Diana Romano is a Registered Dietitian with over 30 years of experience. She currently serves as an Associate State Specialist for Community Nutrition Education Programs at Oklahoma State University. Prior to this role, Diana worked as a Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, delivering community nutrition programs in both English and Spanish, and served as the State Coordinator for the Farm to You exhibit.

Diana earned her Master’s degree in Nutritional Sciences and completed her Dietetic Internship at OSU in 2008. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Nutrition and Dietetics from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia, awarded in 1995. Early in her career, she worked as a Nutrition Sales Specialist for Baxter Laboratories and later as a Food Service Dietitian at San Ignacio Hospital.

A passionate advocate for community nutrition, Diana has been featured in numerous interviews with newspapers and television networks in both English and Spanish. She is deeply committed to making a positive impact through her profession and has held several leadership positions within national and state organizations. In 2016, she was honored with the National Hispanic Medical Association Leadership Award. Diana is a past chair of LAHIDAN (Latinos and Hispanics in Dietetics and Nutrition), a Member Interest Group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and a former chair of the Diversity Sub-Committee of the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences. In 2018, she was named a Fellow of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She currently serves as Treasurer-elect of the Oklahoma Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and represents the Department of Nutritional Sciences on the College’s Community Outreach Committee. In addition to her departmental roles, Diana contributes to broader university efforts as Secretary of the Agriculture and Extension Faculty Council and the Hispanic and Latino Faculty Association.

 

Research Interests:

As part of her job as an associate extension state specialist, Diana provides guidance and support for the adult nutrition education program and the teen nutrition education program. She is passionate about policy, systems and environmental interventions in the community, and helps oversee community grants throughout the state. Diana trains extension professionals and paraprofessionals on topics related to health and nutrition. Her main focus areas are community nutrition education, adult nutrition, older adult nutrition, Latino/Hispanic health. Diana knows nutrition plays a significant role in chronic disease prevention; therefore, she thinks nutrition education is crucial to improve overall health. Through her work, Diana believes she is making a difference in the life of Oklahomans.