Deitra Dennis, a true southern girl that resides in Georgia. She is a Registered Nurse, National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach from the National Board for Health & Wellness Coaching, Licensed Food for Life Instructor from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and a Certified Professional Plant-Based Chef from Rouxbe Online Culinary School.
In 2015, Deitra was in search of expanding her services to include both healthy cooking and cultural traditions. A Taste of African Heritage (ATOAH) Cooking Program of Oldways Preservative Trust was the answer that aligned with Deitra’s expectations. As an instructor of a series of cooking classes, there is a sense of fulfillment when participants say that they learned so much about the African heritage diet and that each dish was delicious.
Deitra was overjoyed in 2017 to be offered the opportunity to become an Ambassador of the African Heritage and Health Program. The role as an ambassador has allowed Deitra to further her mission to guide, educate and empower the community to get to the root of chronic diseases that disproportionately impact the African American community by returning to the African heritage foodways to reclaim health.
As an ambassador, Deitra has represented the African Heritage and Health Program by sharing her personal vignette in the Oldways Africana Soup in Stories (OASIS), being a contributor in the development of the African Heritage Power Plate Booklet as well as being featured in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) entitled Heritage Diet and Culturally Appropriate Dietary Advice May Help Combat Chronic Diseases and the American Heart Association (AHA) Circulation Journal entitled Vegan Diets That Are Culturally Aligned With Traditional Soul Food Gain Popularity Among Black Individuals.