Susan (Susie) Kundrat, a registered dietitian nutritionist and wellness expert, the author of Eat Move Groove: Unlock the Simple Steps to Lifelong Nutrition, Fitness & Wellness, and the founder of the lifestyle program EAT MOVE GROOVE will be presented the Bell Tower of Fame Award at opening ceremonies of the Bell Tower Festival, Friday, June 7, at 6:30 pm at the Tower Plaza in downtown Jefferson.
The award was created more than 40 years ago at the Bell Tower Festival to honor a person who has lived in Greene County, Iowa, at some point in their lives, and whose personal or professional accomplishments internationally, nationally or statewide, bring great pride to Greene County. Kundrat joins past honorees in industries such as aerospace, journalism, economic development, medicine, non-profit health, federal government defense, higher education, agriculture, and more.
Kundrat is the author of 101 Sports Nutrition Tips and edited The Sports Nutrition Edge.
An award-winning instructor, Kundrat is a clinical professor emeritus in the Joseph J. Zilber College of Public Health at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and an adjunct lecturer with the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign Food Science and Human Nutrition Department and Walla Walla Community College.
She was the consultant sports dietitian with the Milwaukee Bucks and US Speedskating. She also worked in many roles at the University of Illinois Urbana– Champaign. She was the sports dietitian for the Fighting Illini athletic teams, manager of the SportWell Center, and outreach dietitian with the Functional Foods for Health program. She served as consultant sports dietitian with Northwestern University, Bradley University, and the University of Evansville athletic programs. She and Michelle Rockwell, PhD, RD, developed RK Team Nutrition to train nutrition experts around the country on optimal sports nutrition education programming for athletes of all ages.
For 10 years, Kundrat operated Nutrition on the Move, Inc., a nutrition and wellness consulting business located in Strawberry Fields Natural Food Store in Urbana, IL. She served as media dietitian, was the nutrition expert on the WILL 580-AM monthly call-in show, and collaborated with clients, organizations, and groups to boost wellness with current science-based nutrition and health recommendations.
Kundrat earned an associate degree from Waldorf University, where she was a three- sport first-team all-region athlete in basketball, softball, and volleyball and was inducted into the Waldorf University Athletic Hall of Fame. She earned her bachelor’s degree in dietetics from Minnesota State University–Mankato, where she was named Honor Athlete. She completed a dietetic internship at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and a master’s degree in human nutrition from Iowa State University.
She grew up in Jefferson and is the daughter of the late Mary and George Kundrat, both teachers in Jefferson. The youngest of six, her siblings Jeff, Mary Ann, Patty, Mike, and Janet paved the way for her. She graduated in 1984 and was named Jeffette of the Year.
Kundrat is the recipient of the Sports, Cardiovascular, and Wellness Nutrition (SCAN) Award for Excellence, the Collegiate and Professional Sports Dietitians (CPSDA) Service Award, and the UW-Milwaukee College of Health Sciences CARES Award, UW-Milwaukee College of Health Sciences Leadership Award, and the UW-Milwaukee College of Health Sciences Byoung Kim Teaching Excellence Award. She was honored with the Illinois Young Dietitian of the Year Award through the Illinois Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and was co-recipient of the Beth Israel Dietetic Intern of the Year Award.
Kundrat and her wife Audrey are the parents of Lindsay (27), Georgia (22), and Isa (18).
A public reception for Susie will be held in the Greene County courthouse rotunda immediately following the Bell Tower Festival Opening Ceremonies until 8:15 pm.
