Suzanne Nelson, ScD, RDN, is currently Dean of Students, Interim Director of Athletics, Assistant Professor of Nutrition, and Director of Sports Nutrition at Bryn Athyn College. Previously, Dr. Nelson was the Director of Sports Performance Nutrition in the Athletic Department at The University of California, Berkeley. Her primary responsibilities included counseling individual athletes and teams on nutrition for performance and health; developing meal plans for training table and team travel; evaluating energy, weight and body composition goals; providing education about dietary supplements; and serving as a sports nutrition resource for coaches, physicians and athletic trainers in Sports Medicine. She also served as an advisor to the Student Athlete Advisory Committee regarding health-related issues. Dr. Nelson was the team nutritionist for the San Francisco 49ers and provided nutrition consultation to the San Francisco Giants, San Francisco Ballet, and Golden State Warriors.

Dr. Nelson served as the Director of Sports Nutrition for the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics at the University of Washington, and was an adjunct Instructor in Nutrition in the Department of Epidemiology.  She was Chair of the Graduate Nutrition Education Department, Immaculata College, and served as Clinical Director of the Weight and Eating Disorders Center at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, where she completed a fellowship in adolescent medicine. Additional professional experience includes Director of the Outpatient Nutrition Clinic, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and Director of Clinical Trials at New England Deaconess Hospital in Boston. Suzanne was also a consulting nutritionist to USA Wrestling and a member of the nutrition advisory committee for USA Swimming. 

Throughout her career, Dr. Nelson has worked with a variety of athletic teams and has counseled both recreational and elite athletes.  Suzanne’s work with athletes has been published in peer-reviewed journals, and she is the author/editor of several books, including Ultimate Sports Nutrition, Nutrition for Sport and Exercise, Nutrition for Young Athletes, and Play Hard Eat Right: A Parents’ Guide to Sports Nutrition for Children.   

Suzanne earned her Bachelor of Science in psychology at Ursinus College, her Master of Science in clinical nutrition at Drexel University, and her doctorate in nutritional science at Boston University.  She is a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist of the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.