Elizabeth (Libby) MacQuillan, PhD, RDN, CHSE

Applied Food and Nutrition Program Director

Office Address: 420-I RFH
Phone: (616) 331-5549
Email: [email protected] 

Dr. MacQuillan serves as Program Director of the Applied Food and Nutrition program and Associate Professor in both the Clinical Dietetics and Applied Food and Nutrition programs. She earned her master’s degree and her Ph.D. from Western Michigan University, where she taught a variety of undergraduate dietetics courses before joining the College of Health Professions at GVSU in 2016.

Libby was the first Registered Dietitian in the U.S. to earn the Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator credential from the Society for Simulation in Healthcare in 2019. She continues to actively teach using simulation-based education and conducts research on assessing competence and skill development using simulation. Libby’s other research interests include gestational diabetes and its relationship to breastfeeding success and the spatial analysis of nutrition-related health outcomes. Her work has been published in numerous journals, including the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, Public Health Reports, Journal of Community Health, and Spatial and Spatio-temporal Epidemiology. She has also presented her research at the national meetings of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the Society for Simulation in Healthcare, and the American Public Health Association, in addition to numerous state-level professional meetings and conferences.

Jennifer Ford, EdD, MA, RDN

Clinical Dietetics Program Director

Office Address: 420-G RFH
Phone: (616) 331-5529
Email: [email protected] 

Jennifer serves as an Assistant Professor and Program Director of the Clinical Dietetics Coordinated Graduate Program. She has over 20 years of experience as a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) and throughout her career has worked in a variety of settings, that include leadership roles, inpatient clinical dietetics, outpatient nutrition counseling in bone marrow transplant, hematology, oncology, surgical oncology, gastrointestinal and gynecological oncology, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, community/wellness, media/marketing. Her past dietetic experience also consists of working in cardiology, neurology, critical care, medical and surgical intensive care, gastrointestinal, orthopedics, medical surgical, nephrology, diabetes, women’s health, high-risk obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, and bariatrics.

Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Science in Dietetics and a Master of Arts in Family and Consumer Sciences from Western Michigan University (WMU). She earned a Doctorate of Education (EdD) in Higher Education and Adult Learning through Walden University. Jennifer is also board-certified as a Specialist in Oncology Nutrition through the Commission on Dietetic Registration.

Her research areas include simulation-based education, competency-based education, diet, and disease prevention.

Randalynn (Randy) Hajek, MPH, RDN

Clinical Dietetics, Supervised Practice Coordinator

Office Address: 420-E RFH
Phone: (616) 331-5508
Email: [email protected] 

Randalynn (Randy) Hajek completed her Bachelor of Science in Dietetics at Central Michigan University and her Master of Public Health degree at Michigan State University; she completed her dietetic internship at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She has worked as a clinical dietitian for over ten years with a wide array of experiences including establishing and growing several oncology nutrition programs. Randy has a big-picture approach to nutrition, as well as a clear understanding of treatment approaches, giving the field a unique perspective. She has worked with students in a variety of capacities, as an adjunct instructor, as well as a preceptor, and is excited to further that impact for future dietitians. In her spare time, Randy enjoys soaking up every moment with her two rescue pups. She also enjoys hiking, podcasts, current events, and thrifting shopping. Her favorite indulgences include coffee and fancy cheeses.

Nichole Anguilm, MS, RDN

Office Address: 420-B RFH
Phone: (616) 331-5599
Email: anguilmn[email protected] 

Nichole has been a Registered Dietitian for 6 years. She started her collegiate career at Michigan State University earning her Bachelors of Sciences in Dietetics. She then completed her Masters of Nutrition and Human Performance at Logan University. Since then her career path has gained her experience in both the outpatient and inpatient setting, leadership, and most recently within the rare disease space as a metabolic dietitian. Nichole has experience working with pediatric and adult patients, a variety of rare metabolic/genetic disorders such as Phenylketonuria (PKU) and Urea Cycle Disorders, chronic diseases, and patients that are underserved with a higher risk of health disparities. 

Over the last 3 years Nichole's unique role as a metabolic dietitian has strengthened her belief that dietitians play a major role in patient care and health outcomes. Her belief is that everyone deserves the knowledge to be able to make informed decisions about what they eat and as a dietitian it is her job to educate and advocate.

Emily Welles, MS, RDN, CDE

Office Address: 420-C RFH
Phone: (616) 331-5548
Email: wellese@gvsu.edu 

Emily has been a Registered Dietitian for more than 8 years with a variety of experience. She started her schooling at Michigan State University and graduated with a Bachelor's of Science in dietetics. She completed a 10-month clinical focused internship at University of Michigan Hospital. Emily completed her master's degree at Grand Valley State University in Clinical Dietetics with research focused on improving eating disorder care in Michigan.

Emily started her career working in mental health at Hope Network for 3 years. During her time there she also started working at the Comprehensive Treatment for Eating Disorders (CTED) private practice part time. Recently she transitioned to owning her own private practice (Emily Welles Nutrition LLC) working with clients who struggle with eating disorders. Emily also worked full time at Spectrum Health as a Diabetes Educator in the adult diabetes outpatient clinic. She has 4+ years of experience working with patients living with Type 1, Type 2 and gestational diabetes.

Emily has been involved in the dietetics community since college as part of Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics boards (ACEND and student boards), Michigan Academy member and nominating committee and Dietitians of West Michigan member, secretary, social media chair and president. She current sits on the Michigan Eating Disorder Alliance (MiEDA) board.