2009 Nutritionist Development Award Winner - Jennifer Bowden
The New Zealand Nutrition Foundation and Kellogg New Zealand announced that nutritionist Jennifer Bowden had won the 2009 Nutritionist Development Award on October 1, 2009.
“Jenny is an asset to health in New Zealand, and we are sure this award is a stepping stone towards an even brighter future within the New Zealand nutrition community. Her desire to use her nutrition knowledge more effectively is what really stood out to the panel of judges,” said Sue Pollard, CEO of the New Zealand Nutrition Foundation.
Nutritionist Jenny Bowden won the award for her passion and commitment to improving the health of New Zealanders through nutrition. She has been awarded funding to attend an overseas conference in 2010 to further develop her career.
Photograph (from left): Rebecca Chapman, Marketing & Innovation Manager, Kellogg New Zealand, Jennifer Bowden, Thinking Nutrition Ltd, Sue Pollard, CEO New Zealand Nutrition Foundation.
Background and Professional Memberships of Jennifer Bowden, Auckland Nutritionist
Jennifer graduated from Massey University with a Bachelor of Science (First Class Honours) majoring in Human Nutrition, before being awarded the prestigious William Georgetti Scholarship to undertake a Masters degree majoring in Human Nutrition. Jennifer was awarded a Master of Science degree with Distinction in April 2008.
Jennifer has had a weekly nutrition column in the NZ Listener magazine since 2007 and through her own nutrition consulting business, Thinking Nutrition, provides nutrition advice to both the general public and corporate clients.
Jennifer Bowden is a Member of the NZ Nutrition Society, NZ Nutrition Foundation, NZ Guild of Food Writers and an Associate Member of the NZ Dietetic Association. These professional memberships give Jennifer access to the latest information about nutritional science.
A New Beginning - Retraining As A Nutritionist
"Helping people to live a healthy, successful, and fulfilling life, that's my goal", says Jennifer Bowden, Nutritionist Auckland. Jennifer felt so passionately about helping people to achieve a healthy lifestyle through healthy eating, that she gave up a successful career as a project manager in the software development industry to return to university and retrain as a nutritionist.
For Jennifer returning to university to retrain as a nutritionist meant a complete lifestyle change. "I had to sell my home, my car, and most other things that weren't nailed to the floor. But, it was completely worth it. That first year at Massey University I knew I'd made the right decision; spending day after day learning all about nutrition was a dream come true for me", says Jennifer.
Five years later Jennifer Bowden graduated from Massey University's North Shore City campus as a nutritionist with both a Bachelor of Science with First Class Honours, majoring in Human Nutrition and a Master of Science with Distinction, majoring in Human Nutrition. The recipient of multiple scholarships, including the prestigious William Georgetti Scholarship awarded by the Governor General of New Zealand for post-graduate study, Jennifer consistently performed at the highest level, achieving ‘merit’ or ‘first class’ passes throughout her under-graduate and post-graduate research studies.
A Dream To Help People Through Honest Healthy Eating Advice
"I became a nutritionist because I wanted to make a difference to people's health and their life," says Jennifer, "so it was a natural progression to start my own nutrition consulting business, Thinking Nutrition, and to build that business on a foundation of honesty. Every bit of nutrition advice I give, every product I recommend, every article I write, is aimed at helping my clients to live a healthier life. It's not about making a quick dollar out of them."
"My business mentor said that every business should have an underlying set of morals or ethics that it works to, even at the expense of the business losing money", says Jennifer, "for me deciding my code of ethics was easy, as a Christian I've made a commitment to live and work by Christian values. I will only represent products and services I truly believe in, and if that means my business makes no money then that's fine. The number one goal of this company is to help people be healthy and live successful lives. Everyone will have their own definition of 'successful', but I'm sure one thing we all have in common is a desire to be healthy and live life to the fullest".
Juggling Life and a Career as a Nutritionist
Jennifer Bowden has travelled extensively with her husband Billy Bowden, a renowned international cricket umpire and sporting personality, for his overseas cricket appointments and provides her husband with continuing nutritional advice to meet the demands of his multi-continent career. These experiences have provided Jennifer with an intimate insight into the stress and demands of the international sporting arena. They've also provided a challenge for Jennifer in managing her own life and career.
"I think my experiences as a project manager have really helped me out when it comes to our lifestyle. I really need to work wisely and organise my time efficiently to ensure I balance my career with spending quality time with family and friends, and getting regular exercise to unwind and keep fit. One thing I know for sure, if I get busy and start taking short-cuts with my healthy eating and exercise, my health starts to spiral downwards and I end up worse off. So I always prioritise eating healthily and exercising regularly no matter where I am in the world or what is happening in our life. And I take the same approach to my advice for clients, healthy living is something we need to make a priority".
