Gregory’s DD Journey: A Testament to Your Impact
While some may see the lack of male representation in the field of dietetics and shy away from it, Gregory Lafortune, MS, RDN, LD didn't. He saw this as an opportunity to make an impact in the field of men's health. Read on to learn how Gregory did that and more and found DD along the way!
Gregory is the @menshealthdietitian on IG and is on a mission to empower human performance through speaking and optimized nutrition service.
After having a personal history of type 1 diabetes, Gregory wanted to learn how to treat himself and others with a similar diagnosis.
This plus the fact that men have a higher mortality rate than women but less support when it comes to nutrition, inspired Gregory to become a registered dietitian to address men's health concerns.
At first, Gregory felt like he was in his own world and navigating a profession that looked nothing like him.
He was unsure if there were other people of color out there and who would want to connect as much as he did.
Gregory discovered DD after meeting our co-founder Tamara during grad school. He quickly found the resources he needed through the DD directory, webinars, workshops, and annual summit.
But more so - he found COMMUNITY.
"I remember representing DD at a health fair at Morehouse College in an attempt for Black middle & high school students to connect with other Black professionals in healthcare. I met some amazing professionals and was able to connect to a nutrition major interest who looks like me: Haitian & male. He was in high school and is interested in a career in dietetics. These types of priceless connections cannot have been made without the solid foundation that DD stands on."
Since then, Gregory has continued to make waves in the dietetics community and is on a mission to empower human performance through speaking and optimized nutrition services. You can learn more about his work here.
Lastly, we’ll leave you with some advice from Gregory for anyone who was. in his shoes. “Connect; Connect; Connect. Send that email, Linked-In invite, meeting request, etc. You may be struggling because you are not connected. We have to live in community. DD is a solid one. Closed mouths don't get fed (not a nutrition pun).”