Kristin Franco Kirkpatrick ’94

Kristin Franco Kirkpatrick ’94 is no stranger to fame. She has appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and “Larry King Live” and is a regular guest on “The Dr. Oz Show.”

 

Kirkpatrick is a dietician and wellness manager for the Cleveland Clinic’s Wellness Institute. The Gilmour alum is the nutrition expert on Dr. Michael Roizen’s and Dr. Mehmet Oz’s “you beauty” website and is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post blog, Doctoroz.com and the Cleveland Clinic’s wellness website. She has been quoted in Martha Stewart Living, Fitness, Self and Better Homes and Gardens.

 

“Gilmour provided me with the confidence to reach for the stars,” Kirkpatrick says. “The Academy molded me into a professional who can effectively communicate and work among diverse groups.”

 

After graduating from Gilmour, Kirkpatrick earned a bachelor’s degree in communication and political science from George Washington University and a Master of Science from American University. “The coolest job I ever had was that of a White House intern during the Clinton Administration,” Kirkpatrick says. The registered dietitian graduated from the University of Akron’s Dietetic Internship Coordinated Program.

 

Before her current position, Kirkpatrick managed large-scale initiatives and projects for Cleveland Clinic Employee Wellness. She has been a lobbyist for the American Dietetic Association’s Policy and Advocacy Group for medical nutrition therapy reform and was regional coordinator of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute’s Hearts N’ Parks program in Montgomery County, Md., designing, implementing and measuring health promotion programs in the Washington metro area.

 

She and her husband, Andy, an attorney, met in Washington when they were working as paralegals. The couple is in the process of adopting a baby from Bogota, Columbia. She visits Colorado for hiking, running and skiing, and enjoys taking care of “the Kirkpatrick farm” with its three dogs, two goats and pot-bellied pig.

 

Since recently joining Facebook, Kirkpatrick has connected with more than 20 Gilmour alumni and has kept in touch with others over the years.

 

“The secret to fulfillment in life,” she says, “is to do what you absolutely love for a career and surround yourself with people that help you grow and learn as a person.”