Doctoral Students Christian Gloria Christian Gloria earned his B.S. in Health Promotion and Fitness from the University of Texas at Austin in 2005. As an undergraduate, he worked at St. David's Cardiac Rehabilitation Center where he helped patients regain their strength and endurance after undergoing cardiac operation. Christian also provided personal training for hospital staff members through the Employee Wellness Program. Furthermore, he participated in the Williamson County Health Fair where he evaluated the BMI of county residents and presented information regarding the importance of a healthy lifestyle. As a graduate student, Christian worked with the TX Department of State Health where he assisted in the development of programs such as the Tex Plat, which provides restaurants with the tools to promote healthy eating, and the Farm To Work, a program that allows individuals to order fresh produce from local farmers and have them conveniently delivered to the workplace. Currently, Christian is working on his thesis in collaboration with the TX Department of State Health, Steps to a Healthier Austin, and the university's nutritional sciences program to assess the availability, promotion, and quality of healthy food items from restaurants and grocery stores in order to examine their relationship with obesity. Jong-Ho Kim Jong-Ho Kim received his bachelor's degree in Physical Education at the Korea University in South Korea in 2000 and his master's degree in Therapeutic Recreation at the University of Tennessee in 2003. Upon the completion of his master’s degree he worked as a CTRS in rehabilitation center and geriatric hospital mainly working with the elderly with stroke or dementia. He has been studying as a Ph.D. student majoring in Health Education and serving as a T.A. on a diabetic research team at the University of Texas since fall semester, 2007. His works with Dr. Steinhardt have an emphasis on health education for people with diabetes, resilience programs for coping with stress, and physical activity. Jenifer R. Kruse, MS, RD, LD, CDE Jenifer Kruse is an accomplished Registered and Licensed Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator, committed to helping people lead healthier lives and reach their maximum potential. She holds a Master’s Degree in Nutrition and a Bachelor’s Degree in Dietetics and Institutional Administration, graduating Summa Cum Laude. Jenifer is working on her doctorate in Behavioral Health where she is pursuing research related to resilience and diabetes self-management. She has extensive experience as a diabetes educator, clinical and outpatient dietitian, adjunct faculty member, public speaker, and entrepreneur. She has been providing Medical Nutrition Therapy for numerous chronic diseases, including Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes, Gestational diabetes, pre-diabetes, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and weight management for 15 years. With her passion, enthusiasm and diverse expertise, she is a natural speaker who makes all audiences feel motivated to perform at their best. Jenifer’s lectures and public speaking engagements include topics such as family nutrition, childhood obesity, sports nutrition, wellness, and the art of behavior change. She also is actively involved in the community, currently serving as President-Elect for the Bluebonnet Chapter of the American Association of Diabetes Educators. While Jenifer is passionate about her professional endeavors, she is the proud mom of three children and a dedicated wife to her husband. As a family they’re constantly on the move, enjoying anything and everything related to sports, outdoors, and the fun of fitness. Masters Students Katherine Coffee Katherine Coffee is a graduate student of the University of Texas at Austin’s Health Education Program. She is earning her Master's degree with emphasis in Health Promotion. Katherine is a Fitness Professional at Lake Austin Spa Resort and has served here for four years. She enjoys teaching fitness classes, conducting personal training and giving talks to visiting guests on the topics of osteoporosis, stress management and metabolism. She also enjoys working in an environment recognized as one of the top ten destinations spa resorts in the world, and ranked the #2 resort in North America. Katherine has had the pleasure of being exposed to a wide variety of populations from different walks of life. While earning her Kinesiology degree from Southwestern University in Georgetown Texas, she served in the fitness center among the active adult retirement community of Sun City. Katherine gained first-hand experience with older adults and special populations while admiring the continued commitment necessary to maintain good health and wellness as we mature. After graduation Katherine relocated to Austin where she accepted a fitness staff position with Dell Computer’s Corporate Wellness Program. Here she guided employees in their daily balance of work and health. She led fitness classes and training sessions while observing the effects of high-stress work on individual’s overall well-being. Katherine’s time at Dell was divided among one-on-one training, group fitness instruction and employee health promotion programs. Today, Katherine continues to challenge herself through a variety of health and fitness interests ranging from functional training and postural therapy, stress management, balancing brain chemistry and nutrition. She holds national certifications with the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) as a Health & Fitness Instructor, the American Council on Exercise (ACE) for Personal Training and the Aerobics & Fitness Association of America (AFAA) for a variety of group fitness classes. Katherine is a practioner with the neuroscience company, Neurogistics, and is in the process of becoming a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) recognized by the Yoga Alliance. To contact Katherine, please visit her website at www.KatherineCoffee.com.