Gals We Admire: Carla D’Andreamatteo

Carla D’Andreamatteo has work days that are anything but typical. The registered dietician runs her own nutrition consulting business in Manitoba, and embraces the fact that her chosen field of profession is one that is forever advancing giving her infinite opportunities to learn and thrive.

Name: Carla D’Andreamatteo, RD

Profession: Registered Dietitian

Website: thefoodlady.ca

Describe your typical work day, from start to finish

Typical does not happen for me! I do a huge variety of work and it includes work within the city I live in and other areas of the province. I may be taking a car to work or a plane. It just depends where I am going that day. Today is a good example of a hectic, full range schedule: I started the day doing a corporate nutrition presentation, then went to the other side of the city to do clinical consulting work for a personal care home I have been working with for years, I finished the day off with early evening work marking papers for a university course that I teach.

When you were a kid, what did you want to grow up to be?

I lived in a remote northern city in Canada. I knew that I wanted to leave there to "see the world" and I thought that perhaps I may want to become a lawyer… I was a bit off on that early, misguided dream!

What do you enjoy most about your job?

I love the variety of work that I am able to do. I love that I am able to be as creative as I like and pursue the areas nutrition that I prefer to work in. I thoroughly enjoy meeting people from so many diverse population groups in different locations throughout the province. Everyone I work with has something to teach me. I am grateful for the opportunities that are in front of me.

What do you find to be the biggest challenge in your profession?

I do not really think I deal with many challenges within my profession. The nutrition field is forever advancing as new information is learned. So, it is a major task to keep up with everything but I thrive with this type of challenge.

Do you believe you had a "calling" for your profession?

I think I had a calling to excel at whatever it was that I chose to do.

What are the three most important pieces of career advice you would give to other Canadian Career Gals?

Do what you love.

Love what you do.

Being a career woman can be very demanding, remember that you still need time for family and friends. That “break” from work can be the exact thing you need to regenerate yourself to be even better at what you do.