Faculty Profile for Hannah Elizabeth Boeker Thornton

profile photo for Hannah Elizabeth Boeker Thornton
Hannah Elizabeth Boeker Thornton
Lecturer — School of Family & Consumer Sciences
FCS 100
phone: (512) 245-2155

Biography Section

Biography and Education

Hannah Thornton, MS, RD, LD is a Clinical Assistant Professor and Dietetic Internship Director in the Nutrition and Foods Program at Texas State University. She completed a BA in Biology at Smith College in Northampton, MA, an MS in Biology at Florida International University in Miami, FL, and the MS/DI at Texas State University in San Marcos, TX. She currently co-directs the Food Security LEADers Learning Community, a USDA-funded initiative to increase diversity within the community nutrition workforce through near-peer mentorship and experiential learning. Her research focuses on college student food security and diversity, equity, and inclusion in dietetics education. In addition to her work at Texas State, she serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Diversify Dietetics, a nonprofit focused on increasing the racial and ethnic diversity in the field of nutrition by empowering nutrition leaders of color. Hannah teaches undergraduate courses like Nutrition Assessment, Biochemical Nutrition, and Nutrition and Genetics, and internship-focused graduate courses. She takes a multicultural approach in each of her courses, incorporating culturally sustaining pedagogy and addressing social determinants of health as a function of health equity. In 2020, Hannah was named an Outstanding Dietetics Educator by the Nutrition & Dietetics Educators and Preceptors Group. She has received Presidential Distinction awards for Excellence in Teaching and Service from Texas State and has completed the ESCALA Certificate in College Teaching and Learning in Hispanic Serving Institutions, the Multicultural Curriculum Teaching and Research Institute, and the Bobcat Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (JEDI) Program. Hannah has published scholarly works in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, and the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

Teaching Interests

Active learning, project-based learning, cultural humility

Research Interests

Diversity, equity, and inclusion; food insecurity; dietetics education

Selected Scholarly/Creative Work

  • Manboard, M., & Biediger-Friedman, L. M. (2021). [Review of The HOME Study: understanding how college students at a Hispanic Serving Institution coped with food insecurity in a pandemic, by C. M. Johnson & H. Thornton]. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(21), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182111087
  • Thornton, H. E., Melton, T., Johnson, C. M., & Belleny. (2021). Evolving Beyond the World Foods Course: Creating racially and ethnically inclusive educational spaces for dietetics students. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Available online 6 August 2021. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2021.06.302
  • Thornton, H. E. B., & Biediger-Friedman, L. M. (2018). Dietetic Internship as Learning Community: A Project-Based Approach to Community Nutrition Education in Dietetics. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 50(7, Supplement), S56. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2018.04.084
  • Thornton, H. E. B. (2017). Teaching Multiculturalism in an Undergraduate Dietetics Course. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 117(9, Supplement), A14. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2017.06.330
  • Thornton, H. E. B., Crixell, S. H., Reat, A. M., & Von Bank, J. A. (2014). Differences in Energy and Micronutrient Intakes Among Central Texas WIC Infants and Toddlers After the Package Change. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 46(3 Suppl), 79-86.

Selected Awards

  • Award / Honor Recipient: Outstanding Dietetics Educator, Nutrition and Dietetics Educators and Preceptors Dietetics Practice Group. March 19, 2020
  • Award / Honor Recipient: College Acievement Award for Excellence in Service, College of Applied Arts. August 20, 2019
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Presidential Distinction Award for Excellence in Service, College of Applied Arts. August 24, 2018
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Texas State University Quarterly Team Award, Academic Affairs. August 10, 2018
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Presidential Distinction Award for Excellence in Teaching, Texas State University, College of Applied Arts. August 2016

Selected Grants

  • Thornton, Hannah (Co-Principal), Biediger-Friedman, Lesli (Co-Principal). Learning Communities Grant, College of Applied Arts, Texas State University, $6000.00. (Funded: August 31, 2018 - June 1, 2019). Grant.
  • Johnson, Olivia Denise, Perez-Brena, Norma Judith, Hustvedt, Gwendolyn, Gray, Christine Robison, Thornton, Hannah Elizabeth Boeker. School of FCS Graduate Recruitment Committee, Texas State University, $5000. (Submitted: April 21, 2018, Funded: August 1, 2018 - December 31, 2018). Grant.
  • Thornton, Hannah (Co-Principal), Biediger-Friedman, Lesli M (Co-Principal). Learning Communities Grant, College of Applied Arts, Texas State University, $6000. (Funded: September 1, 2020 - August 31, 2021). Grant.
  • Biediger-Friedman, Lesli M (Principal), Thornton, Hannah (Principal). Adaptations to Bobcat Bounty during COVID-19, United Way, Private / Foundation / Corporate, $10000. (Submitted: April 2020, Funded: June 2020 - September 2020). Grant.
  • Thornton, Hannah (Co-Principal), Crixell, Sylvia L (Co-Principal). TEACHING AND LEARNING TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION GRANT: ADVANCING VIDEOGRAPHY INSTRUCTION IN NUTRITION, Technology Innovation Office, Texas State University, $3600. (Submitted: April 1, 2019, Funded: September 1, 2019 - Present). Grant.

Selected Service Activities

Secretary
Texas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation Board
May 1, 2020-Present
Secretary
Diversify Dietetics Board of Directors
August 1, 2019-Present
Member
Graduate Recruitment Committee
August 2018-Present
Co-Director
Bobcat Bounty - Texas State Student Food Pantry
August 2017-Present
Chair
Child Development Center Advisory Committee, School of FCS
2014-2019