Lynda Reiss, RN

My name is Lynda, and I have been an RN since the pre-historic period. I was born and raised in Ithaca, New York as one of five kids. I am a graduate of SUNY Alfred and SUNY College at Buffalo and hold degrees in both Nursing and Nutrition/Dietetics. I ventured off to Yale-New Haven Hospital for a post-baccalaureate internship in Dietetics. Early on I juggled working inpatient and outpatient settings as a Registered Dietitian, while working per diem inpatient as an RN. I counseled countless folks on therapeutic diets, engaged with migrant workers and new mothers via the WIC program, and dove into such fun things as parenteral and enteral nutrition.  

Eventually, I returned to nursing full time and spent many years working all sorts of odd hours caring for both adults and children on inpatient surgical, medical, dialysis, and critical care settings. When moving to Vermont, I continued as an RN at Copley Hospital.  

I stepped into the outpatient nursing world in 2003 by joining the Community Health Centers of Burlington. This was a tremendous period of personal and professional growth for me, working with different cultures, refugees, the marginally housed, pregnant and postpartum women… an endless variety of humans. In the fifteen years I was at CHCB, I honed my teaching/mentoring skills for both patients and new staff members, learned more than I ever imagined about immunizations, addiction medicine, and all that a person new to this country must go through to become a citizen.  

A few more years passed working as a triage RN in the outpatient setting, while itching for another change…. 

And today I am thrilled at the opportunity to delve into college health. I so enjoy being able to engage directly with people, and this was a major reason for the move to my current position at Middlebury College. I truly love teaching and encouraging both students and coworkers. I am interested in nutrition and eating disorders, mental health, gender affirming care, women’s health issues, immunization practices, and learning about different cultures.  

I live in Addison County with my husband, two pups, and a red-eared slider named Jimothy. I enjoy long walks outdoors, kayaking, camping, wrestling the Addison County clay soil into growing flowers and veggies, good books and music, cooking, a nice campfire, and travelling anyplace new.  Our grown daughters live in the southwest and we venture out there as often as we can. I also enjoy artistic pursuits—right now I am painting barn quilts and doing various mosaic projects, and next up —learning to do stained glass designs.