Committee Member Bios
Chair - Clare McKenzie
I first joined the BDA West Scotland Branch back in 2012 when I became a Student Dietitian on the undergraduate course at Glasgow Caledonian University.
After graduating in 2016, I relocated to Middlesbrough for my first band 5 Dietetic role in a rotational post in a large teaching hospital. In December 2017, I moved back to Scotland for my second rotational band 5 role in University Hospital Monklands. I secured my current position as a Head and Neck Specialist Oncology Dietitian at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in 2021. Working as a Dietitian for seven years, with the last five years in the West of Scotland, I have developed good links both locally and UK wide which I hope to bring to this role.
In NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde I sit as a member on the Dietetic social media team and I am active on my own professional Twitter account (@ClareMcKenzieRD). I hope to use my skills to further reach out to WOS members to help increase engagement with the branch and provide a voice for Dietetics in the West of Scotland.
I am delighted to become more involved with the BDA and support the priorities of the BDA Scotland board. Over the last 11 years I have benefited from the branch’s dedication to CPD, networking and the promotion of Dietetics on social media platforms. I am passionate about my own CPD, recently qualifying as a Dietetic Supplementary Prescriber and in the process of completing further modules at GCU as part of the MSc Advanced Practice course. In 2019 I completed an AHP Career Fellowship with NES which helped to increase my knowledge and skills across the four pillars of practice.
Throughout my career I have actively sought out additional volunteering and extracurricular opportunities. Each year I facilitate fundraising events for MacMillan Cancer Support and led many health promotion events for Dietitians Week, Nutrition & Hydration Week and Malnutrition Awareness Week. I have worked with the British Liver Trust to update their nutrition and liver disease resources and presented a patient focused webinar on nutrition and liver disease in 2020.
I am excited to use my experience, leadership, dedication and passion for Dietetics in the role of Chair to carry on the BDA WOS branch’s award winning success for the benefit of all its members. Looking forward to meeting you soon!
Engagement Officer - Elaine Penman
I am a newly qualified dietitian in a rotational post within NHS Ayrshire and Arran. In 2016, I changed my career path from marketing and business to nutrition and dietetics, attending college to refresh my science qualifications to enable entry to the undergraduate course at Glasgow Caledonian University, graduating in July 2022.
Taking on the Engagement Officer role in October 2022, I have been the student member on the BDA West Scotland Branch committee for the past two years. It has been a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness of what is happening on campus with the dietetic community while encouraging students to engage with the local BDA branch and maximise the benefits of their student membership.
The Engagement Officer role is a new position on the committee. I am responsible for publicising branch activities to members, updating the branch webpage, overseeing social media channels and our communication strategy, and managing partnerships and sponsorship to enable the branch to continue delivering events and projects. I look forward to continuing to volunteer with the BDA team and local committee to promote the work of the branch and BDA.
I am active on Twitter (@epenman) and keen to hear from West Scotland BDA members about exciting projects, guidelines or online resources in progress or completed to share with the membership.
Outside of working life, I am married to Michael, a Mum to two teenagers and have three adorable dogs. I enjoy sports and exercise with a love of tennis and the occasional round of golf.
Events Officer - Nikola Mazur
I have been working as a rotational dietitian in the acute sector for just over 2 years. As a student and post-registration, I had benefited from the learning events organised by the branch and following the branches’ social media has helped me to stay up to date with news and changes in the wider and local dietetic world.
I decided to join the West of Scotland committee as I would like to be able to give back to the profession, network, and take part in continuing to create learning opportunities for students and practitioners.
Ordinary Member - Eilidh MacNeil
I am currently in my second year of the post graduate dietetics course at Queen Margaret University. I graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Biological Sciences (Microbiology) from Heriot-Watt University in 2017 and worked as a Medical Laboratory Assistant for NHS Lanarkshire. However, I soon realised that this path wasn’t for me and moved back home to the Isle of Bute where I began my modern apprenticeship in Dental Nursing. I enjoyed a more patient-centred role within dental nursing but ultimately felt I still wanted to pursue a career in nutrition and dietetics because this was an area I was very passionate about.
I’ve recently taken on the role of Ordinary Member within the BDA West Scotland Branch as of November 2022 and I’m very keen to get involved as much as I can alongside my studies. The branch provides great CPD and networking opportunities which are invaluable to students, like myself, and dietitians alike so I’m delighted to be on the committee.
Instagram: @dieteticallyeilidh