Bernadine Blom, is a registered dietitian and certified lactation consultant. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Dietetics from North-West University in 2019. Following the completion of her community service year at Christiana Subdistrict Hospital in the North West province, she commenced her training in lactation and successfully qualified as a South African Certified Lactation Consultant in 2021.

Bernadine has professional experience in both the public and private sectors, transitioning to full-time private practice in 2022, where she integrates evidence-based nutrition and lactation support into individualized care for mothers and infants. Her academic involvement includes work as a trainer on the ImpENSA Project, with a specific focus on Healthy Conversation Skills.

Bernadine’s special interest in nutrition in the first 1000 days of life, female health and lactation.

Nasreen Jaffer is a Registered Dietitian in private practice. She is married and has 2 children, a boy aged 25 years and a girl aged 23 years. She completed a Masters Degree in Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Stellenbosch at the Medical Research Council in the Chronic Diseases of Lifestyle unit in 2017 and also completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health at the University of the Western Cape in 2023.

Currently, she is employed at UWC as a Facilitator/Lecturer in the Department of Human Nutrition and also runs her private practice. She coordinates Corporate Wellness Days for companies, involving talks, demonstrations and/or consultations, is registered with the Discovery Vitality Dietitians Network and serves on the panel of dietitians for Woolworths, Western Cape where she delivers Nutrition Talks to parents and learners at junior schools as well as tours within Woolworths food stores. She was previously employed at the University of Cape Town as a Clinical Educator/Lecturer in the Department of Human Nutrition from 2016 to 2019.

She has a special interest in Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease and has a passion to educate the general public on healthy lifestyles.

Reon qualified at the University of the Free State in 2014. After graduation, he completed his community service year at Rob Ferreira Hospital in Nelspruit, obtaining valuable experience in critical care, internal medicine, paediatrics and surgery. The following year he continued working in a hospital environment and private practice whilst commencing a Master of Science degree in Dietetics, which he finished in 2019 with a research dissertation on professional athletes.

Apart from doing clinical nutrition at the Nelspruit private hospitals, he also does consultations in sport nutrition (being a comrades ultra marathon runner himself), as well as disease specific nutrition and all lifestyle related conditions. Reon served on the Mpumalanga Committee of The Association for Dietetics in South Africa since 2019. Reon has co-authored a published article in the South African Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2016 – a descriptive cross sectional study which assessed malnutrition in the elderly residing in long-term care facilities. He is currently busy with his second publication.

Maria van der Merwe (M.Nutrition), registered dietitian and nutritionist, is an independent public health and nutrition consultant, with a special interest in health system and policy strengthening. Maria has more than twenty-six years’ experience working in both the public and private health sectors. After serving as provincial manager of the Integrated Nutrition Programme in the Mpumalanga Department of Health for more than a decade, she pursued an independent career focused on her special interests in health policy and system research and strengthening, and a passion for public health nutrition. Maria is an honorary senior researcher within the MRC / Wits Rural Public Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), University of the Witwatersrand and an associate of the Aberdeen Centre for Health Data Science at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. In addition to her research work and independent consulting, Maria has a small private dietetics practice in White River in the Mpumalanga Lowveld, affording an opportunity to engage with individual patients, be part of a multi-disciplinary team and keep up to date with development in medical nutrition therapy and private practice management.

I obtained a BSc Dietetics degree at Northwest University (NWU), Potchefstroom Campus in 1992, and a BSc Honours (Dietetics) in 1993; in 1995 I completed the Post-graduate Diploma in Hospital Dietetics at University of Pretoria (UP).
After working as a clinical dietitian in a government hospital in Pretoria for 2 years, I worked for 15 years as a lecturer at the Dietetics department at Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU). During this time, I was on and off involved in the ADSA Pretoria branch committee for about 10 years, serving in several portfolios and also as chairlady for 2 terms. Later, I also served on the core ADSA executive committee for 2 terms (2009 – 2011 and 2011 – 2013) in the membership portfolio.
In 2011, I moved to Potchefstroom and started working at the NWU in the Dietetics department, mainly as the internship coordinator of the 4th year Dietetics student, travelling to students at training facilities, evaluating and supporting them and ensuring quality control of the internship training. I also obtained a MSc (Dietetics) in 2014 at the NWU.
From 2010 I also served on the ADSA North West branch committee, on and off for several terms in different portfolios (member relations and treasurer) and also chairlady. I served in the CPD portfolio for the 2019 – 2021 and 2021 – 2023 terms; currently I am the chair lady for ADSA NW branch committee for the 2023 – 2025 term.
I served on the ADSA executive committee in the CPD portfolio for the 2021 – 2023 term. I will continue in this portfolio for the 2023 – 2025 term with added portfolio responsibilities as branch liaison.
I have a special interest in adult and paediatric anthropometry and malnutrition and critical illness. I am passionate about my profession and very grateful to be able to contribute to the training of future colleagues in Dietetics.

Janke Draper has a Master’s degree in dietetics from the University of the Free State and she is a Certified Lactation Consultant in South Africa. She has been practicing as a dietitian since 2013. She completed her community service year at Pelonomi Tertiary Hospital. She is currently employed by the Mpumalanga Department of Health at Standerton Hospital where she mostly works in the paediatric, ante-natal and post-natal ward. She has a special interest in optimal nutrition during the first 1000 days, thus focussing on the pregnant woman and the new-born baby. She is passionate about incorporating science-based principles into a simplified food-based language and supporting her clients towards a healthy relationship with food and how to make lifelong sustainable lifestyle changes.

Debby is a Registered Dietitian and obtained her degree BSc in Dietetics from the University of Stellenbosch and is currently busy with her PhD in Dietetics at the University of Cape Town. Following her graduation in 1992, she was appointed as an Officer and Dietitian in the South African Military Health Service (the medical division of the South African National Defence Force), where she continues to serve proudly. Her initial 8 years were dedicated to primary health care in Gauteng Province after which she was transferred in 2001 to 2 Military Hospital in Wynberg, Cape Town. Since then, she has been practicing dietetics within a dynamic multi-disciplinary team in the Department of Paediatrics. For 15 years this role was shared with food service management and gastrointestinal surgery & diseases.

Debby is also involved in undergraduate lecturing at the University of Cape Town and academic teaching within 2 Military Hospital’s multi-disciplinary CPD programme. She has extensive experience in dietetics and is deeply committed to her passion for neonatal and paediatric nutrition, as well as academic teaching.

Janetta is a dietitian and graduated with a BSc Dietetics, MSc Nutrition Sciences and PhD degree from Stellenbosch University. She is currently a permanent senior lecturer and member of the Health through Physical Activity and Lifestyle (HPALS) research centre at the University of Cape Town. She has 20 years of teaching, research and leadership experience in the tertiary education sector. Prior to joining UCT in 2009, she lectured in a part-time capacity for 7 years, first at Stellenbosch University and then at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. During her post-graduate studies, she also owned a part-time private practice in Stellenbosch with a focus on sports nutrition, diabetes and gastro-intestinal tract diseases.
At UCT, she lectured and convened the clinical/therapeutic nutrition courses of the Dietetics programme until 2019. She is currently lecturing nutrition to students in medicine and allied health programmes in the Faculty of Health Sciences at UCT, convenes undergraduate and postgraduate courses and is supervising Masters and PhD students in Nutrition or Dietetics. She regularly acts as external examiner for undergraduate therapeutic nutrition courses and Masters/PhD theses for other universities. Janetta has conducted several research studies with international collaborators, has published over 30 articles in peer reviewed scientific journals and regularly reviews articles for international journals, as well as local grant and ethics applications. She has supervised over 40 Honours, Masters and PhD student research theses to graduation. Her teaching and research focus areas include adolescent health, obesity, diabetes and gestational diabetes, pregnancy nutrition, HIV, sports nutrition and dietary methodology.

Nireshnee is a registered dietitian with a special interest in public health nutrition, dietetics and nutrition advocacy and children’s rights. She completed a BSc. Dietetics degree (UKZN) in 2005 and Master’s in Medical Science (public health) in 2019 (UKZN) and has just over fifteen years’ experience working in both the public health and nutrition industry sectors in the country. After serving as a nutrition liaison officer at the South African Sugar Association for 6 years, she joined the KZN Department of Health in 2013 where she currently serves as the Assistant Director Nutrition. Nireshnee has been the recipient of the ADSA Flora Award in 2010 for contribution to the dietetics profession; and The Wimpfheimer-Guggenheim Fund for International Exchange in Nutrition, Dietetics and Management in 2012. She is passionate about advocating for innovation and diversity in nutrition and dietetics with the objectives of improving nutrition outcomes in the community. She is also currently on the board of directors for the Pietermaritzburg Childrens’ Home in KZN.

Jessica Byrne is a registered dietitian with a Masters degree in Therapeutic Nutrition from Stellenbosch University. Jessica completed her community service year in 2010, working largely in a clinical setting, and has further volunteered her dietetic services in the public sector. Before joining ADSA in the role of Chief Operating Officer, Jessica spent three and a half years at the Heart and Stroke Foundation South Africa in the Science and Programme Development department. She has vast experience in public relations and communication, providing up-to-date scientific content for media as well as public awareness and education campaigns, and has worked with the food industry and on local government projects. In her current private practice, Jessica is the dietitian at a step-down physical rehabilitation hospital, assisting patients with feeding, supplementation and appropriate diets to manage their long-term recovery. Jessica has also worked in the ICU and surgical and medical wards of a large private hospital, being responsible for the nutritional management of critically ill patients.

Elske Rich is a private practicing dietitian and part-time lecturer based in Bloemfontein. She earned her BSc in Dietetics from the University of the Free State in 2019 and opened her private practice in August of 2023 after gaining some clinical experience.

Elske is passionate about research and translating complex medical nutrition therapy into simple, practical guidelines that are accessible to everyone. She currently lectures at Qualitas Career Academy and is regularly involved at community wellness and health events.

With a keen interest in a variety of fields, Elske enjoys working with physical rehabilitation patients, managing lifestyle-related diseases, and supporting individuals with psychiatric conditions. She brings this same enthusiasm and sense of purpose to her role in the ADSA Communications Portfolio, where she is committed to serving the profession with energy and heart.

Carla Gerryts is part of Petri Fourie Dietitians, a private practice located in Garsfontein, Pretoria. She enjoys working with clients struggling with eating disorders and disordered eating habits promoting gentle nutrition, IBS patients and has a big interest in nutrigenomics and mental health. She has been practicing as a dietitian since 2014.