Meet the Dietitian: Alicia Blittner

We love sharing the stories of the providers who use Healthie to help their businesses grow. Meet Alicia Blittner, MS, RDN! Alicia is a registered dietitian in corporate wellness! She is working to bring wellness into the work environment through a holistic approach. We at Healthie were so lucky to get the chance to chat with Alicia, hear about her career experience so far, and what advice she has to share!

Tell us about your path to becoming a dietitian.

Alicia: Becoming a dietitian is sort of a second career for me; I think of it as an extension on my first career.

I graduated undergrad with a degree in Marketing and throughout college and immediately after, I focused my career on food. I have always loved food and eating – as part of a Jewish/Italian family, it was always the center of family events and family time. I also loved working in food but always knew I wanted to be on the healthier side of the business, working to help people make the right food choices. So about 7 years into my career, I went back to school for my masters in Nutrition and embarked on the path to becoming an RDN. I really enjoyed my coursework and fieldwork and knew that this was the right career choice for me!

What has your experience in corporate wellness been like? What is your approach to care?

Alicia: I was lucky enough to remain at my company, FreshDirect, throughout my Master’s degree. Having worked here for 8 years when I became an RD, it was a natural transition for me to start working with my colleagues on their health goals. So far it has been great incorporating nutrition & wellness programs into an already wellness-minded culture. Since I am on-site, I am taking a holistic approach by trying to work on various aspects of the environment and food offerings in addition to having meditation, health education classes, and individual one on one nutrition counseling.

What are your three favorite things about your career?

Alicia: It is hard to pinpoint my favorite parts of my job because I really enjoy all of it. I enjoy improving the food and work environment so that we can set our employees up to be their healthiest selves and I really love working one on one to help them achieve their health and nutrition goals as well.

What advice do you have for dietetic students just graduating/completing their internships?

Alicia: Becoming an RD is so exciting that it can be overwhelming because there are so many great career options. There may be many fields you want to specialize in, but my advice is to just start with one and see how you like it. You can always build on that specialty or switch if you want to try something else, but you have to start by pursuing one of them!

How do you think technology is changing the way dietitians are practicing care? Why are you excited about using Healthie?

Alicia: Since I am newly a dietitian, I only know how technology is helping now, which is immense. Healthie has been a great resource to use for my counseling sessions – my clients like to use it to track food and weight and I find it very easy to use both on the desktop and in the app. It allows me to counsel and keep a direct connection with my large base of clients and continue to allow the program to feel personalized.