Kirsten Straughan, MS, RDN, LDN, CSSD
Kirsten is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist with over 25 years of experience in the nutrition field and is the Director of the Nutrition Science Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
She uses her platform to promote nutrition and food as a foundation to better health and wellness, whether it be for future RDs, future health care practitioners, or the general public.
Kirsten has worked with the University of Illinois athletic teams, providing individual and team focused sports nutrition education and counseling to UIC athletes. She is a Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics, 2022
As Wellness Workx develops, our intention it to provide employee coaching on diet and nutrition as part of our Wellness Plans. We expect to offer a combination of on-demand videos, telehealth and in-office group classes. Kirsten is designing this program and will oversee the dietitians we partner with to present these sessions.
Kirsten is an accomplished endurance athlete and has participated in triathlons, marathons and Ragnar running relay races.
She is also a cross fit competitor and has co-authored a book on Family Fitness.
Kirsten is a frequent guest on local Chicago news stations offering nutritional recommendations on a variety of topics.
Her latest appearance was on Channel ABC 7 Chicago, Jan 15th 2025
Kirsten served as the chair of the Wellness Council for District 97 in Oak Park, IL from 2010-2018. She was a member of the Executive Committee and Healthy Foods for Families Workgroup for Oak Park’s Pioneering Healthy Communities initiative, Wild about Wellness—a community-based policy change initiative with a grant from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, aimed at preventing childhood obesity .