Student Q&A with Seasoned Member In this NE Ventures Student & Seasoned Member Interview, NE student member, Kathryn Gradie Gazaway, interviews Kelly Jones, MS, RD, CSSD, LDN
Kelly Jones, MS, RD, CSSD, LDN, is a board-certified specialist in sports dietetics and a media and nutrition communications consultant. Kelly works with athletes at every level and consults with organizations such as MLB and USA Swimming, as well as various food brands. As a former athlete, business owner and busy mom, Kelly offers recipes and practical tips at KellyJonesNutrition. com. She will soon be launching a website, StudentAthleteNutrition. com, to help busy student athletes.
A: In a world where consumers are bombarded with so many fads and trends, I get excited about the ability to deliver evidence-based nutrition information in easily understandable and applicable sound bites. I feel a responsibility to ensure that consumers are able to take small steps that can improve health but aren't triggered into dieting, disordered eating and poor body image. Athletes in particular are at high risk for disordered eating, so I also get excited about helping athletes and their coaches recognize what healthy eating looks like for an athlete and allow athletes to understand that their performance isn't based on body size.
I've learned that I'm more efficient, enjoy my work more and can do a better job for my
Q: Describe your current job or role. What are the performance objectives for your job? A: The sports nutrition side of Kelly Jones Nutrition works with athletes at every level, including collegiate and professional athletes. Our practice has a plant-forward philosophy while also integrating principles of intuitive eating. I spend the majority of my time consulting for college teams, pro sports organizations and fitness clubs, as well as delivering online courses and speaking at conferences on sports nutrition. The media and communications side of Kelly Jones Nutrition still involves a lot of sports and fitness nutrition concepts. I oversee the brand's nutrition marketing messages and claims to ensure they are evidencebased and not misleading. I represent brands with these messages on TV in national media articles, digital video, articles and recipe development on social media. Q: What inspires you in this position?
20 | nedpg.org
clients when I set boundaries.
Q: As a woman who balances being a mother, an athlete and an entrepreneur, your schedule must be very busy. What does your typical day look like? A: Since my business has a variety of revenue streams, there is no typical day. As my business became more successful in recent years, I started to delegate more tasks to contractors. One constant is that I wake up around 7:00 a.m. On the three days that my son heads to daycare, he is up by 7:30 a.m. and we’re out the door around 8:30 a.m. On the days he is home, I often use his naptime to tackle emails that have built up while on mom-duty or to work on recipe development. Due to the pandemic, my TV segments have been moved to my kitchen. On days I have TV segments or videos to record (two to four times per month), I’ll typically have prepped the night before. I spend the first half of my day getting
things set up and recording the segment. I refrain from scheduling 1:1 clients or webinars on the days I am recording. On the days when I don’t record, I dedicate the first half of my day to content creation for my courses, websites and social media channels, or writing articles, scripts or nutrition marketing pieces. Afternoons are when I may have 1:1 clients, webinars or seminars, or calls with brand clients scheduled. I do my best to have dinner ready before my son is home around 5:30 p.m. I should also mention that fitness is an important form of self-care for me, so on daycare days, I do try to make it to the gym to weight-train midday.
Q: What did you find was the biggest obstacle in growing your business and building your brand? A: I was [the biggest obstacle]! I truly enjoyed a decade as an assistant professor in higher education. Before having my son in early 2018, I was overextending myself managing a growing business while still working at the college. I was feeling burnt out and nervous to break away from the security of a full-time job and its benefits. I finally hired an assistant to help manage tasks for my roles in professional baseball and the media. Delegating and feeling less stressed gave me the confidence to leave the college position. I truly wish I had done it sooner. I used to feel obligated to always say “yes” to projects and had a hard time separating work and the rest of my life, but I've learned that I'm more efficient, enjoy my work more and can do a better job for my clients when I set boundaries. Kathryn Gazaway is currently studying dietetics at the University of Georgia with the goal of educating women and athletes on sustainable and healthy dieting practices. She hopes to continue her education at UGA with the pursuance of a master’s degree catered toward sports nutrition.
