Newswise — CHICAGO – Registered dietitian nutritionist Lucille Beseler, president and owner of the Family Nutrition Center of South Florida, begins her one-year term on June 1 as the 2016-2017 President of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the world’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. Beseler, of Boca Raton, Fla., served as the Academy’s president-elect during 2015-2016.

A leader in the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics for many years, Beseler is a past chair of the Academy’s Political Action Committee and a member of its Childhood Obesity Coalition. She served for nine years as chair of the Florida Dietetics Nutrition Practice Council – the state licensing board for dietitians and nutritionists – and received a public service award from the Florida Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Beseler said her priorities as the Academy’s president center around securing the future of the nutrition and dietetics profession in the current health care environment.

“We must prove we can reduce health care costs by improving outcomes. We must increase consumers’ access to nutrition services, protect the public’s health, promote our members’ expertise and create new opportunities for all members,” Beseler said. “I am especially proud to be president as the Academy prepares for our centennial and the beginning of our Second Century in 2017. As our founders did nearly 100 years ago, we are looking ahead and setting a bold vision for our organization and our profession.”

A past president of the Florida Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Beseler received the organization’s Outstanding Dietitian of the Year Award in 2007 and 2010. She served on the South Florida Health Care working group, appointed by U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz.

Beseler established the Family Nutrition Center of South Florida in 1991, as one of the first nutrition practices pioneering HMO coverage of nutrition services dedicated to pediatrics. FNC has developed into a comprehensive practice providing a variety of services in multiple locations, employing registered dietitian nutritionists who provide services to all age groups and many corporations.

Beseler created two subsidiaries of Family Nutrition Center to focus on wellness and nutrition reimbursement: Family Nutrition Communications, a wellness and events staffing company creating unique nutrition screening programs utilizing registered dietitian nutritionists at more than 300 high-profile events including golf tournaments, tennis opens, street festivals and home and garden shows; and Bill it! MNT, a billing and practice management company created specifically to perform insurance billing for RDNs. In 2009, Beseler opened a nonprofit foundation to reach children and families who have been denied access to nutrition services, and is a consultant at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital.

Beseler is a professional speaker and author of Nurturing with Nutrition: The Essential Guide for Feeding Infants and Toddlers (Bazarte and Beseler 2003), as well as many articles and publications. She received Florida International University’s 2009 Paths of Public Health Award in Nutrition and Dietetics for community work in the area of childhood obesity.

Beseler is a graduate of Queens College – City University of New York and earned a master’s degree from New York University.

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Media interviews with Beseler may be arranged by contacting the Academy at [email protected] or 312/899-1743. Photos of Beseler are available.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is committed to improving the nation’s health and advancing the profession of dietetics through research, education and advocacy. Visit the Academy at www.eatright.org.