Katlynn V. Kisla
Professor of Practice in Health Science
Biography
Katlynn Kisla is a registered dietitian nutritionist with over a decade of experience across community nutrition, public health, food service, private practice, health equity and academia. Her diverse background includes roles in the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program, Meals on Wheels, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Diabetes Prevention Program, and her own private practice. She has contributed to quality improvement initiatives regarding infant feeding, food allergy policy, reimbursement business models, and using technology to increase program access and enrollment.
Kisla focuses on building foundational knowledge and nurturing healthy relationships with food and exercise. She utilizes motivational interviewing, mindfulness techniques and hunger cue awareness to help clients manage medical conditions and improve nutritional health.
In academia, Kisla served as an adjunct instructor at Johnson & Wales University. During her tenure, she educated culinary professionals on the fundamentals of nutrition and contributed to graduate-level courses accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND).
As a first-generation college graduate, Kisla is dedicated to empowering students as they navigate their academic journeys and future careers. Her teaching emphasizes professional integrity and prepares students to apply a nutritional lens to their respective fields. Her instructional style blends evidence-based methods with creativity and inclusivity, connecting complex concepts to real-world practice.
A steadfast advocate for sustainable nutrition and equitable food systems, Kisla believes that "good nutrition should be as natural as the soil it comes from." She aims to increase conscious consumerism by helping individuals understand food systems and nutrition science to make informed, ethical and health-conscious decisions.
Whether in the classroom or the community, Kisla is a supportive collaborator. She welcomes the opportunity to share her expertise and demonstrate how nutrition serves as a foundation for individual achievement and communal, environmental and societal well-being.
Education
- M.S., University of Rhode Island
- R.D.N., L.D.N., Southcoast Hospitals Group Dietetic Internship
- B.S., University of Massachusetts Amherst
- While employed at Coastline Elderly Services, Kisla was part of the team that received the 2019 Aging Innovations & Achievement Award from the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a, now known as USAging). The team developed an innovative pilot program that expanded older adults' access to Medical Nutrition Therapy and created a sustainable business model for delivering these services through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare program.