Nutrition Career Mentorship Program
A comprehensive, no-cost opportunity for nutrition students to explore career paths and develop professional skills throughout the academic year.
The Nutrition Career Mentorship Program (NCMP) is a structured career exploration and professional development opportunity for nutrition students spanning the academic year. We pair students with professionals from a wide range of nutrition professions for mentorship. Our mentors from industry, academia, private practice, and public health.
Our goal is to help enhance nutrition student career readiness ahead of graduation with tasks designed to exercise their communication and leadership skills and support professional and personal exploration, culminating with informational interviewing and networking activities during spring term.
The NCMP is offered at no cost to Nutrition students enrolled in the program.
By completing learning objectives, mentees enhance their insight into the kind of work, opportunities, and skills they can strive for within various disciplines in the nutrition profession. Mentees discover more about what they may aspire to in their career and create a clearer vision of the steps they can take to achieve their goals with guidance from their mentor. Mentees meet at least once a month with their mentors to discuss their own discoveries through the curriculum, as well as explore questions they’ve found along the way.
The NCMP will also feature Career Q+A Talk events with our mentors open to all students at OSU. These Q+A sessions and open-forum discussions take place on campus and provide students an opportunity to submit questions to learn more about passion, purpose, and satisfaction in their professional lives. We offer one Career Q+A Event each academic term as we aim to provide inspiration and insight for our students with the wisdom and successes of our mentors.
Mentor Cohort 2025-26
- Shirley Arbizu, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Research Associate
- Robert Beverly, Ph.D., Senior Research Specialist
- Cathy Brock MS, RDN, Child Nutrition Specialist
- David Dallas, PhD, Associate Professor and Director of the Moore Family Center
- Tiffany Dewitt, RD, MBA, Medical Safety Manager at Abbott Nutrition
- Steve Dimler, MS, MBA, Retired from Product Development at Abbott Nutrition
- Taryn Hand, MS, RD, CSSD, LD, Registered Dietitian
- Matthew J Kuchan, PhD, Retired Discovery Scientist at Abbott Nutrition
- Alexa (Pollock) Larangeira, MS, RDN, LD, CDN, Registered Dietitian
- Brinda Mahadevan, MS, PhD, ERT, Fellow ATS, Food Safety Toxicology Consultant
- Elizabeth Zimbelman, MS, RD, Registered Dietitian
Nutrition Career Talks
Stasi Kasianchuk, MS, RD, CSSD, CSCS, EP-C
Stasi is a Registered Dietitian and OSU Senior Instructor who specializes in women's health and aging. Listen to learn about what being an expert provider, instructor and leader in dietetics is all about.
Taryn Hand, MS, RD, CSSD, LD
Taryn, an OSU nutrition alum, is a private practice Registered Dietitian specializing in eating disorders and sports nutrition. Listen to learn what it's like to be a provider across the care continuum. Plus, hear what it takes to establish a successful private practice!
Matt Kuchan, PhD
Matt is a retired Abbott discovery scientist. Listen to learn more about navigating big career decisions, some of the differences between being an academic and industry researcher, and what career satisfaction should look like.
