STAFF
The staff of Pennsylvania Nutrition Education TRACKS works closely with partnering agencies to develop, implement, manage, and evaluate Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) projects. Together they offer diverse skills and experiences in the areas of nutrition, public health, fiscal management, program evaluation, data management, and program management.
Administrative and Programming
- Barbara Lohse, PhD, RD, Principal Investigator
- Christine Brennan, MPA, Program Manager
- Tyler Davis, BS, Assistant Program Manager
- Teresa Yoder, RD, LDN, Nutritionist
- Sharon Smith, RD, Nutritionist
- Joe Bollinger, Administrative Support Assistant
Evaluation
- Judy Gromis, MS, RD, Director of Program Evaluation
- Denise Wall, MPH, RD, Evaluation Coordinator/Nutritionist
- Mary Montminy, Health Informatics Analyst
- Kim Bodes, MS, Data Manager
- Christine Least, MS, RD, Evaluation Associate/Nutritionist
Fiscal
- Joan Stover, Grant & Contract Accountant
- Lisa Sykes, Grant & Contract Accountant
Barbara Lohse, PhD, RD, Principal Investigator of Pennsylvania Nutrition Education TRACKS
Dr. Barbara Lohse is an Associate Professor of Nutritional Sciences at Penn State University and the Director of Pennsylvania Nutrition Education TRACKS.
Dr. Lohse completed her doctoral work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in nutrition with a minor in educational psychology and an emphasis on community nutrition. She comes to Penn State with prior experiences in both academic and non-academic settings. Her academic experiences include being an extension specialist in nutrition at Kansas State University and an associate professor in the Department of Food and Nutrition at University of Wisconsin-Stout (UW-Stout). While at UW-Stout, she taught several courses in nutrition, directed the dietetic internship, and directed the graduate program in food and nutritional sciences.
Outside of academia, Dr. Lohse has clinical nutrition experience working with developmentally delayed and psychiatric populations. She has been involved with professional organizations and was recently awarded the Mid-Career Achievement Award by the Society for Nutrition Education.
Christine Brennan, MPA, Program Manager
Chris Brennan joined the TRACKS office in July 2009 to serve as the Assistant Program Manager. In September 2009, she assumed the duties of TRACKS Program Manager. Chris graduated from Penn State University with a B.S. in Applied Nutrition, and obtained a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Marywood University in 2005. Prior to joining TRACKS, Chris worked as the Program Coordinator for Nutrition Education for the University of Florida’s SNAP-Ed Program and spent nine years as a nutritionist and staff trainer for the Pennsylvania WIC Program. As Program Manager, she guides the development of the annual state plan and oversees program implementation.
Tyler Davis ,BS, Assistant Program Manager
Tyler joined the Tracks office in January 2010 as the Assistant Program Manager. He graduated with a B.S. in Health and Human Development from Penn State University. Prior to joining Tracks, Tyler worked over 3 years as the Information Manager at the Smeal College of Business at Penn State. While at Smeal he helped coordinate and organize the Career and Corporate Services internship program by communicating with top companies and linking them with students. Tyler has also worked in the past at Health Fitness Corporation (Johnson & Johnson) as a Health Fitness Specialist working as a personal trainer while organizing and promoting exercise programs to its members. At the Assistant program manager, Tyler oversees office operations and coordinates human resources activities.
Teresa Yoder, RD, LDN, Nutritionist
Teresa moved to State College in November of 2007 after working as a Regional Clinical Nutrition Manager for Morrison Senior Dining in the Philadelphia area. She earned her undergraduate degree in Nutrition at La Salle University in Philadelphia, PA and completed her dietetic internship through La Salle’s Coordinated Undergraduate Program. Her dietetic internship was completed at a variety of locations including: Pennsylvania Hospital, Coram Healthcare, a Ronald McDonald House Charities camp in northern CA, and the Penn State Cooperative Extension office of Philadelphia County. As the Tracks nutritionist, Teresa evaluates quarterly reports about statewide SNAP-Ed activities and program reach, and also manages the statewide digital curricula library.
Sharon Smith, RD, Nutritionist
Sharon joined the TRACKS staff in May 2008, after moving to Pennsylvania from Portland, Oregon where she worked as a Federal Healthy Start project director, a Health Research Interventionist and a WIC Lead Nutritionist. She also has 12 years of experience working as a Health Facility Coordinator and Surveyor in Long Term Care with the state of Maryland. Sharon earned her undergraduate degree in Medical Dietetics from Howard University in Washington, D.C.
As a TRACKS nutritionist, Sharon evaluates quarterly reports to monitor program integrity, collects data on program reach, conducts program reviews, provides technical assistance on nutrition education to the local projects, and assists in planning and conducting trainings for local projects.
Joe Bollinger, Administrative Support Assistant
Joe originally hails from Lewisburg, PA, a small town 50 miles east of State College. After spending 6 years as a Quartermaster in the US Army, he graduated from Penn State University in 1998 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology focused on human resources and industrial/organizational psychology. As the TRACKS Administrative Support Assistant, Joe applies a diverse background of experience, including 10 years as a realtor, to his duties related to Tracks office organization, facilitation of internal/external communications and computer/technology support. He also assists with state plan compilation and document management.
Judy Gromis, MS, RD, Director of Program Evaluation
Judy obtained Master and Bachelor of Science degrees in nutrition from Penn State University. She joined TRACKS in April 2002 with over 20 years experience in public health nutrition in Pennsylvania. She has held operational positions on state and local levels with WIC and Head Start, gaining a wide range of experience in community nutrition program administration and interpretation of federal guidelines. As Director of Program Evaluation, Judy plans and implements evaluation of the statewide SNAP-Ed program, and oversees development and maintenance of web based reporting systems to collect TRACKS programming data.
Denise Wall, MPH, RD, Evaluation Coordinator/Nutritionist
A native of northeastern Pennsylvania, Denise attended Penn State University and completed a Nutrition Science undergraduate degree in 2001. After working as a research technologist at Penn State for two years, she was accepted into the graduate school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Denise's Masters program requirements included internship experiences at High Point Regional Hospital (High Point, NC), the Durham County Health Department (Durham, NC) and the Economic Research Service (Washington, DC.) Denise completed all coursework and requirements for the Master of Public Health degree in Nutrition at UNC-CH in 2005; she passed the certification exam to become a registered dietitian in 2006.
Denise has been part of the Tracks staff since January 2006. As the Evaluation Coordinator/Nutritionist, she works with the evaluation team to develop and implement evaluation tools, analyze data and report results, and assist and monitor the evaluation activities of our statewide partners.
Mary Montminy, Health Informatics Analyst
Mary joined Tracks in December 2006 as Staff Assistant, and then assumed the role of Assistant Program Manager in May 2007. Mary has now been promoted to her role as Health Informatics Analyst. In this position she has primary responsibility for designing and administering digital systems for storing, accessing and utilizing information for the purposes of nutrition program decision making. She graduated with a B.S. in business from the Boston College School of Management with concentrations in computer science, economics, and accounting. Prior to joining Tracks, Mary was co-founder and chief administrator of a child psychology office, where she oversaw all aspects of the business, including finance/accounting, marketing, contracting and operations.
Kim Bodes, MS, Project Data Specialist
After working for several years as a Project Manager at the Penn State Survey Research Center, Kim joined the TRACKS staff in June 2006. She is a graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology. In addition, she earned a Master of Science degree in Rural Sociology and Demography at Penn State. As TRACKS Project Data Specialist, Kim serves on the evaluation team and assists with survey data collection and STAR system administration.
Christine Least, MS, RD, Evaluation Associate/Nutritionist
Christine joined TRACKS in February 2009 as Evaluation Associate/Nutritionist. She completed the dietetic internship at Penn State, and graduated from Tufts University with an MS degree in Food Policy through a program that included an internship in Bangladesh and coursework that focused on nutrition interventions. Christine gained clinical experience working as a dietitian in a Boston hospital, and previously worked on a community-based health project with the organization CARE in India to address the nutritional status of women and young children.
Joan Stover, Grant & Contract Accountant
Joan Stover serves PA Tracks as a Fiscal Staff Assistant. She joined the staff in June 2000 after graduating from South Hills School of Business & Technology with an Associate Degree in Specialized Business in Business Administration-Accounting. Since joining the Tracks staff, Joan has attended courses on Adobe Pagemaker and Microsoft PowerPoint, and she is proficient with Penn State's IBIS Accounting System.
As Fiscal Staff Assistant, Joan is primarily responsible for monitoring budgets for Tracks projects, preparing quarterly fiscal reports, maintaining financial transactions in accounting databases, corresponding with Project Directors, and assisting the Fiscal Manager in day-to-day fiscal operations of the program.
Lisa Sykes, Grant & Contract Accountant
Lisa graduated from the South Hills School of Business and Technology with an Associate’s Degree in Business Administration-Accounting. After working in industry for a few years, she returned to college and graduated from Shippensburg University with a Bachelors degree in Accounting. Before joining the TRACKS team, Lisa worked as an auditor for the U.S. Department of Defense-Defense Contract Audit Agency.