Chicago Registered Dietitian Mary Abbott Hess Receives American Dietetic Association’s Highest Honor

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SEPTEMBER 7, 2005

CHICAGO - Registered dietitian Mary Abbott Hess, an author, educator and nutrition consultant, has been named the 2005 recipient of the American Dietetic Association’s highest honor, the Marjorie Hulsizer Copher Award.

A former president of the American Dietetic Association, Hess is well-known nationally among health professionals, the food industry, educators and consumers as an advocate for healthful and flavorful food. Since 1979, Hess has been president of Hess & Hunt Inc. Nutrition Communications, in Chicago.

Hess will receive the Copher Award October 22 at the Opening Session of ADA’s Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo in St. Louis, Mo. Thousands of the nation’s top nutrition researchers, dietetics professionals and industry leaders will attend ADA’s meeting October 22-25.

The Marjorie Hulsizer Copher Award, named for an early 20th-century pioneer in dietetics, is given annually to an ADA member in recognition of career achievements and contributions to the Association and to the dietetics profession.

Hess is the author or co-author of nine books, including Pickles and Cream: The Complete Guide to Nutrition during Pregnancy (McGraw-Hill, 1982); Healthy Gourmet Cookbook (Collins, 1994); The Art of Cooking for the Diabetic (NTV Contemporary Books, 1996) and Essentials of Healthful Cooking (Williams-Sonoma, 2004).

Hess wrote ADA's Pocket Supermarket Guide (2004), among many nutrition-related booklets and publications for ADA and food industry clients. She writes articles for professional and consumer publications, has served on the editorial boards of several magazines and newsletters and frequently is interviewed by the news media on food and nutrition topics.

Hess is a former associate professor at Mundelein College. Previously she was a nutrition education consultant for Michael Reese Medical Center in Chicago and for the Chicago Board of Education, and is a former nutrition coordinator at schools of nursing at Chicago-area hospitals and medical centers.

In her lengthy service to the American Dietetic Association, Hess has served in the ADA House of Delegates; on the Boards of Directors of both ADA and the American Dietetic Association Foundation; and as a member of numerous committees and task forces. Hess was ADA president in 1990-91.

A national leader in efforts to expand horizons and opportunities for dietetics professionals, especially in culinary arts, Hess was instrumental in creating ADA’s Food and Culinary Professionals dietetic practice group. ADA’s annual member award for excellence in innovative food and culinary programs, established by her colleagues in the Illinois Dietetic Association, is named for Hess.

She serves on the executive committee of the American Institute of Wine & Food and is a past chairman of the organization’s Chicago chapter.

Hess is a graduate of Simmons College. In recognition of her contributions to dietetics and her service to the public, she received an honorary doctor of humane letters degree from Simmons College in 1991. Hess earned a master’s degree in nutrition and dietetics from Northern Illinois University, where she received the university’s 1998 alumni award.

With nearly 65,000 members, the Chicago-based American Dietetic Association is the nation’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. ADA serves the public by promoting optimal nutrition, health and well-being. Visit ADA at www.eatright.org.

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