Catherine Cowell Award

Betsy Haughton, EdD, RD, LDN, is the 2009-10 recipient of the Catherine Cowell Award, which was established in 1993 to honor Dr. Catherine Cowell’s contributions to the field of public health nutrition.  This award recognizes an individual who has exemplified excellence and achievement in administration, planning, mentoring, and team building in public health nutrition, including meeting the special needs of urban populations and young children.

Early in her career Dr. Haughton held nutritionist and clinical dietitian positions, both in medical centers and in public health agencies in the northeast, prior to her academic appointment at The University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Since 1989, Dr. Haughton has served at the director of the Public Health Nutrition Program, in the University of Tennessee’s Department of Nutrition. She has been an active leader in workforce development, cultural competence initiatives, and mentoring of future public health nutrition leaders. Dr. Haughton has been the recipient of multiple awards in recognition of this work. Currently, she is the project director for a USDA Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Nutrition Leadership Education and Training for a Healthy MCH Population grant. She has been a long-standing member of the Food and Nutrition Section of APHA and has served as a liaison between the Association of Graduate Programs in Public Health Nutrition and several other professional societies.  

Mary C. Egan Award

Genevieve Dunton, PhD, MPH, is the 2009-2010 recipient of the Mary C. Egan Award, which was established in 1985 to honor Dr. Mary Egan, who had a major role in the development and implementation of the National WIC Program and the development of graduate training programs for health professionals working in maternal and child health.  This award recognizes an individual’s professional contributions and outstanding services for development of new approaches in public health nutrition, mentoring, nutrition education, and addressing special nutrition needs.

Dr. Dunton is an assistant professor of research in the Department of Preventative Medicine at the University of Southern California. Her research focuses on the interplay of policy, community, neighborhood, and schools and the impact these have on chronic disease risk in both children and adults. She has been successful in obtaining funding through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the American Cancer Society and has published extensively in the behavioral health literature. Dr. Dunton has been active member of the APHA Physical Activity SPIG Leadership Committee, helping to organize and promote the First Annual Physical Activity SPIG Fun Walk & Run at the 2008 APHA Annual Meeting in San Diego.  She is currently serving as the Co-Chair of the 2010 APHA Physical Activity SPIG Program Planning Committee.

Excellence in Dietary Guidance Award

Dr. Alice Lichtenstein is the 2009-2010 recipient of the Excellence in Dietary Guidance Award, which was established in 1992 as the result of Sue Krebs-Smith’s vision and efforts while working at the National Cancer Institute.  This award recognizes an individual who has made outstanding contributions in the area of dietary guidance formulation, research, education, or policy change. 

Dr. Lichtenstein is the Stanley N. Gershoff Professor of Nutrition Science and Policy at the Tufts University, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. She was a member of the USDA/HHS 2000 Dietary Guidelines Expert Committee, is the former chair of the Nutrition Committee for the American Heart Association, and was a leader in developing the Elderly Food Guide Pyramid. In addition to many other stellar career contributions, Dr. Lichtenstein has a lengthy record of having mentored hundreds of students and junior faculty. She is a current member of the APHA Food and Nutrition Section.