CGBI: Breastfeeding Exclusive January 2018- Alumni Spotlight

Larelle High Bookhart, MPH, RD, IBCLC
Larelle High Bookhart graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health with a Master of Public Health from the Department of Nutrition in 2015. She concurrently completed the MRT-TI program to become an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). Upon graduation, she worked as a Registered Dietitian (RD) and IBCLC in the capacity of Director of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in Halifax County, NC. As WIC Director, she supervised all breastfeeding activities for the agency; she planned, directed and coordinated nutrition services for the agency; and provided direct nutrition and breastfeeding services, counseling, and education to participants.
She is currently completing her doctoral studies in Nutrition and Health Sciences at Emory University. Her research interests include maternal and child nutrition; the prevention of chronic disease through nutrition during the early life stages; and promoting health equity for underserved populations who are particularly vulnerable. She is passionate about developing interventions that promote breastfeeding and that promote a healthy diet during the most formative time period for children. She plans to work in academia to complete research and to teach the next generations of public health practitioners and researchers.