 2018 2018 Nutrition Symposium, Birmingham, AL 2017 National CACFP Conference, San Diego, CA 2016 Food and Nutrition Conference Expo, Nashville, TN 2014 Día del Nutriόlogo, Mexico City, MX 2013 Food and Nutrition Conference Expo, Houston, TX 2012 Virginia Dietetic Association Conference, Richmond, VA

Organizations

Certifications / Licenses

Professional Development

Media Consultations