Amy Hollar, M.S., RDN, starts with UNH Extension on June 1, 2020. She brings with her a wealth of experience and skills that she will employ while leading an Area of Expertise for healthy living, which includes Nutrition Connections—a program that focuses on significant public health outcomes in New Hampshire related to healthy eating and active living.
Youth and Family Team Leader Michael Young said, “We are really lucky to have Amy coming on board. The search was nationwide, and the interview process involved partners and staff from across Extension, the university and the state. She brings a really great mix of veteran experience and fresh ideas.”
Hollar earned her MS in biology from the University of Cincinnati and worked in medical research for patients with GI disorders before going back to school to become a registered dietitian at the University of Maryland, College Park. She completed her dietetic internship through Virginia Tech in the Washington D.C. area where she was able to focus on public policy and community nutrition.
Hollar has worked as a Youth EFNEP (Expanded Federal Nutrition Education Program) educator and SNAP-Ed (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education) special projects coordinator for the University of Maryland Extension and, most recently, as an EFNEP program specialist for Ohio State University Extension.
Hollar grew up in Vermont and New Hampshire and says that she “is thrilled to be returning to the community as part of the UNH Extension Healthy Living team.” She loves working for Extension because she is “able to use her knowledge and training to address real community issues and improve the lives of her neighbors and friends.
Hollar is looking forward to working with the Nutrition Connections team, UNH faculty and community partners to “catalyze policies, systems and environmental changes that encourage all New Hampshire residents to live vibrant and healthy lives.”
Hollar will work closely with the UNH College of Life Sciences and Agriculture’s department of Agriculture, Nutrition and Food Systems whose chair, David Mortensen, Ph.D., is “delighted to see Amy will be joining us.” She will be based out of our Merrimack County office, but during this time of social distancing, she will begin her career with UNH Extension working from her temporary summer "office" on Highland Lake in Stoddard, NH.
In her free time, Hollar likes to cook, bake, read, garden, snowboard, hike, kayak and pet her cat.
