Meet Our Team

Who We Are

Our team is made up of Registered Dietitians, lactation specialists, community health educators, and often students and dietetic interns that we mentor to help advance the field of public health and nutrition.

Ashley Denton, RDN, LD, CLS
Nutrition Services Administrator

Ashley is the current Administrator of the Nutrition Services Program. She is a licensed, Registered Dietitian and Certified Lactation Specialist with over 15 years of experience in the field of dietetics. Ashley loves food and believes that mealtimes should be bright spots in everyone’s day. When she works with clients, she aims to ensure they will find joy in their mealtimes as they pursue their healthy eating goals. She understands the barriers and complexities of healthy eating and how it fits into a much bigger wellness picture. In her work as a lactation specialist, she helps new parents navigate the world of feeding their new baby and feels truly honored to be a part of something so important. As the leader of the Nutrition Services program, she supports the team of nutrition professionals to provide meaningful nutrition programing, which will help improve the health and well-being of Marion County residents.

Jenna Ruppert
Community Nutrition Coordinator

Jenna is the Community Nutrition Coordinator for Nutrition Services at the Marion County Public Health Department. After graduating from the School of Public Health at Indiana University, Jenna joined our team as the Food Insecurity Project Manager working closely with older adults and families. Over the last 7 years, her experience at MCPHD has inspired her to become more involved in community engagement and be a leader in health behavior change. She has a passion for educating community members on healthy habits and understands the importance of developing strategies to address identified health needs in today’s youth. Empowering kids to make healthy choices now can help reduce the risk for chronic disease later in life, setting the foundation for lifelong wellbeing.

Pam Horton, RDN, LD, IBCLC
District Nutritionist Northwest District Health Office (Pecar)

Pam is a licensed, registered dietitian nutritionist and international board-certified lactation consultant. She has enjoyed working in the community to spread the word about the importance of feeding ourselves well for 31 years. She has a passion for and is well-versed with plant-based eating. In her role as a lactation consultant, she finds joy and satisfaction in helping new moms and babies find success in their breastfeeding journey. Pam feels lucky to wake up every day looking forward to continuing her meaningful work.

Sydnee Hake, CHES
Nutrition Services Health Educator

Sydnee joined the Marion County Public Health Department 9 years ago. After she graduated from Ball State University she entered Nutrition Services as their Health Educator. Sydnee now specializes in their Watch Me Grow program which narrows in on kindergarten to fourth grade and emphasizes the importance of fruits and vegetables. She is motivated by the necessity of Watch Me Grow and how nutrition education can make a lasting impact at early ages. Sydnee is passionate about shaping young minds and placing an emphasis on healthful choices they can make.

Courtney Earley, MS, RDN, LD, CHES, CLS
District Nutritionist Northeast District Health Office

Courtney started her career in public health as a certified health education specialist (CHES), which catalyzed her interest in nutrition and disease prevention, and led her to become a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) and Certified Lactation Specialist (CLS). For the past five years, she has worked at the Marion County Public Health Department in various roles — from being a community liaison for a violence prevention grant, to providing nutrition counseling to Marion County residents, Courtney has a passion for promoting wellness and longevity in all sectors of public health. One of Courtney’s greatest joys is knowing that through her work, she’s helping facilitate positive, individual health changes that promote better wellbeing for the people in her community.

Sherika Wegner RDN, MPH, CLS
District Nutritionist South District Health Office 

Sherika, a licensed and registered dietitian, is also a certified lactation specialist. With 15 years of experience in the field of nutrition, she has had the privilege of learning and connecting with community members of all ages. Her mission is to promote self-efficacy and address disparities in health. She graduated in 2021 with a master’s degree in public health (MPH) from the University of Indianapolis. Her studies focused on epidemiology, social and behavioral health, and health administration. In the near future, she aspires to pursue a PhD in nutrition with a minor in health communication. As a lifelong learner, she is dedicated to educating and empowering individuals to adopt a healthy lifestyle, prioritizing eating for life rather than living for food.

Prezlee Goins MS, RDN, LD
Commodity Foods Program Nutritionist

Prezlee is the Commodity Foods Program Nutritionist at the Marion County Public Health Department. She is a licensed, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist who graduated from Purdue University with her Master's of Science in Dietetics. Her passion for food started when she was young as she always helped her parents in the kitchen: what she considered to be the 'heart of the home.' Prezlee has always felt strongly that people can be helped through food and has a deep understanding of the impact food can have in underserved communities. With a background in providing nutrition education for public-facing programs and experience with food-insecure populations, she aims to provide more accessible nutrition-related resources for participants of the CSFP and TEFAP program across the state of Indiana. She hopes that her love for food and cooking will be infectious, as well as persuade others that food can be good for you and your tastebuds.

Thanzeem Razak
Nutrition Media Educator

Thanzeem joined the Marion County Public Health Department in 2026 as the Nutrition Media Educator after earning his Master's degree from Indiana University. He supports statewide nutrition education efforts through filming, editing, and producing videos, social media content, digital resources, and educational materials that help make health and nutrition topics engaging and accessible. Thanzeem enjoys finding new and creative ways to showcase the programs, services, and initiatives of the Nutrition Services team.