Your Concept Associates Team
Nancy Caldarola, PhD, RD
Dr. Caldarola is a registered management dietitian, with more than 45 years experience in hospitality and healthcare foodservice operations. She started her career in the Research & Standards kitchens of ARAMark, and has held senior positions with Fortune 500 chains and contract companies in restaurant operations, training, and marketing. Nancy represents the industry on the State of GA Food Safety work group, the SaniPro Food Safety Advisory Board, the FDA Retail Food Store Partnership, serves on the Culinary Program Advisory Committee for the Art Institutes and Le Cordon Bleu, is a long term member of the NRA ServSafe® Food Safety committees, is active with the GA Restaurant Association, the Food Service Management Educators Council, and the Women’s Foodservice Forum. She is a frequent speaker and presenter for franchise meetings and industry gatherings, including the NRA and NACS Shows. Nancy is the past Education Director for NACS' Center for Achieving Foodservice Excellence, an educational initiative of the association based at GA State University in Atlanta. She currently teaches Hospitality, Restaurant, and Tourism classes at Gwinnett Technical College. Nancy holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration, has an MA in Human Resources Development and an MBA.
Cristina Caro, MBA, RD, LD
Cristina works directly with our clients providing food safety audits and education, menu evaluation and modification for nutrition standards compliance, and operational improvements to enhance profitability. Cristina has specialized training in clinical nutrition, food safety, and health education, and routinely collaborates on projects with community agencies, foodservice organizations, and healthcare providers. Cristina is past President of the Georgia Dietetic Association and the Greater Atlanta Dietetic Association. She was named Georgia’s 2007 Outstanding Dietitian of the Year and was the 2003 Emerging Leader in Dietetics selected by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Cristina has been featured on numerous national TV stations and quoted in print releases. Cristina has been associated with Emory University as a Nutritionist and as a faculty member for the NACS Center for Achieving Foodservice Excellence at GSU. She is a featured presenter for the Atlanta Foodservice Expo and NACS Webinar series. Cristina is fluent in Spanish and has logged time as a Peace Corp volunteer in Central America.
Ana Raquel Morales Ruiz Droz, BS, LD
Ana Raquel is a Georgia Licensed Dietitian with over 30 years of experience in the culinary field. She worked as a clinical dietitian for several years, but her love for the art of cooking made it easy for her to go into the culinary field. Blending her Puerto Rican heritage with her American life for over 25 years in Georgia, has enriched her passion for blending gastronomic cuisines. Her Culinary Library with over 6,000 cookbooks, is a reflection of her dedication for this field. CNN Español has had her as a guest in several cooking segments, as well as Atlanta Fox 5 and 11 Alive. For several years she was the bilingual dietitian for Diabetes Expo in Atlanta, presenting their cooking demos for diabetic patients in Spanish and English. Ana Raquel is a Cum Laude Graduate from the University of Puerto Rico with a degree in Food Science and Nutrition, and completed her Dietetic Internship at the prestigious Veterans Administration Hospital in Puerto Rico.
Michael Squibb, BS, RES
Michael holds an Environmental Health degree from East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN, and is a Registered Environmentalist (State of Tennessee #500). His early career experiences started with the Blount/Knox County Health Department in Engineering and Land Development, later transferring to the Foodservice Operations Inspection program where Michael found his niche. In the late 1970s he accepted a position in GA with the Fulton County Health Department Food Service Division, inspecting restaurants and public swimming pools as an Environmental Specialist. As he rose to the role of Senior Environmentalist he was responsible for the review of new and renovated restaurant facility plans, public swimming pool plans and subdivision and land development design. During his years with Fulton County he also was assigned the role of Special Events Coordinator, working with the major and group events in the City of Atlanta. More recently he moved to a new role as Health Educator, where he taught ServSafe® classes, sessions about the State of Georgia Food Code, and Environmental Health Programs at city and county Health Fairs. Most recently, Michael has been working with clients to take new products to market as well as teach ServSafe classes. Michael retired after 26 years with the Fulton County Health Department. He is an avid bicyclist and sportsman, and never met a hobby he has not enjoyed.
Steve Durdin, Administrator
Steve serves as Program Administrator, class scheduler, trouble shooter, IT Guru, and FAQ guy for the Food Training Group and Concept Associates Inc. He is a former Software Development engineer with more than 45 years of government and corporate IT experience. He continues to help people with software engineering projects, electronic device prototypes, and RFID, wireless, and robotic design concepts through his company tkWiz.com. If you have a question about our classes, our services, or IT related areas, Steve probably has the answer.