Voting Members

Mary Gray Hixson, MPH, RD, CSOWM, LDN (Chair Elect) 

Mary Gray Hixson, MPH, RD, CSOWM, LDN is a graduate of NC State University where she studied food science and nutrition. She then received her Masters of Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has been providing nutrition therapy and education in the Raleigh area since 2008, in private practice and then at UNC Healthcare. She has a passion for helping patients struggling with the disease of obesity. She enjoys facilitating group classes, grocery store tours and cooking demonstrations and loves building relationships with her patients to help them achieve their long-term health goals. She has been an active member of the Weight Management Dietetic Practice Group since 2016, and has enjoyed each leadership role that she has held, including the bariatric subunit director and membership director positions. She looks forward to her time in the chair-elect position. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family by the water.

Melissa Page, MS, RDN, CSOWM, LDN (Past-Chair) is a Registered Dietitian and Certified Specialist in Obesity Weight Management who has worked in weight management for over 10 years in Portland, ME and Boston. She holds a Master’s in Clinical Nutrition from Tufts University and a Bachelor’s in Dietetics from Indiana University. She has been an active member of the Weight Management DPG executive committee for 8 years. Melissa also co-owns a small craft brewery with her husband and loves cooking and traveling. 

Meghan Ariagno, MBA, RD, LDN (Secretary) has been working as a dietitian in weight management for over 14 years.  She received her Bachelors of Science in Nutritional Sciences at UConn and completed her dietetic internship at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in NYC.  She started her career at the Weight and Wellness Center at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, MA and has been with the Center for Weight Management and Wellness (CWMW) at Brigham and Women’s Hospital since 2012.  

Janet Peterson, DrPH, RDN, FACSM (Treasurer)

Dr. Peterson is a professor of health and human performance and nutrition and a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine. She holds a doctorate in public health from Loma Linda University and a master's in exercise science from California State University, Northridge. She is a licensed registered dietitian nutritionist, a certified clinical exercise physiologist, and a wilderness medicine instructor. Janet’s research interests include reducing chronic disease risk through primary prevention and education, body composition and immune function, and high-altitude illness awareness and prevention. Janet co-founded a nonprofit aimed at providing nutrition education and physical activity opportunities for local youth and their families. Janet’s entrepreneurial adventures include co-founding a wilderness medicine education company and running her own private dietetics practice.

Kellene Isom, PhD, MS, RD, CAGS (Delegate) 

Dr. Isom is an Assistant Professor at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. She is past director of the bariatric surgery program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, having worked in bariatric surgery, weight management, dietetics, and higher education for over a decade. She has held multiple roles on regional and national executive committees for the Academy, including CDR’s Obesity Certificate Program Advisory Group. She also holds roles with the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). Her clinical and research interests include GI health, bariatrics, micronutrients, obesity advocacy, plant-based diets, and nutrition education.

Chelsea Price, MS, RD, LDN (Nominating Committee Director)

Chelsea has 8 years of experience in bariatric surgery. From dietitian to coordinator, she is now Director of Operations & Patient Experience for an ambulatory surgery center and surgeon-owned private practice. She ensures patient-centered care is the focus of all clinical decisions. Chelsea has a passion for mindful eating and incorporates realistic eating practices into her counseling for bariatric surgery patients.