Denise Dysard is a Registered Nurse and a certified Food For Life (FFL) Instructor for Physicians Committee For Responsible Medicine (PCRM).  She has 13 years of practice experience with the Veterans Health Administration, and serves as the Assistant Nurse Manager of an inpatient surgical unit at the Durham Veterans Administration Medical Center.  Denise holds a Master of Science Nurse Educator degree from the University of North Carolina Wilmington, and a bachelor’s degree in Nursing from the State University of New York Polytechnic Institute.

After losing her father to cancer, Denise began to learn about the health promoting potential of a whole food plant-based diet, and felt a professional obligation to began to educate and inspire others about the effects of such lifestyle choices on disease risks.  She teaches an Employee Wellness Food For Life Kickstart Your Health Nutrition Education Lunch and Learn series. She participates in other health related events and other opportunities to share information both in the hospital setting and throughout the community, such as in offering plant-based nutrition education, resources, recipes and food samples via the PCRM Kickstart Your Health Triangle Initiative.

Denise is a member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine and the American Holistic Nurses Association.  She participates on a Steering Committee for the Veterans Administration Nationwide Whole Health Initiative and is a member of a Work-Life Improvement Committee where the Food For Life Employee Wellness Lunch and Learn series is offered.  She is an organizer for the 450-member Whole Plant Based Health Meetup group where community members gather informally to learn about the health benefits of plant-based nutrition, to share information and to support local restaurants that offer plant-based options.

After joining the Healing America Together Movement, Denise became re-inspired to connect with healthcare providers to promote healthy, more sustainable communities.  She has come to understand the importance of never underestimating the power of planting seeds-for-change throughout our organizations and communities.