Community Health and Research Healthy Food Systems Team

Bonnie Faitak is the community programs director for Healthy Food Systems at the UAMS Office of Community Health and Research. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in international relations and global studies, a Master of Arts in diplomacy and international relations, and an Master of Education in secondary education. Her background includes international teaching, public relations, and recruiting. Before joining UAMS, Bonnie coordinated a four-county weekend feeding program for children at risk of weekend food insecurity at the largest community food nonprofit organization in northwest Arkansas. In her current role, Ms. Faitak provides strategic leadership and oversight to the Office of Community Health and Research Healthy Foods team, whose focus is on the development of programs and research projects with food pantries, community meals, food banks, early childhood centers, public schools, and national organizations to increase access to healthy foods in Arkansas and nationwide. The goal of this work is to create a better state of health for all through healthy food access.

Email: BMFaitak@uams.edu

Chelsea Barker holds a master’s degree in Community Health Promotion and a bachelor’s in recreation and sport management. She is also a Certified Health Education Specialist. She currently serves as a project manager within the Office of Community Health and Research at UAMS on the Healthy Food Systems team. Chelsea started at UAMS as a contact tracer and supervisor in the contact tracing call center during the COVID-19 pandemic and also assisted in organizing community pop-up vaccine clinics specifically focused on reducing COVID-19 among Marshallese and Latinx populations in northwest Arkansas. Before joining UAMS, she spent two and half years as a marketing manager/event and volunteer coordinator for Arkansas Support Network, working with and raising money to support individuals with disabilities while also developing relationships with key community stakeholders. While working for Salvéo, a health and wellness company, Chelsea spent three years as a wellness coach and health educator teaching classes and creating relationships with clients to assist in the process of creating sustainable healthy lifestyle changes by providing support, encouragement, and education through holistic wellness coaching utilizing behavioral theories, particularly the Transtheoretical Model. Utilizing and building on this experience, Chelsea strives to continue her career implementing programs that encourage the adoption of positive health behaviors and sustainable healthy lifestyle changes — especially among low SES populations with the least access to quality healthcare and healthy food options.

Email: CBarker3@uams.edu

Jennifer Clampitt, MS, RD, LD, CDCES hold a master’s of science in nutrition and food systems. She currently serves as a registered dietitian with the UAMS Office of Community Health and Research. Prior to coming to UAMS, she worked in bariatric weight management and as a behavioral health dietitian. Her work in the disease of obesity and chronic disease management lead to her obtaining her certification as a Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist. She has a broad experience working with children, adolescents and adults of all ages in her practice as a dietitian. Since beginning her work at UAMS she has served as a member of the Healthy Food Systems team. She works with school districts in northwest Arkansas providing staff training, nutrient analysis, advising on meal and menu modifications, procurement and behavioral economics to promote school food nutrition to students and families. She also adds her nutrition expertise to contributing educational materials to charitable food with Arkansas food banks for their partners and clients. She began working in diabetes research projects in early 2021. She contributes as an instructor and advisor in state-wide research project and also works in program development, implementation and research across the state and planned throughout the region and nation for Marshallese communities. It is Ms. Clampitt’ s goal to continue her work in diabetes research and provide all partners with whom she works with the tools they need to reach their nutrition policy goals and create healthy food environments and increase healthy food access across the state of Arkansas. As she pursues her doctor of clinical nutrition she plans to take on leadership roles in the area of dietetics that will contribute to these same goals as well and research in the disease of obesity and related chronic illnesses.

Email: JLClampitt@uams.edu

Kelly Dundon, LMSW, is a program coordinator in the Healthy Food Systems team at the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus. Ms. Dundon holds a dual bachelor’s degree in business administration and German language and literature, and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Arkansas. Ms. Dundon became a licensed social worker in 2020 and continues to provide one-on-one and group therapy to adolescent, teens, and adults in Arkansas and Missouri. Prior to joining UAMS, Ms. Dundon worked in an in-patient behavioral health setting and holds over seven years of experience in digital marketing. In her current role at UAMS, she coordinates research, networks, and community-based strategies that support the local food system in northwest Arkansas. It is Ms. Dundon’s professional goal to create a more connected and sustainable food system in Arkansas that centers mindfulness and equity.

Email: KDundon@uams.edu

Brooke Harbin is an outreach associate on the Healthy Food Systems in the UAMS Office of Community Health and Research. She received her Bachelor of Science in community nutrition at the University of Central Arkansas. Mrs. Harbin has diverse work experiences in customer service, early childhood education, nutrition and physical education, and the development of community outreach programs and initiatives in her role prior to joining UAMS with the Urban Farm Project. Her professional development opportunities have allowed her to expand her knowledge and appreciation of community partners while continuously working toward her career goals of improving health relationships and economic disparities through a fellowship advocacy approach.

Email: BHarbin@uams.edu

Pam Martin is a registered dietitian and Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist with the Office of Community Health and Research at the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus. She has a master’s degree in nutrition & dietetics. She has been a registered dietitian since 2009, first working with developmentally disabled adults in Louisiana. She has experience working in a variety of settings, including long-term care, inpatient care, food service, and wellness. She is a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the Arkansas Dietetic Association. In her current role, she works closely with schools and early childhood centers in northwest Arkansas to help increase access to healthy foods. She also uses her CDCES experience to develop diabetes-friendly menus, create diabetes educational materials, teach virtual diabetes self-management classes, and provide virtual consults for various diabetes-focused projects in Office of Community Health and Research. Pam continues to work towards her goal of disease prevention through lifestyle changes and helping bridge the gap between health, nutrition, and unmet needs.

Email: PMartin3@uams.edu

Cale Nicholson is the food systems program manager for the Office of Community Health and Research. Mr. Nicholson joined UAMS in 2011 as a garden program specialist for the Arkansas Delta Darden Study, a USDA-funded childhood obesity prevention research project, where he co-taught 6th-8th grade science classes using the garden he established as an outdoor, experiential classroom. Mr. Nicholson then focused on the sustainability of these school gardens by helping establish and manage the Arkansas GardenCorps AmeriCorps program with the Access to Healthy Foods Research Group at Arkansas Children’s Research Institute. For the past eight years he has also been the farm manager at Apple Seeds, Inc., a Fayetteville-based nonprofit teaching farm whose goal is to excite young students about healthy food through in person and virtual cooking and nutrition lessons. Mr. Nicholson is currently the program manager for the Arkansas Community Health Corps VISTA program, which places AmeriCorps service members in organizations that focus on increasing access to healthy foods for all Arkansas students. Mr. Nicholson strongly believes that nutritious food and the knowledge of how to prepare healthy meals should be a right for all students throughout the state of Arkansas.

Email: CMNicholson@uams.edu

Jill Niemeier, M.A., is a project manager with the UAMS Office of Community Health and Research where she manages community programs to increase access of nutritious foods in the charitable food system. Ms. Niemeier holds a master’s degree in sociology from the University of Arkansas. Prior to joining UAMS, she gained research experience in food insecurity, homelessness, program evaluation, and other community health issues through the Community and Family Institute at the University of Arkansas. She also served as an AmeriCorps VISTA at the Center for Community Engagement at the University of Arkansas where she advised a team of college student leaders in program development and service event planning and management. Ms. Niemeier hopes to work towards an accessible, healthy, and welcoming charitable food system for all Arkansans and to reduce health disparities in food insecure individuals.

Email: JNiemeier@uams.edu

Jenni Vaughan is a registered dietitian nutritionist and holds a bachelor’s degree in dietetics. From farming and food service management, to community and clinical nutrition, Ms. Vaughan has valuable food systems experience. Prior to UAMS, she worked with local nonprofits and anti-hunger agencies to fight food insecurity, obesity, and diet-related diseases in underserved communities. Her work focused primarily on building connections between culturally appropriate foods, nutrition education, and sustainable agriculture to effectively address health disparities. Through her role with UAMS, Ms. Vaughan continues to cultivate a culture of health and wellness by engaging community partners and stakeholders in the implementation of programs that increase the availability of healthy food. It is her goal to help strengthen the local food system so that every individual and family in northwest Arkansas has access to nutrient dense, fresh, and affordable food.

Email: JVaughan@uams.edu