Stefanie Kaiser, MS, RD, LD
(they/she)
Stefanie spent the first half of their childhood in rural central Texas in a town so small that it only had a single traffic light. At age 14 their family moved to the next largest town, which felt like moving to New York City – this new town had an H-E-B AND a Wal-Mart! Stefanie’s family dynamics regarding food were very individualized, and family meals together were rare. As Stefanie grew up, they realized their life had no intersection between food and community, and they not only worked to change this, but came to understand through the course of their educational career just how critical this piece of the human experience was to connectedness and fulfillment.
Driven by interests in food insecurity, chronic disease prevention, and the social ecological model of nutrition behaviors, Stefanie graduated with a degree in Nutrition and Foods from Texas State University. This laid the groundwork for Stefanie to further focus on learning to support individuals through positive behavior change while also understanding how their physical, cultural, and racial environment impacts their ability to engage in said behavior change. During this time, they completed a Master’s degree in Human Nutrition from Texas State University. These experiences developed Stefanie into a practitioner that utilizes client-centered, food neutral, and evidenced-based approaches to assist clients in mobilizing their strength and resilience into sustainable lifestyle changes.
Community has been the throughline of both Stefanie’s personal and professional life, especially as a queer person who grew up in rural Texas. Stefanie knows that a community that does not accept someone in all of their spectacular individuality can enact lasting damage upon that person in their attempt to force assimilation. On the other hand, a community that practices radical acceptance can be the foundation for someone’s healing, sense of safety, and personal development. Stefanie understands that the space between these two scenarios is a spectrum of interpersonal relationships that most people move through daily, and it is their passion to help others navigate these relationships in the context of developing their own functional relationship with food.
In their free time, Stefanie enjoys spending time with their friends, playing with their two cats, riding their bike, painting, reading, or going out dancing.
Stefanie is a registered and licensed dietitian in the state of Texas and Florida. They are engaging in both in person sessions at our Central Austin and Dripping Springs offices as well as telehealth sessions.