Current Rock of Residence:
St. Thomas, USVI
Island Girl Since:
2016
Originally Hails From:
Atlanta, GA
Ayla Shaw MS RDN is a board certified Registered Dietitian Nutritionist in private practice on St Thomas in the Virgin Islands. Originally from the state of Georgia, Ayla completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Georgia in Statistics. After working for several years as a catastrophe risk analyst, she decided to return to school and pursue a career in nutrition. She obtained her Master’ degree in Nutrition at Georgia State University before traveling to Connecticut to complete her dietetic internship focused in clinical nutrition at Yale-New Haven Hospital.
Upon finishing her internship, Ayla followed her heart, aka a boy, and moved to the Virgin Islands. Shortly after arriving, she was fortunate to find employment and began working as a clinical dietitian at Schneider Regional Medical Center in St Thomas. She was living on St Thomas and employed by the hospital when Hurricane Irma hit in the Virgin Islands on September 6th, 2017.
Ayla began her personal blog and website in the wake of the storms to provide a resource for nutrition information focused towards the citizens of the suffering Caribbean islands and combat the epidemic of chronic disease she experienced on St Thomas. Today, she owns and operates Island RDN, a nutrition consulting company that offers outpatient counseling through several locations on St Thomas. Additionally, Ayla works as a consultant and freelance food and health writer. When she is not working, she enjoys spending time outdoors with her dog, Dobby.
Follow Ayla on her blog at, Island RDN, for more nutrition and health tips focused towards the citizens on the Caribbean islands.
Explore posts by this writer:
We have so many amazing women all over the world who love islands - many are lucky to live on islands and many just love the island vibe and try to replicate the laid back style and attitude whatever their latitude! I want to start sharing the stories of some of these...
Return to a Small Island
So, my husband and I have just relocated from the "big" island of 60,000 people back to one of the smaller "sister" islands with a population of 2,000 people. We left here 20 years ago after the birth of our first child. The return has definitely felt like a...
The Story of Rose – The Little Dog That Could
My life in the Dominican Republic had a major change in March 2020. My husband and love of my life passed away. I was also extremely ill with a Lupus flare and COVID at the time he died. I was in hospital and wasn’t with him. Doctors were trying their best to save...
Call me Cruella de Vil
I want to talk to you guys about the one time I "kidnapped" a dog and how I think I'm paying for it in Karma. Taking a brief trip into yesteryear, there used to be a bar and restaurant right next to the condo I live in. Said restaurant would host loud parties which...
The Perfect Island Community
"If you look at an island for what it is, it's a piece of land, surrounded by water that appears to stand alone. It's true that there are no united states or neighbouring unions. It floats in the middle of the ocean, seemingly disconnected from the rest of the world....
A Caribbean Take on Body Positivity
Found this article this week and love its positive spin on body positivity. I encourage you to read the whole article. :-) Excerpt from bbc.com Read the whole article here. It’s impossible to travel around the Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao without falling in love...
