Marion J. Franz, MS, RD, LD, CDE, is a nutrition/health consultant with Nutrition Concepts by Franz, Inc. For over 20 years she was the Director of Nutrition and Health Professional Education at the International Diabetes Center, Minneapolis. Her Masters Degree in Nutrition is from the University of Minnesota, and she is a Registered Dietitian (RD) and Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE). She has authored over 200 articles, books, booklets, and book chapters on diabetes, nutrition, and exercise and lectures frequently in the United States and internationally. She co-chaired the task force to write the American Diabetes Association 2002 nutrition principles and recommendations for diabetes technical review and position statement and is editor of the American Association of Diabetes Educators Core Curriculum for Diabetes Education, 4^th and 5^th edition. She received numerous awards including the 2001 American Diabetes Association Charles H. Best Medal for Distinguished Service in the Cause of Diabetes, the 2002 American Dietetic Association Lenna Frances Cooper Memorial lecturer, and was a 2000 University of Minnesota College of Human Ecology Centennial 100 Honoree.