Welcome to our committee page. The committee of the Public Health Specialist Group works on a number of workstreams, including supporting the BDA workforce and public health strategies, getting involved with projects led by other public health organisations, and developing and delivering our own projects. These include: running regular webinars, working with other specialist groups on topics such as food insecurity, supporting the development of public health training initiatives and supporting dietitians to incorporate public health initiatives into their roles. All dietitians are public health dietitians!
If you would like to know more about becoming a committee member, or would like to enquire about working on a specific project with us, we would love to hear from you! Please email us at [email protected]
Chair - Nicki Sumpter
I have experience working as an inpatient dietitian, an outpatient diabetes dietitian, supporting a tier 3 weight manageement service and as a PCN dietitian. I have a particular interest in bridging the gap between public health nutrition and clinical nutrition and reaching underserved communities to challenge health inequalities. I sat on the steering group committee for the BDA Primary Care project and am an advocate for the emerging 'expert generalist' dietitian.
I enjoy exploring innovative ways to deliver dietetics with efficiency and effectiveness. I would love to see dietitians becoming more involved in the development and delivery of primary prevention strategies. Dietitians have so much to offer to enhance primary prevention and it is a privilege to be a small part of enabling this cruicial area of dietetics to grow.
Contact me at [email protected]
Vice Chair - Avril Aslett-Bentley
Consultant Registered Dietitian & Nutritionist (Public Health)
Current professional roles: Freelance Public Health Dietitian, Nutritionist & Mentor; University Lecturer (Leeds Beckett University) and BDA Volunteer.
I am a Registered Dietitian & Nutritionist with much experience across a broad range of practice areas and settings within Nutrition & Dietetics, of which my main focus in more recent years has been mostly, but not exclusively, Public Health Nutrition, within Higher Education.
Resource and Education Officer - Rachel Gibson
Dr Rachel Gibson is a UK Registered Dietitian and Lecturer in the Department of Nutrition Sciences at King's College London. Rachel completed her PhD at Imperial College London in Nutrition Epidemiology. Rachel's research focuses on i) understanding the influence of the work environment on dietary intake and associations with employee health and wellbeing and ii) advancing assessment of diet (eating patterns, diet quality) at a population level. Rachel is Module Lead for Public Health and Healthcare Systems taught on the BSc and MSc Dietetic Programme at King's.
Rachel is accredited by the British Dietetic Association Work Ready Programme to deliver corporate nutritional wellbeing programmes. Prior to training as a Dietitian, Rachel worked in business management across various industries including the food service sector.
Research Officer - Sharon Noonan-Gunning
External Affairs/Liaison Officer - Vacant
This role is outward facing, with a focus on bringing together different groups and organisations with the common aim of improving and promoting prevention. Please email [email protected] if you are interested in this role.
Treasurer - Nat Leeman
Nat Leeman is a Dietetics and Nutrition student at the University of Surrey with a strong interest in public health nutrition. Currently serving as Treasurer for the Public Health Specialist Group, Nat brings a blend of organisational skills and a passion for improving community health. Alongside managing finances, Nat contributes as a writer for Network Health Digest, covering key public health and nutrition topics. With a focus on sustainability, health promotion, and improving food literacy, Nat is dedicated to supporting informed, nutritious choices and advancing public health initiatives through both financial stewardship and educational outreach.
Communications and Media Officer - vacant
Events Co-ordinator - vacant
Secretary - Kyle Kennedy
Kyle Kennedy is studying Human Nutrition & Dietetics Student at Glasgow Caledonian University. Kyle is the President of the Dietetics Society at GCU, a student member of the Faculty of Public Health and class representative for his year.
Apart for academia, Kyle spear heads a healthy eating project for a large British supermarket chain for Glasgow and The West of Scotland, has written articles for the BDA on topics such as 'The Social Normality of Alcohol Consumption in Students - and how we can help' and manages an Instagram and Twitter account to promote nutrition, dietetics, public health and how this relates to students.
In addition, Kyle volunteers as a Health Information Reviewer for the British Nutrition Foundation; reviewing the clarity of language, presentation, appropriateness, relevance and usefulness of BNF health resources.
Instagram/X: KyleKennedyRD2B
Web Editor - Vacant
This role has responsibility for updating the PHSG webpages, ensuring all information is up-to-date and leading design of further webpage development. Please email [email protected] if you are interested in this role.
Committee member - Sally Moore
Sally has been registered as a dietitian since 2008 and she has worked extensively in the food industry, including leading the Nutrition Team for a large UK supermarket when she guided consumer health and food labelling initiatives. She moved partly to academia in 2013 teaching UG and PG nutrition students at Universities in Leeds, whilst pursing her PhD ressearch in consumer use of UK nutrition labels. She currently works at the University of Leeds, School of Food Science and Nutrition. Sally's work with the BDA and local communities across Yorkshire aims to help consumers understand nutrition labels and to improve public health nutrition. Sally also undertakes freelance research and commercial projects, including with the Food Industry.
Contact [email protected]
Committee member and Newsletter Editor - Megan Cocksedge
I'm Megan. I am a student dietitian studying MSC pre registration dietetics at Sheffield Hallam University, I am in my second and final year of study. My undergraduate was paramedic science at the University of Suffolk and I worked as a paramedic from 2018 to 2023 until deciding to the make the significant career change into dietetics.
A large part of my decision to change careers was the desire to try prevent some of the diseases I encountered as a paramedic and where my interest in public health began.
I have recently adopted the role as co-editor of the public health newsletter, and hope this will enable us to better share any interesting public health knowledge and news to group members.
Ordinary member - Pheobe Hammond
Pheobe is a 3rd year MNutr Nutrition and Dietetics student at the University of Nottingham.
She served as Vice President of the Nutritiona & Dietetics Society, where she supported peer mentorshop initiatives across year groups and promotes collaboration within the student community. Pheopbe is also actively involved in inpterprofessional learning programmes, working alongside students from other healthcare disciplines to develop holistic approaches to patient care and foster more collaborative practice.
Alongside her academic studies, Pheobe has gained research experience through a competitive internship exploring artificial intelligence applications in nutrition and healthcare. Her work involved evaluating large language models for personalised dietary advice, presenting findings at academic symposia, and contributing to a published abstract.
Pheobe is passionate about public health and social equity. She has volunteered in a Critical Care Unit at King's College Hospital and contributed to a Living Wage campaign supporting NHS workers in West London, including representing the campaign at the UK Parliament.
She is particularly interested in the intersection of nutrition, public policy and technology, and hopes to pursue a career that improves population health through evidence-based practice and systemic change.