Consultant Network

Connect Nutrition values and promotes an environment of teamwork. Our organization contracts the expertise of experienced consultants as necessary to deliver high quality outcomes to our clients.

 

Founder and Director
	Kelly D. Horton, MS, RD founded Connect Nutrition in 2006. Ms. Horton has a Masters in Food Policy and Applied Nutrition from Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. She has over seven years of management experience. Her experience includes nutrition program design and implementation, needs assessments, monitoring systems development, qualitative and quantitative evaluation, survey research, data analysis, policy analysis, and staff training.  Her regional areas of expertise include U.S. domestic programs and South and East Asia. Learn more about Kelly
Consultants
	Charlotte Block, MS, RD is an international development specialist with several years experience working with non-governmental organizations (NGO) and expertise in research, health and nutrition.  Her skill set includes project management, grant and research proposal writing, needs assessment, participatory monitoring and evaluation, survey design, and statistics. She has a degree in Food Policy and Applied Nutrition from Tufts University. As a registered dietitian, Ms. Block has delivered health and nutrition education and training to diverse audiences and co-authored a pediatric diabetes education manual. Her regional areas of expertise include South and East Asia.
	Kristen McIvor, MA, brings skills in community organizing, education, and urban food production to Connect Nutrition.  She has a degree in Environment and Community from Antioch University Seattle, and is currently pursuing her PhD at the University of Washington in Urban Ecology, working on promoting community gardens and recycling biosolids in the City of Tacoma.  As a soil scientist and a landscape designer, she has focused on strengthening urban food systems, building gardens in urban areas, and creating access to fresh food for all.  Ms. McIvor’s international experience includes service as a Peace Corps volunteer in Panama, working on community development and health issues among indigenous peoples.
	Lacey LaBarge, MD is an OBGYN resident physician at Maricopa Integrated Health System in Arizona and plans to continue serving underserved populations. Dr. LaBarge completed her medical training at Boston University School of Medicine. Prior to Medical School, she worked as an AmeriCorps*VISTA volunteer at the Capital Area Food Bank in Washington, DC teaching nutrition to the underserved population in the DC metro area. During this time Ms. LaBarge coordinated cooking and nutrition classes for low-income children and adults, wrote grants, organized fundraisers, and recruited donor. Her special interests include maternal and child health, pediatric, and clinical research.
	Patrick Racsa, MS joins Connect Nutrition's activities in research and program design, grant writing, program management, monitoring and evaluation, and data analysis. He holds degrees in Public Health from The Johns Hopkins University, Food Policy & Applied Nutrition from Tufts University, and International Economics from Baylor University (2007). Within nutrition, his projects have focused on nutrient density, micronutrient deficiency, cost-based food analysis, population-based obesity, as well as laboratory research. Mr. Racsa's international experiences in El Salvador, Indonesia, Israel, and India contribute seamlessly with Connect Nutrition's focus on global consulting services.
	Ryan Hawkes, MA has a degree in Whole Systems Design from Antioch University in Seattle, Washington.  He joins Connect Nutrition's work focusing on community food security and food systems.  Mr. Hawkes has several years experience consulting to non-profit organizations and working with youth. He brings his research, coalition-building, fund-raising, advocacy, event planning, and community garden program skills to the organization.