Learn About Our Faculty
Dietetic Internship Director
Lindsey Menge, MS, RD, LD is the Dietetic Internship Director and an Assistant Professor of Instruction in the Nutrition and Foods Program of the School of Family and Consumer Sciences. She is also a registered dietitian and maintains a private practice specializing in oncology nutrition. She completed her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas at Austin, and her Masters of Science in Human Nutrition as well as her Dietetic Internship from Texas State University. During her master's program, she completed research with WellCats, Texas State's employee wellness program, investigating the food environment for employees at the university, with the goal of improving the healthfulness of worksite settings. She was awarded the Luxton Fellowship to continue this research. Presently, she continues this work, serving on the Leadership Team of WellCats (since 2019), where she oversees nutrition programming, program evaluation, and ongoing research efforts. She has co-authored a number of scientific articles and has presented research at national conferences.
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Graduate Program Coordinator for Future Students
Leia Downs, MS, RD, LD is an Assistant Professor of Instruction and Graduate Program Co-Coordinator in the Nutrition and Foods Program of the School of Family and Consumer Sciences. She is also a registered and licensed dietitian and serves the community of San Marcos as a Clinical Dietitian at Christus Santa Rosa hospital. She completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts, her Master of Science in Human Nutrition, and her Dietetic Internship at Texas State University. During her graduate program, she worked as a Graduate Instructional Assistant as well as assisting Dr. Sylvia Crixell in her research. Ms. Downs currently teaches Food Science, Nutrition Science, and Nutrition and Genetics, in addition to her work as the Graduate Program Co-Coordinator.
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Graduate Program Coordinator for Current Students
Cassandra M. Johnson, PhD, MSPH, serves as an Associate Professor in the Nutrition and Foods Program at Texas State University. She earned a Ph.D. in Nutrition from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health in 2017 and M.S.P.H. in social and behavioral health from the Texas A&M School of Rural Public Health in 2010. Dr. Johnson’s research interests center around policies, systems, and environmental changes for nutrition and health, with a focus on food (in)security intervention and measurement. Dr. Johnson has been recognized with awards or honors including the Presidential Award for Excellence in Scholarly/Creative Activities, Texas State University (2024) and being named to Delta Omega, the honorary society in public health (2010). To date, Dr. Johnson has published more than 45 peer-reviewed articles in journals and presented her research at many national and international conferences. She also contributes to The Conversation – U.S.
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