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Dena received her BS in Dietetics from the University of California, Davis; her MS in Public Health Nutrition from Case Western Reserve University, and her PhD in Human Ecology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Since September 2005 she has been the NICU dietitian for the 60 bed level IIIB NICU at Carilion Children’s in Roanoke Virginia. In this position, Dena assesses nutritional needs, develops and evaluates nutrition care plans and monitors growth of neonatal intensive care unit patients; provides nutrition education for health care providers and students; develops and evaluates standards of practice to ensure the provision of optimal nutrition care; chairs the NICU lactation promotion committee; and mentors dietetic students. She actively participates in the unit continuous quality improvement program and conducts research. Current projects include collecting and evaluating data on breastfeeding initiation and duration, feeding practices, and growth and an inhouse research grant “Developing a Culture of Breastfeeding” Dena has been active in the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Pediatric Practice Group. She chaired the workgroup that developed the recommended indicators for identifying malnutrition in preterm infants and neonates, is a member of the malnutrition committee, and served as an advisor to the executive committee. Prior to working at Carilion Children’s, Dena worked for several years as a public health nutritionist in maternal and child health programs at the local and state level and in academia.