About Me Dana Sanchez, RDN, CDCES

When I decided the field of nutrition was right for me, I had just been discharged from the military. My discharge was medically-based and unexpected. This left me in a difficult position where I had to reassess what I wanted to do with my life professionally. A dream of mine had always been to go to culinary school, but I felt I had too much medical experience as an Emergency Medical Technician to toss it away. I thought to myself, why not combine the two? Really, it just makes sense! This is how the idea of becoming a Registered Dietitian happened for me. Nothing fabulous, no crazy encounter with a person or some enlightening experience, it came to me only because of the experiences that led me to where I was. 

I obtained my Bachelors of Science in the field of dietetics from University of Northern Colorado and completed a hybrid internship through the University of Houston. Some of my internship rotations included clinical experience at Mount Graham Hospital in Safford, AZ, TUSD School District, WIC through El Rio Health, and rotations throughout multiple skilled nursing facilities in the Tucson area. My past work experience is unique as it is rare for a dietitian to work in population health management. Population health management is all about improving patient outcomes to reduce overall health care costs. During this position, I created a very successful diabetes medical nutrition program that improved patients health outcomes significantly. With this experience, I was then able to sit for the diabetes care and education specialty certification. I now mentor other dietitians who are seeking the same credential. In the future, I plan to obtain my board certification in renal nutrition.

For fun, I enjoy most any activity that involves the outdoors from cooking some bbq, gardening, camping, and kayaking. Some side hobbies of mine include creating new recipes, tinkering on excel sheets (such a nerd, but that is ok), and couponing for the ultimate deal. The athlete in me decided to join a competitive cheerleading team at the age of 40. It was so much fun and I say, "Never let your age hold you back."