An Interview With Vanessa Rissetto: Fostering Diversity at School, Work and in the Media VA N E S SA R I S S E TTO MS, RD, CDN
ADRIAN MCDERMEIT STUDENT
Vanessa Rissetto didn’t get where she is today by blending in. From our conversation, it is apparent how her achievements are hard-won and how her boldness continues to serve her success, and also naturally makes her a driving force for diversity in dietetics as a Black dietitian in a visible space. She has an impressively varied yet complementary background and skillset, having earned an undergraduate degree in history at Fordham University that honed her literary skills, to her work in the corporate marketing world after earning her master’s degree in marketing from New York University. Through her own evolution in nutrition and wellness, working with one of the top New York City dietitians, she honored her long-standing love for science and broke into the field of dietetics, earning her RDN credential and developing her professional skills through NYU and Mount Sinai Hospital.
Today Rissetto’s days are dedicated to Culina Health, the nutrition coaching and education business she cofounded, along with her role as the director of the dietetic internship at NYU Steinhardt. Here Rissetto gives us a glimpse into her day-today, including how she continues to manage it all, and how we as nutrition entrepreneurs and students can take her lead when it comes to changing the face of nutrition and dietetics.
They sent me to the best schools, and I vacationed in Europe and spoke French and was very obedient, and my parents thought that grace and manners and class and culture would transcend race and that my White counterparts would see me as equal and that’s not the case.
Q: Your background is varied and impressive. You’ve worked in both the corporate marketing world and now in nutrition and dietetics. In your studies, did you see yourself represented? What has been your experience?
VR: I had a difficult time in corporate America because there is a maturity factor there, of course, but I saw my White counterparts behaving “badly” and not being held to the fire where everything I was doing was scrutinized. I never understood that was a race thing. I thought it was a “me” thing. Now at NYU, in my department, I have never felt like there was racism; I just feel that because there wasn’t a push [towards inclusivity] until this past summer, they weren’t pushing either. And that is not just here; that is everybody.
VR: I grew up in the ‘90s. I started college in 1996. Black people weren’t really in leadership, and that was common happenstance, and if they were, they had to have very advanced degrees. So this is why my parents thought I had to be a doctor or a lawyer, right? I’m first-generation. My parents are from Haiti and they hold advanced degrees; my mom is a nurse and my dad is an engineer.
Q: How about in the professional world. What has been your experience there?
Q: Building on the topic of NYU and the dietetic internship you direct, what is the current picture there as far as diversity? VR: So, I don’t know what you look like when I read your application. We don’t talk about race. When I see you, and I see that you’re a person of color, that’s great. My last class was pretty diverse. I have four men, two people of color and one person who identifies as LGBTQ. That just happened. The class that is coming up, I have one male and two who are Hispanic. So, it is just where it lands. We need to do more recruiting at NYU, which we were doing until COVID hit, but then of course it was kind of hard to get out and meet people. Me personally, I am recruiting [diversity] because I am out there in the media talking about how I am the director of the dietetic internship at NYU, and many students of color reach out to
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