Interested in a career as a dietitian since she was a young child, Antoinette “Toni” Watkins, MS, RDN, attended University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, where she received her B.S. degree, and Boston University, where she achieved her M.S. She is the 2021 IFMA Gold Plate Recipient. With a food service career spanning 30 years, she remains highly active in the field, having visited legislators on Capitol Hill as a member of the Food Management Practice Group. She has held several committee positions with the Association of Healthcare Food Service and was the 2020 Chairperson for the AHF Reward and Recognition Committee. She is a Diversity Committee Co-Chair for Riverside Health System, a Diversity Committee Member with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and holds Lean Six Sigma yellow and green belts. She also received an Advanced Diversity and Inclusion Certificate from Cornell University. Toni joined Riverside Health System in 2015, assuming control of multiple sites throughout eastern Virginia. She has saved the system over $1 million through benchmarking and productivity initiatives. In her current role as System Director of Food, Nutrition and Environmental Services, she continues to apply creative strategies, currently leveraging technology for more efficient menu management and pay systems. She previously resided in Texas, where she directed food and nutrition services within several healthcare systems.