Ardyth Gillespie
Prof Assoc
2007
HENutrSci

Web Bio Page

Current Activities

Current Professional Activities

Cornell Graduate Field Membership: Nutrition

Division Extension Leader, Nutritional Sciences

Fellow, Leadership Institute of the Kappa Omicron Nu honorary Society

President, Society for Nutrition Education Foundation

Family and Community Food Decision-making Program leadership

Society for Nutrition Education Board of Directors

Council on Agriculture, Science, and Technology (CAST) Board of Directors

American Society for Nutritional Sciences

American Dietetics Association

Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society

American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences



Current Research Activities
Gillespie pursues three overlapping and mutually supportive areas of engaged research: food decision-making with an ecosystems perspective, leadership development, and developing engaged methodology. In each of these areas, the dominant strategy is to engage in co-creation and co-learning with interested stakeholders to build capacity for improving health and well-being.  Current community-collaborations are focused on increasing the consumption of fruits and vegetables through improving their availability, accessibility, and appreciation by children and their families in home, school, and community education settings. Current activities include:

Building Leadership Capacity for Community Food System Colaborations, with CCE directors and nutrition program leaders in Greene, Onondaga, Tompkins, and Wayne Counties proposal under review submitted for Federal Formula Funds 
 
Food Decision-making survey: Changes in the Food we Buy, Make and Serve-
The food decision-making survey project has developed to understand how and why families make changes regarding the food they buy, make and serve. In the first phase of the project, questions were developed and adapted from previous food decision-making research. Recently, the mail survey was piloted in Cass County, IA and Tompkins County, NY. After results are tabulated, the survey will be revised and available for use. There are plans for other modules of the survey that focus upon other elements of food decision-making.

Local Food Choices and Decision-making: NC-1033 fcollaboration to conduct focus groups with low income families.

Cross-cultural food decision-making research in low income communities: Philippines, Iowa and New York-
This project examines the experience of food insecurity through the lens of food decision-making. Interviews were carried out by collaborators in Cass County, IA, Onondaga County, NY and in rural and urban sites in the Philippines. Currently, the emerging themes are being examined and organized for future publication.



Through these activities, Gillespie studies partnerships among various stakeholders including, university, industry, and education and building capacity of families, communities, students, and faculty to engage in effective food system and health partnerships.

Current Extension Activities
Developing family and community capacity for effective food decision-making through community-university collaborators.  Consultation and collaboration with community-initiated program leaders.
Current Initiatives.

Building Leadership Capacity for Community Food System Colaborations, with CCE directors and nutrition program leaders in Greene, Onondaga, Tompkins, and Wayne Counties proposal under review submitted for Federal Formula Funds .

The following projects are on-going collaborations with orgainizations in the community including, but not limited to: Cornell Cooperative Extension, Harrisdale Homestead, University of the Philippines, and Greenstar Cooperative.

Food Decision-making survey: Changes in the Food we Buy, Make and Serve-
The food decision-making survey project has developed to understand how and why families make changes regarding the food they buy, make and serve. In the first phase of the project, questions were developed and adapted from previous food decision-making research. Recently, the mail survey was piloted in Cass County, IA and Tompkins County, NY. After results are tabulated, the survey will be revised and available for use. There are plans for other modules of the survey that focus upon other elements of food decision-making.

Cross-cultural food decision-making research in low income communities: Philippines, Iowa and New York-
This project examines the experience of food insecurity through the lens of food decision-making. Interviews were carried out by collaborators in Cass County, IA, Onondaga County, NY and in rural and urban sites in the Philippines. Currently, the emerging themes are being examined and organized for future publication.

Cooking Together for Family Meals-
The Cooking Together for Family Meals is an interactive Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) nutrition program developed with similar principles to Cooking Up Fun!. In the first year of funding, pilot sessions of the Cooking Together for Family Meals program were completed in Tompkins, Onondaga and Cayuga counties. The Food Decision-making program has collaborated in the development of evaluation for the program.

Consulting with community-based program leaders including

Evaluating the impact of introducing fresh fruit and vegetable snacks into elementary classrooms (led by NY Coalition for Health School Food and Greenstar Cooperative markets.

CCE of Tompkins County Low Income Community Supported Agriculture Program (CCE of Tompkins County)

Biography

Biographical Statement
  Gillespie achieves her mission of creating learning environments to develop human potential through the integration of research, education, and extension/outreach. Her long-term goal is to improve the health and well-being of children/youth and their families through transdisciplinary research, co-learning and co-creation on and off campus. She pursues three overlapping and mutually supportive areas of engaged research and education: food decision-making with an ecosystems perspective, leadership development, and developing engaged methodology. In each of these areas, the dominant strategy is to engage in co-creation and co-learning with interested stakeholders to build capacity for improving health and well-being.
  In collaboration with social scientists and community-based partners, Gillespie’s research seeks to understand and strengthen the connections among sustainable food systems, food decision-making, and health and well-being. Her extension/outreach program responds to invitations from community stakeholders to understand food decision-making and build family and community capacity. This includes reconnecting families to their local food systems through collaborative and informed decision-making. These programs emphasize transformational learning, leadership development, and building community capacities through engaged research and education.
  Through leadership development projects, Gillespie connects graduate students and undergraduate students community-based educators, leaders, and decision-makers; food system stakeholders; and researchers for mutual learning and knowledge creation. These projects apply local knowledge and research findings to identify and implement effective change strategies. Recently she has provided leadership for the Cornell Sustainable Food Systems and Healthy Communities initiative. Gillespie’s vision is community stakeholders engaged with each other and with external resources working toward an equitable, just, and healthy food system which contributes to the health and well-being of all food system stakeholders.
  Gillespie’s focus on developing engaged research methodologies supports her mission as well as her other two areas of scholarship (food decision-making and leadership development). Engaged research emphasizes methods for the collaborative generation of grounded theory which focuses upon conducting research with rather than on people and thereby increasing the validity and value of the research. At the same time, this approach facilitates the application of the research in community-led programs.
  Through her scholarly work and national leadership, Gillespie is facilitating the shift of the community nutrition paradigm from an ‘outside expert” research and intervention model toward a model that emphasizes partnerships in which everyone contributes their unique knowledge (local, experiential, and research-based) and understandings about families and their community. She is currently serving as president for the Society for Nutrition Education Foundation, a member of the Board of Directors of the Society for Nutrition Education, and serves on the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology Board of Directors. At Cornell, she is also the Division Extension Leader for Nutritional Sciences and recently completed a third term on the research committee of the College of Human Ecology.


Education
  • Ph.D. 1978 - Iowa State University, Nutrition
  • M.S. 1975 - Iowa State University, Nutrition
  • B.S. 1967 - Iowa State University, Food and Nutrition and Related Sciences


    • Administrative Responsibilities
    Division Extension Leader for Division of Nutritional Sciences

    Courses, Websites, Pubs

    Courses Taught

    NS 401 Empirical Research
    NS 402     Supervised Fieldwork
    NS 400  Directed Readings
    NS 644     Community Nutrition Research Seminar
    NS 660     Special Topics in Nutrition - Research Methodologies and Conceptualizations of Community Nutrition






    Related Websites

    Family and Community Decision-Making Program

    http://familyfood.human.cornell.edu/



    Publications

    Gillespie A, Smith L.  Food Decision-making Framework:  Connecting Food Systems to Health and Well-being.  Jounral of Hunger and Environmmental Nutrition.  Forthcoming Spring 2008.

    Gillespie A, Gillespie G.  'Family Food Decision Making: An Ecological Systems Framework.  Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences 99/2:22-28, 2007

    Gillespie A. Generating grounded theory with community partners. Journal of Community Nutrition, 81:16, 2006.

    Family and Community Food Decision-making website http://www.cce.cornell.edu/programs/foodsystems/

    Gillespie AH. The Evolution of Community Nutrition in the U.S. Journal of Community Nutrition 2003;5:195-208.

    Gillespie AH and Gillespie GW. Surveying Families Within Their Community Context: Integrating Research, Education, and Action Through Community Engagement. Abstracts: Community Development Society, July 19-23, 2003.

    Gillespie A, Gantner L, Gillespie G, and Howard H. Enhancing Community as Place through Food System Partnerships. Abstracts, Community Development Society, July 19-23, 2003

    Gillespie AH, et al. Productive Partnerships for Food: Principles and Strategies. Journal of Extension 41/2, www.joe.org, 2003

    Gillespie AH. Developing a university-community partnership model: Integrating research and intervention to improve food decisions in families and communities. Korean Journal of Community Nutrition 1998;31(1).

    Leadership in community nutrition. Journal of Nutrition Education. 1997;29:111.

    Leadership through diversity: Gateway to change. Journal of Nutrition Education. 1996;28:247.

    Gillespie AH and Brun JK. Trends and challenges for nutrition education research. Journal of Nutrition Education 1992;24:222-226.