Before coming to Bryn Athyn College, Dr. Nelson was the director of sports performance nutrition in the athletic department at The University of California, Berkeley where she counseled individual athletes and teams on nutrition for performance and served as a sports nutrition resource for coaches, physicians and athletic trainers in sports medicine. She also served as an advisor to the student athlete advisory committee regarding health-related issues.

Dr. Nelson provided nutrition consultation to the San Francisco Giants and was the team nutritionist for the San Francisco 49ers. She served as director of sports nutrition for the department of intercollegiate athletics at the University of Washington, and as an adjunct instructor of nutrition in the department of epidemiology. She was chair of the graduate nutrition education department at Immaculata College, and clinical director of the weight and eating disorders center at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, where she completed a fellowship in adolescent medicine. Additional professional experience includes director of the outpatient nutrition clinic at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and director of clinical trials at New England Deaconess Hospital in Boston. Dr. Nelson was also a consulting nutritionist to USA Wrestling and a member of the nutrition advisory committee for USA Swimming.

Throughout her career, Dr. Nelson has worked in higher education and with a variety of athletic teams and elite athletes. She has been a consultant to major companies and her research has been published in peer-reviewed journals. She is the author/editor of several books, Ultimate Sports Nutrition, Nutrition for Sport and Exercise, Nutrition for Young Athletes, and Play Hard Eat Right: A Parents’ Guide to Sports Nutrition for Children.

Suzanne earned her bachelor of science in psychology at Ursinus College, her master of science in clinical nutrition at Drexel University, and her doctorate in nutritional science at Boston University. She is a registered dietitian of the American Dietetic Association.

Education

• ScD, Boston University
• MS, Drexel University
• BS, Ursinus College
• AA, Bryn Athyn College