Maria S. Nnyepi, a 2001 MMEG grantee from Botswana, is a nutritionist, scholar, and investigator whose work has influenced food and nutrition policy and practice in Botswana. She has led multidisciplinary consultancy teams whose reports supported the development of the Food-Based Dietary Guidelines for Botswana and the formulation of the National Nutrition and Food Security Policy. She also led a team that completed the Child and Adolescent Overweight and Obesity Landscape Analysis for Botswana. Her research and consultancy works have strengthened national efforts to improve nutrition outcomes across the population.
Maria has served in several academic leadership roles, including Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor (Teaching and Learning), Dean, and Deputy Dean, contributing to strategic leadership, academic development, and capacity building across disciplines at the University of Botswana. Maria has published in accredited journals, supervised and examined a number of graduate students across Africa. She has also participated in national and regional nutrition and public health policy discussions. Her work reflects a longstanding commitment to academic development and to improving community wellbeing through nutrition research, training, and service.
Maria holds a PhD and an MS in human nutrition from Michigan State University and a BS in dietetics from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
