Kim Thomsen

Growing up as an Iowa farm girl, I have plenty experience with the front end of the food chain. Our farm had cows, chickens, pigs, corn, and soy beans. We had a huge garden, fruit trees, and berry bushes. After high school, I attended Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa for pre-med on an educational scholarship. One summer, I worked at the YMCA of the Rockies in Colorado. You guessed it, I stayed in the mountains and did not return to Iowa.

I decided the nutrition program at Colorado State University was a better fit for my interest in food and education. My best choice for a dietetic internship was the Army Program, so I headed to the Army basic training in San Antonio, Texas after graduation.

As a Registered Dietitian, I spent my first few years in the Army working with oncology and cardiac inpatients and teaching nutrition classes to military families. Later, after I completed the Baylor Program as a Health Administrator, I saw the other side of patient care by learning about policies, regulations, financial, and business practices. I spent several years managing nutrition clinics, foodservice operations, and ultimately, setting up two new dining facitlities in the military's largest hospital, Brooke Army Medical Center.

I recently retired from the U.S. Army and have traveled all over the United States. My husband and I are so glad to be back home in Colorado after 20 years of moving. Seeing the mountains every day makes me very happy. I love to take a walk every morning with my two greyhounds and treasure every moment I have with them.