January 2025 Issue
Get to Know … Angie Tagtow
By Elizabeth S. Goar
Today’s Dietitian
Vol. 27 No. 1 P. 42
A Systems-Based Approach to Nutrition Policy
A mix of serendipity, naiveté, and curiosity led Angie Tagtow, DrPH, MS, RD, LD, down a career path dominated by work in the public sector. As a nutrition consultant with the then-named Iowa Department of Public Health’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)—her first job as a newly minted RD—she had the opportunity to travel and work with numerous public health agencies across the state. It revealed disconnects between USDA nutrition programs and agricultural supports.
“The core tenants of WIC were not really matching with what I was seeing on the landscape in Iowa; specifically, the production of commodity crops and the commercialization of livestock,” Tagtow says. “Why are we promoting a food and nutrition assistance program that’s aimed at supporting the optimal health of women, infants, and children, yet what we’re growing doesn’t necessarily match what we know to be part of dietary guidelines?”
Tagtow achieved some clarity by reading “Dietary Guidelines for Sustainability” in the Journal of Nutrition Education.1 It helped “connect the dots between the health of our ecosystems, landscapes, and agriculture; the healthfulness and accessibility of the food supply; and how that translates to individual and population health,” Tagtow explains.
At the time, dietitians weren’t talking about agriculture, soil erosion, water and air quality, or how different types of food production impacted individual and population health. So, she began networking with professionals in those areas, which led to the Food & Society Policy Fellowship at the Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy.
It was the start of a career trajectory that included senior fellow and endowed chair of the University of Minnesota’s Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture and food system consultant with the Iowa Department of Public Health. She founded her first consultancy, Environmental Nutrition Solutions, and the Iowa Food Systems Council and cofounded the Food Access & Health Work Group (FAHWG), focused on cultivating a just and diverse food system. She was also project director of Cultivate Iowa, a FAHWG initiative to cultivate food security and improve health by increasing produce access.
Tagtow then went national, founding the Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition before being appointed executive director of the USDA’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP). There, she developed and promoted dietary guidance linking scientific research to consumer nutrition needs before moving on to the National Leadership Academy for the Public’s Health and, ultimately, Äkta Strategies.
Tagtow also co-led the committee tasked with creating the first Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) standard of professional practice in sustainable, resilient, healthy food, and water systems,2 marking the first time they were part of dietetics’ practice portfolio.
Serendipity came in when Tagtow joined the USDA. Its Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee was conducting the first-ever systematic review of sustainability and national dietary patterns. While she was disappointed sustainability didn’t appear in the 2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, “to be part of that era in which the dietary guidelines for Americans were considering integrating sustainability into the nation’s food-based dietary guidance system was exciting.”
Today’s Dietitian (TD): What drew you to the field of nutrition?
Tagtow: I started out premed, which was probably the influence of my dad, who was the chief of ambulatory care for a VA medical center. But exposure to preventive health made me think a little differently about medicine, and when I had the opportunity to take a couple of nutrition classes, I realized this was something I was very interested in, so I transferred to dietetics.
TD: Looking back, what roles do you feel were most impactful?
Tagtow: That’s somewhat of a loaded question! In retrospect, dietitians are classically trained in the clinical setting and individual behavior change interventions, which offers opportunities to impact policies, systems, and environments that preserve, promote, and protect health. At the time it wasn’t evident, but in retrospect, I can see how all the things I did while working in government agencies linked to improving the health of not just individuals and communities but of populations and even a global health perspective. That’s profound, but it’s taken me 35 years to realize how all those things connected to a much broader picture.
TD: What do you consider to be the greatest food and nutrition or public health challenge today?
Tagtow: The lack of resources for public health and food and nutrition assistance initiatives. There’s also a lack of awareness of how dietitians can best be utilized in the public health workforce; there are real opportunities for dietitians to work more in leadership positions. A third is the politicization of public health, nutrition policies, and dietary guidelines, which I consider the cornerstone of nutrition and dietetic practice. This is also an opportunity—and urgency—for dietitians to be well-versed and engaged in public policy and how it impacts our work.
TD: What inspired the launch of the Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition?
Tagtow: This is a great example of serendipity. I was working with WIC and managing the newsletter for AND’s Hunger and Environmental Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group when Haworth Press approached me about launching a journal around hunger and environmental nutrition. Our market analysis showed that current nutrition and dietetic peer-reviewed literature didn’t have much when it came to food insecurity and hunger from a domestic and global standpoint, and definitely not from a systems perspective. After two years of negotiation between Haworth and the AND, we ended up with a contract to support the journal’s launch. That contract is still in place following Haworth’s acquisition by Taylor and Francis.
TD: What was involved in your role as managing editor of the journal?
Tagtow: I helped with the market analysis, conceptualizing what the journal would be, recruiting the editorial team, soliciting manuscripts, and maintaining contracts. I did that for about 13 years and stepped down when I went to the USDA.
TD: Tell us about Äkta Strategies. What do you do and for whom?
Tagtow: Äkta Strategies is focused on policy, system, and environmental change drivers and building the capacity of individuals, teams, and organizations to apply these strategies to their work. My work is based on systems science, systems thinking, and building capacity for positive impact. Leadership development is also rolled in there. It’s at the nexus of nutrition and dietetics, food systems, and public health. I’m also engaged in executive leadership development and the ability to apply a public health, food systems, and nutrition lens to the work. I work mainly with government agencies, academia, nonprofits, and nongovernment organizations.
TD: What advice would you give an RD about working in the public sector?
Tagtow: Don’t just seek positions that are specifically dietitians or nutritionists. We’re more than qualified for other leadership positions within the public sector, so think big. Second, build your networks within nutrition and dietetics, but also across other complementary and ancillary fields. I couldn’t have done most of what I have without those networks. It’s critically important to engage, build, and leverage relationships to achieve your goals.
TD: What’s most rewarding about work in the public sector?
Tagtow: Hands down it’s the people. I’ve had the privilege of working with some amazing nutrition scientists, dietitians, and public health practitioners.
TD: What’s most challenging?
Tagtow: Also, the people. It goes with the territory. Politics is part of those environments. Looking back, a dietetic education that exposed me to more policy would’ve been helpful because the work you do in government agencies is really about implementing policy.
TD: What did it mean to win AND’s Dietetics Medallion Award?
Tagtow: It was humbling. When I saw the nomination packet, I was overwhelmed and humbled because of the number of people involved in putting it together. It was an amazing gift that affirmed the work I’ve done but also emphasized that a lot more work is needed.
TD: Why did you decide to pursue your doctorate?
Tagtow: After the USDA, I came back to Iowa and took a couple of months to feel out what I was going to do next. I reconnected with an executive coach I’d worked with previously to help me figure out how to move on from a position like executive director of CNPP. An outcome of our conversations and exercises was suggesting I go back to school—something I had no interest in at the time. I just couldn’t validate the investment at this stage of my career. Again, serendipity intervened, and I came across the Doctorate in Public Health and Leadership Program at the University of Illinois Chicago. It was the best decision I made.
TD: How has it impacted your career?
Tagtow: I completed my public health doctorate during a global pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic became a real-life case study. The reward was the pragmatism and practicality of being able to put this new knowledge directly to use in the work I was doing. As soon as I learned a new technique, a model of theory, or research piece, I tried to apply it to my consulting work. It also perpetuated further examination of my interest in systems, system-based practice, and power in the workplace, which resulted in a research study, the results of which were published earlier this year.3,4
TD: What does your typical workweek look like?
Tagtow: (Laughing) There is no typical work week!
TD: What do you do in your downtime?
Tagtow: I try to be outside. That’s therapy to me; being outside and working. I wouldn’t trade that for anything.
TD: What are some of your favorite meals or foods?
Tagtow: There’s just something about having a really good breakfast or meeting friends and family for brunch. I also occasionally host Friday Fika (a casual break with coffee or tea and baked goods) with colleagues. That’s my joy.
TD: What are your favorite hobbies?
Tagtow: I like to cook and bake. Also, because of school plus work and being a little more isolated over the past four to five years, I’ve been reconnecting with friends and colleagues. Hosting gatherings, bringing people to our home, is something I enjoy.
TD: If we peeked into your pantry or refrigerator, what would we find?
Tagtow: Living in a rural area, my pantry needs to be fully stocked. We always have whole grains, beans, lentils, peas, dried fruits and nuts. Our refrigerator right now is full of apples because we had our first frost, and we tried to get as many apples off our trees as we could.
— Elizabeth S. Goar is a freelance health care writer in Benton, Wisconsin.
References
1. Gussow JD, Clancy KL. Dietary guidelines for sustainability. J Nutr Educ. 1986;18(1):1-5.
2. Tagtow A, Robien K, Bergquist E, et al. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: standards of professional performance for registered dietitian nutritionists (competent, proficient, and expert) in sustainable, resilient, and healthy food and water systems. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2014;114(3):475-488.
3. Tagtow A, Welter C, Seweryn S, Spiker ML, Lange J, Asada Y. The intersection of systems thinking and structural empowerment in the work of public health dietitians. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2024;1-11.
4. Tagtow A, Welter C, Seweryn S, et al. Enhancing adaptability: exploring structural empowerment and systems thinking among state governmental public health nutritionists [published online August 7, 2024]. J Public Health Manag Pract. doi: 10.1097/PHH.0000000000002026.