A little history
I grew up nerdy. My mother bought me a Commodore 64 when I was 12 and I used it every day for years. That was back when Prodigy was a bulletin board service and a 2400 baud modem was luxurious. But late in my teens I chose cool over computers, quit the marching band, and passed up every opportunity to take a computer class.College years
I found my way back to nerdiness in college, where my favorite class was Biochemistry. While working in HIV research at the local VA hospital, I met my mentor, Renee, who encouraged me to pursue nutrition as a career. I reasoned that it was a way to work in medicine without the years (and funds) that med school would require. After graduation, I was accepted to one of the most competitive dietetic internships in the country. I explored every specialty and found that infectious disease dietetics was indeed the best fit. I also made my way back to computers by starting up my first website with Angelfire and a pirated copy of Photoshop.Starting my career(s)
After officially attaching my first scholarly letters (R.D.) to my last name, I got my dream job at an outpatient HIV/AIDS primary care clinic. I had a killer loft and a steady income and I got bored real fast. It was time to return to my family's roots in Brooklyn, New York. It was a great decision. New York was full of opportunities for enthusiastic RDs with an interest in HIV. While working at HIV-related non-profit organizations, I made a physical commitment to the battle against AIDS by joining two HIV vaccine studies at Columbia University.Unfortunately, clinical dietetics afforded little opportunity to expand my self-taught web design and programming skills. I made the jump to a position in web-based Instructional Design. Today I have three jobs, in three completely different fields. Sometimes it feels like my resume is a bunch of puzzle pieces that don't quite fit together. But I know I'm good at some things that may, in a small way, make the world a better place.