Ambassador Award

Kristine Smith, RD

Kristine Smith is a registered dietitian and Senior Director of Nutrition Services at Neighborhood House Association (NHA) in San Diego, CA. NHA is a $100M social services and multi-purpose human services agency, operating more than 25 social services programs, such as Head Start, Adult Day Health Care, and various mental health programs.    

A champion for innovation and food social justice, Kristine has combined these passions to strategically design a highly sought after and award-winning foodservice and transportation operation.  Her team prepares approximately 1M healthy and made-from-scratch breakfasts, lunches, and snacks annually for some of San Diego’s lowest income and sometimes homeless individuals.  Her work has been researched by collegiate and other health professionals and named a “best practice” by State and national officials.   

Kristine has always placed high value on the CDM, CFPP credential, as the supporting education is deeply aligned with the dietetics field and greatly encompasses leadership of the foodservice profession.  Kristine demonstrates this by encouraging her staff to obtain the CDM, CFPP and supports them by allowing the time they need to prep for the exam as well as mentoring them through the preparation process. Additionally, Kristine ensures her staff has the financial resources for organization memberships and attendance at ANFP events.  

Kristine’s philosophy is that budgeting, management, and nutrition are key foundations to effectively overseeing foodservice operations, and the CDM, CFPP is the perfect individual to do that job.  Kristine further values ANFP as an outstanding organization that supports the education and credentialing of a wonderful profession. 

View Kristine's Acceptance Speech

Student of the Year Award

Dori Weber

Dori Weber wears many hats. She recently moved into the dietary manager position after having been a school bus driver, art room co-founder/volunteer, CNA, transportation aide, restaurant cook, all while being an Activities Director in addition to being a student and working towards earning the CDM, CFPP. She took on her new role with the willingness to learn so that residents continue to receive quality foodservice served with care.   

In addition to the multiple roles, Dori had to develop a business contingency plan when the facility had an emergency, forcing residents and staff to evacuate and being re-located for a few weeks. Dori transported staff to and from facilities, while working through with the logistics and challenges that a damaged facility and emergency creates.  

 

View Dori's Acceptance Speech

Horizon Award

Angela Collins, CDM, CFPP

Angela Collins, CDM, CFPP, has been working in the foodservice industry for 4 years in a small rural nursing home in North Dakota. She started as a dietary aide and worked her way up to dietary manager. Angela manages a small staff that is generationally diverse and has different learning styles. She ensures that each staff member is presented tasks and training opportunities according to their learning style. Angela makes it known that her staff are appreciated and are valued members of not only the department, but the facility as well.  

She also takes great pride in interacting with the residents and getting them more involved in the menu choices and their dining experience. After becoming a dietary manager, she started a birthday meal program for residents. Each resident selects a meal of their choice for their birthday. Angela truly enjoys sitting with the residents and discussing what they will choose for their birthday meal, as much as the residents. Angela engages residents by getting them involved with seasonal menu planning and asking them for meal suggestions.  

Innovation Award

Sang Hyun Park, CDM, CFPP

Sang Hyun Park, CDM, CFPP began a different foodservice career path in 2018 as the Food Category Manager with Coastal Pacific Food Distributors, Inc., which is the second-largest worldwide distributor of food and products for the military. In 2021, he became the Director of Contract Analytics, where he has developed several innovative programs that have educated his customers, increased sales, improved staff training and overall operations.

Sang introduced nutrition labeling for grab and go items, that provide military customers with accurate nutritional information on each food product label. This program has been very successful and improved customer satisfaction. He also developed a food safety & cleaning logbook that is fully compliant with the most up-to-date requirements by local regulations and is now issued with any necessary updates on a quarterly basis also with a new HACCP book annually.  

Sang also created training materials for foodservice field teams in Japan, Korea and Guam, and field managers for chef and foodservice training. He focused on “well-visualized” training materials that increased the efficiency of training sessions with all foodservice team members.  In addition to improving training materials, Sang was integral in purchasing, the software installment and training staff on the latest sushi robot in the industry which produces up to 1,300 rice sheets per hour.  

Implementation and utilization of business intelligence tools, retail POS systems, and self-checkout technologies are additional good examples of his innovative projects at CPFD, and they greatly improved performance, productivity and efficiency both operationally and financially.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in Professional Studies from The Culinary Institute of America and his MBA from Johnson & Wales University.  

View Sang's Acceptance Speech

Partnership Award

Linda MowBray

Linda MowBray’s interest in elder care started long before joining the Kansas Health Care Association Team in 2001. 

Prior to her work at the Association, she served for 14 years as Admission Coordinator and Social Services Director for a skilled nursing community in Topeka. Her work involved helping residents know their options and make successful transitions to where their health care needs could best be met. A signification portion of her work involved explaining both the Medicare and Medicaid programs and helping residents and their families traverse the paperwork involved with receiving benefits.   

Linda handled Kansas Health Care Association (KHCA) and Kansas Center for Assisted Living (KCAL) education programs, special events and oversees the long-term sponsorships for awarding continuing education credit to professional nursing home staff. She also assists with regulatory issues, legislative and reimbursement issues special projects.

Due to Linda’s support, the KHCA/KCAL has provided a booth at their annual convention for the KS ANFP chapter and has also provided speakers at many of the chapter’s meetings and donated baskets to raffle, door prizes, etc.  Linda and her team proactively inform and update the chapter when there is state legislation that may affect our organization or the elderly population. Additionally, Linda has assisted the chapter in securing funding for students to enroll in the courses needed for the CDM, CFPP and encourages other schools to provide the same curriculum.      

Linda was promoted to President/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) by the KHCA/KCAL Board of Directors in January 2020. Her bachelor’s degree is from Washburn University in Topeka.

Dining Distinction Award

Helene Bertazzo, CDM, CFPP

 

Helene Bertazzo, CDM, CFPP, works for Unidine as the Director of Dining Services at Teresian House in Albany, New York.  

She has over 35 years in the hospitality industry and has held roles from Yale University Catering Manager to Director of Food Services at SUNY Poly Nano. Always being responsive to residents and families is the key to her success.  She is dedicated to high-quality customer service and each resident's personal dining experience from the moment they enter Teresian House.    

With the leadership and mentoring of Frank K. Yeboah, senior administrator at Teresian House, Helene and her team have implemented a one-of-a-kind dining program at Teresian House's short-term rehabilitation center.  The program includes Unidine's fresh food pledge, recipes from scratch commitment, hydration for health, welcome bags, survey cards and bon voyage meals. Realizing that the dining experience can contribute significantly to the health and well-being of an individual's recovery, the program has a specially on unit trained culinary team to accommodate all their residents' requests.  The program has added a personal touch to the facility. Thanks to Helene’s attention to detail, meal service at Teresian House can now be more accurately referred to as a dining experience. Helene’s program highlights the ability to execute the perfect balance of seamless service within a comfortable, homelike environment for her residents. 

View Helene's Acceptance Speech

  

Chapter Volunteer of the Year Award

Amarilys Saluk, CDM, CFPP

Amarilys Saluk, CDM, CFPP was born in Puerto Rico to a very young single mother. She grew up watching her mother work hard and make many sacrifices for her family. When Amarilys was 12 years old, her mother, through her hard work and determination, relocated the family to New York in the search for a better future. That move did not work out for the family, so within 3 months she relocated  to Connecticut where the opportunities were endless. They have been in Connecticut for over 38 years. Amarilys was enrolled in an all-English school, and with her primary language being Spanish. She did not let that get the best of her. Since she has seen first-hand the struggle her mother had to encounter, Amarilys worked harder until I became fluent in English.  

Her work history started at McDonald’s at a young age of 15. Seeing the joy and the the comfort that food offers to people made Amarilys believe she could do more with it. A few months later, she started working at Waterford Health and Rehab (SNF), while still in high school. Amarilys became a shift manager at 18 years old, and used that management experience to work her way up at the nursing home, where she became the food service supervisor, after she graduated high school. Amarilys became a mom at 19, and that only made her strive for more and made her passionate to continue the journey to provide for her son. Amarilys put herself through college while working 2 jobs and raising a baby. Then was introduced to the CDM, CFPP credentialing program in 1999. She continued her journey and completed the CDM, CFPP credentialing program in the year 2000.  

Her entire life Amarilys has been a go-getter, hard worker, and dedicated. All of which she learned from her role model, her mother. Amarilys always wanted to belong to something that had meaning and made a difference, and that’s what ANFP has done for her. ANFP has giving her opportunities that she has capitalized on and appreciated every part of them. Amarilys worked hard and was determined that she wanted to be more than just a member; Amarilys wanted to make a difference within her state and the members deserved that type of leadership. That’s when Amarilys made herself noticed by other peers and was nominated to be state secretary. Within two years, she was nominated and selected President of the Southern New England Chapter.  

 

View Amarilys' Acceptance Speech

Legacy Award

Colleen Zenk, CDM, CFPP

Colleen Zenk, CDM, CFPP has touched nearly every area of ANFP and CBDM. She is known as a servant leader and long-time member and supporter of ANFP and CDBM. She has extensive knowledge of the industry and has graciously given of her time to ANFP and CBDM at every level, consistently for over 20 years, and continued to do so even after entering semi-retirement. Her commitment to these organizations has increased awareness and understanding of the CDM, CFPP credential, and furthered the goals of each committee or Board on which she served. 

As a member, she has worked with ANFP and CBDM, serving on boards, and multiple committees at both the national and state level for many years. She has served on the ANFP (then known as DMA) Board of Directors as a Director, Secretary/Treasurer, Chair-Elect, and National Chair in 2002-2003. She has served two terms on the Certifying Board for Dietary Managers as well as the CBDM Standards Committee for several years and served on the CBDM Item Writers Committee prior to her time on the board. During that time, she consistently took extra assignments, using her expertise to ensure the content of the CDM Credentialing Exam was current and accurate. She has been a member of the ANFP Professional Development committee, the Editorial Advisory Council, the Grassroots Regional Network and continues to serve on the ANFP Past Presidents Council. She was also instrumental in establishing an international community and representing (then) DMA with like organizations. 

In addition to volunteering at multiple levels consistently throughout her career, Colleen has also authored articles in Edge magazine and continuing education products, consulted as a subject matter expert for content related questions for articles and continuing education products, and presented at local, state, and national ANFP meetings and webinars. Additionally, Colleen has been a ServSafe instructor for many years, and her commitment to sanitation and safety has made her an expert in this arena.  

Colleen has supported the efforts of ANFP and CBDM at the national level for over twenty years and continues to volunteer her time and talent at the state level, from planning meetings, helping with policies and procedures, and even taking minutes when needed. She exemplifies what it is to volunteer.

View Colleen's Acceptance Speech