May PHEc Feature - Interview with Kelly Atyeo

Each month we will be featuring a Professional Home Economist (PHEc) on the OHEA blog! This month we are proud to introduce you to Kelly Atyeo, P.H.Ec.
 
Kelly started her nutrition education at the University of Guelph, graduating with a BSc in Nutrition. She then went on to complete her Master of Health Sciences (MHSc) in Nutrition Communication at Ryerson University. Kelly is the founder and President of LiveWell Marketing and an expert in authentic marketing, wellness marketing and nutrition/health communications. 

She has over 10 years of experience in marketing and promotions, project planning, recruiting and managing large scaled wellness campaigns across Canada. ​

Kelly utilizes her vast understanding of the Canadian market to build marketing strategies that deliver impressive and superior results with clients from several categories including the food industry, fitness industry, government and commodities.  She also owns a company that focuses on nutrition communications, strategy & health writing, called Balance Your Cart.  As a PHEc and active member of the Ontario Home Economics Association (OHEA), Kelly believes her business activities serve as a platform to build communities committed to the value of helping consumers live well.
 
Did you always know you wanted to become a PHEc?
 
No, I didn’t even know the profession existed until after my undergraduate degree. I was unsure of what else to do with my degree besides becoming a Registered Dietitian (RD). The profession of Home Economics was not well advertised to students, when I was in school. It was only after completing my Masters and working in the food industry and in marketing, that I realized I wanted to be doing something more with helping people live an overall high quality of life. One day, someone told me about the profession of Home Economics, and the PHEc designation. I did some research and realized it would be a great fit for me. I completed the 1 year self study course and it was really great. It helped me think about myself within the profession of nutrition and nutrition communication. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of understanding of the profession of Home Economics and when you say you’re a PHEc often there is the belief that all you do is cook. I think people need to understand that PHEcs are educators and knowledgeable professionals who do practice evidence-based approaches.
 
 What do you do as a PHEc?
 
It really depends on what I am working on, but mainly when it comes to LiveWell, and Balance Your Cart, I use aspects of nutrition communication and how to get health messaging across to consumers, through building strategies with clients. I do a lot of writing for Chicken Farmers of Canada and everything I write about is definitely rooted in Home Ec. It makes me so happy when I write an article and I get feedback from people telling me how great they thought my article was and what they learned from reading it. As a nutrition professional, you really do not realize how much of an impact you have on people outside of the profession. There’s a lot of nutrition confusion across the board…when I know I’m helping alleviate some of that confusion – it feels awesome!
 
 What do you enjoy most about being an OHEA member?
 
Connecting with people that have taken different routes, and are doing things that are not as conventional as the traditional RD route, is really amazing to see. It is so interesting when I meet people that are PHEcs and they tell you what they do and you’re like wow, that’s really different! It’s rare that you encounter one PHEc that is doing the exact same thing as another; there is so much diversity within the profession.
 
What does being a PHEc mean to you?
 
Having the flexibility to do what you want within the nutrition and health field, but still being grounded with the notion of trying to help individuals live a better quality of life.
 
What piece of advice can you offer new or aspiring PHEcs?
 
Try to understand what you want to do within your field before you establish other designations and credentials. You are only as credible as you are as a person. If there is something you really want to do, you have to think about what it offers you, and if it is the best fit for you. Any young person in the field should get solid on what it is they want to do and want to achieve before investing time in attaining credentials for a potential end goal.
 
What has been your greatest professional success?
 
Having my own marketing company that focuses on wellness, a nutrition communications company and doing my health writing. I love connecting, mentoring and learning about what other young professionals want to do. Giving them strategies and ideas to help them succeed makes me happy. I love what I do everyday and that alone makes me proud!
 
Connect with Kelly via her websites and social channels.
 
Instagram: @balanceyourcart & @livewellmarketing
Websites: www.livewellmarketing.ca  & www.balanceyourcart.com
 
If you are an OHEA student member interested in marketing and nutrition communication, Kelly is part of our OHEA Mentor Program, and would love to connect. Check out OHEA’s  mentor program on our member’s only website: http://www.ohea.on.ca/mentorship-program.html
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