<<Disclaimer:  Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
 
                            TCCSSG Profile
                            --------------
                      Dorothy Vaughan, M.A., R.D.
                         Our Dietitian Advisor
                           by Martha A. Kent
 
"My most exciting assignment..."  Her smile widened, her eyes
sparkled, and she leaned forward.  "Oh, when we brought the babies
back from Korea!  Each mother had sent a special blanket, and all eyes
were on those blankets as we came into the airport terminal--each
mother centered on HER baby's blanket!  And the balloons, and the
excited gasps of the new parents, the siblings and grandparents, and
aunts and uncles!  What a moment!"
 
She then went on to tell me about the trip.  Dorothy and another
social worker had gone to Korea to collect seven newly-adopted Korean
children for American parents--two children ages five and seven, and
five infants.  What a wonderful time to remember!
 
This is a side of Dorothy that many members of TCCSSG do not normally
see, since we are usually concerned with her professional interests,
in reference to our own health and diet concerns.
 
Born in Chicago, Dorothy moved with her family to the Detroit area
when she was young.  A 1960 Bachelor of Science graduate of Nazareth
College, she later undertook her Master's Degree at Wayne State, with
a major in Medical Anthropology.  Her work in nutrition has been in a
variety of settings from hospitals to colleges, and a number of
capacities.  She has worked as a public health consultant, a college
instructor, and as an active nutritionist.
 
Dorothy Vaughan's primary concern has been the nutrition of children
and the underprivileged.  She enjoys the diversity of public health
work, the meetings and interactions with schools, manufacturing
plants, community groups, Head Start, and senior citizens at state and
county levels.  Other areas of interest are normal and special diets,
emergency food programs, and instructions in breast feeding,
invaluable in working with CD infants.
 
As she works, she watches carefully for what she calls the "light
bulb" of understanding in her listeners, and is quick to center on
that in her presentations.  In so doing, she is often able to answer
questions from her participants before they even ask them!  Frequently
she finds that she, too, has learned something from her patients and
participants.
 
In 1990, Dorothy Vaughan was diagnosed with CD, and soon found that
there was little diet information on this disease.  To that end, she
began to concentrate on gathering a body of information on the diet.
 
It was not long before she put her special talents to work for us in
TCCSSG.  In working with celiacs, Dorothy has found that almost
everyone has one "hang-up" with the gluten-free diet.  With some, it
is with the breads; in professional people, it is in their necessity
to carry on business at lunch or dinner; and in parents of celiac
children it is in the need to oversee their out-of-the-home contacts
with food (at school or on the playground with other children).  In
everything she does, Dorothy Vaughan's philosophy is "If people know
better, they'll do better."  Her goal is to help all of us to know
better, so that we'll DO better and stay healthier.
 
Besides her memorable Korean trip, Dorothy and her family have
traveled widely.  During her "years at home," which she dearly loved,
she, her husband, and their four boys took many trips across the
United States.  She and her husband have also traveled to England and
Ireland, and they look forward to many other trips now that their
children are grown.  She considers this a "nice time of life," and
spends her free time (free time?)  with pottery, quilting, other
needlework,--and line- and tap-dancing!
 
We in TCCSSG are grateful that Dorothy's volunteer work includes the
valuable time she spends with us!  Thank you, Dorothy!