My name is Emily Maddux. I am a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, and a Certified Health Coach (CHC). I have been an RDN for 15 years and a CHC for 7 years. I started out in the hospital setting, where I worked with critically ill patients and others who needed diet educations. I then moved into a health coaching role for a Corporate Wellness company. I helped patients set individualized goals for health improvements as well as provided education for whatever disease, condition, or interest they had. I moved into a Wellness Director role with that company for 3 years after that and worked directly with the Human Resources departments of corporations. In that role, I helped develop Wellness Incentive Programs for employees and dependents. I am a Past President of the Tennessee Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (TAND), https://eatright-tn.org/ and currently serve on the Chattanooga Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (CAND) board in the Advocacy Chair position. TAND is an affiliate of the national organization and has made some major strides in nutrition policy over the past few years.
I am a wife and mother of two children, Madelyn (10) and William (8), who keep me running. They have also given me a new passion for advocacy! I currently am on the Early Matters committee in Chattanooga, whose focus is on childhood public health interventions, such as education, health care, and nutrition! I also serve on the advocacy working group with a goal to help create lasting change in our school systems, and beyond, to improve the lives and health of our youngest children who will one day grow up to be our leaders!
I am not currently participating in research, but I am the Supervised Experiential Learning Coordinator for the Master of Public Health, Nutrition and Dietetics program. This role allows me to be very interactive with community partners and students. Thus far, it has allowed me to help organizations connect the dots for community members about resources available to them. It has also enabled me to get more involved in community outreach and support.
For fun, I like to run my children to their sports practices, cook, and enjoy a good meal with friends and family. I am a very active person and have recently taken up a new hobby of walking…the dog that is. We added a puppy to our family this year, and it has been such a joy to have her with us!