October 2008
New Zealand Nutrition Foundation stocks its pantry with new expertise
22 October, 2008
The New Zealand Nutrition Foundation (NZNF) is delighted to announce the appointment of two new nutritionists, Sarah Hanrahan and Carolyn Cairncross, who will take joint responsibility for providing advice and expertise on a wide range of scientific and nutritional information.
Sarah and Carolyn join the NZNF following the recent departure of Kelsey Woodcock. These two nutrition experts bring with them a wealth of knowledge and experience and will further support the Foundation’s aim to provide New Zealanders with accurate and balanced nutritional advice for a healthy lifestyle.
Sarah’s educational background is in home science and she is a New Zealand registered dietitian. Her career history includes nutrition and management roles with Nutricia and working on the ‘Food Glorious Food’ campaign of the early 1990’s.
Carolyn has worked in a number of nutrition-related roles, including responsibility for sports nutrition education in Sport Auckland’s ‘Green Prescription’ programme. Carolyn is passionate about improving the health of New Zealanders through eating well and is committed to assisting the wider community with nutritional guidance.
NZNF CEO, Sue Pollard, describes the appointments as providing a vital resource to enhance the Foundation’s credentials.
“It is extremely important for the Foundation to have the valuable expertise Sarah and Carolyn bring to the team. Their experience underpins our relevant and credible scientifically-robust approach to nutrition-related issues. With their help we can continue to achieve our goal of healthy and informed food choices within an active lifestyle for all New Zealanders”.
About Sarah Hanrahan
Sarah graduated with a degree in Home Science and is a registered dietitian. Her roles with Nutricia enabled the development of strong business skills, team work and brought the opportunity to work with a range of health professionals. During her time with Nutricia, Sarah also had the opportunity to work with the National Testing Centre on the development of programmes for children with metabolic disorders.
Sarah is New Zealand born but has lived in both the USA and in the Netherlands, taking in the differing food and healthcare experiences both countries have to offer.
About Carolyn Cairncross
Carolyn arrived in New Zealand in 1993, after working for ICI Chemicals, as a research chemist in Melbourne and then in sales for ICI NZ.
Carolyn’s involvement with nutrition came after the birth of her children when a growing awareness of the importance of nutrition prompted a return to study at Massey University (Albany). Her keen interest in sports nutrition resulted in the completion of a Masters of Science in Nutritional Science in 2005, with a thesis titled ‘Nutrition Knowledge and Dietary Intake of Physically-Active Adolescents’.
Carolyn has been involved in a number of nutrition areas: working for Sport Auckland as the nutrition educator for their community activity program ‘Green Prescription’, delivering the nutrition sessions for the DEWL (Diabetes Excess Weight Loss) study in Auckland, and lecturing under contract for Massey University in their Human Nutrition degree program.