Don Miller and Associates officially became a corporation on September 9, 2005. But Don began dreaming about and working on developing DM&A long before that.

He grew up in a large Italian family (the Mazza’s), where everyone truly believed he or she was the world’s greatest Italian cook. It was in this environment that Don learned his love of all things food, especially cooking. But he also has a curiosity about nutrition, so when it came time to go to college he chose California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, where they offered a degree in Food and Nutrition. Don met his wife Jean at Cal Poly and they both graduated with degrees in nutrition. This all happened during the Vietnam crisis and when he graduated Don was fortunate enough to have been offered both a commission as a 1st Lieutenant in the Army and a Dietetic Internship at Letterman General Hospital in San Francisco. As a 1st Lieutenant he earned his credentials as a Registered Dietitian. Then he and Jean, along with their growing family traveled around the country to various military installations where Don perfected his skills as a food service director, mass feeding cook and leader at 6 different medical facilities. Don left the military after 8 years but stayed in the Army Reserves where he completed his 20 years of duty and was in charge of the food service of an army field hospital. He is very proud to have earned several medals for exemplary service, and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel.

After getting out of the military Don worked as a Food Service Director at a number of hospitals in and around San Diego County. His favorite job was at Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside, California. Serval wonderful things happened to at Tri-City. While working there he met Master Chef Art Jones, who was a retired instructor from the Culinary Institute at Hyde Park, New York. Art became Don’s friend and mentor, and under his tutelage Don earned his Certified Executive Chef Credentials. Don always felt this was the crowning achievement of his career.

In addition, Don enjoyed so much success at Tri-City that CNN news heard about his reputation and did a story on him which appeared on TV. He gained so much positive notoriety from it that it was the boost he needed to venture out and start his own company.

Anyone who knows Don knows that he is an entrepreneur at heart. So he left Tri-City and began working on his own business. He always felt that with his combined credentials of Certified Executive Chef and Registered Dietitian he could help hospitals and other healthcare facilities improve their food quality and service, thus improving patient care over-all. He understood that the nutritious, healthy food sick people needed to get well and stay well should also be delicious and appealing. Thus began Don Miller & Associates which later became known simply as DM&A.

Don has worked tirelessly over that last 25 years to build DM&A into the successful company it is today with more than 200 clients in the USA and abroad – DM&A is now doing great work in Australia and the Middle East. With more than 30 Success Coaches, DM&A is the largest healthcare foodservice consulting company of its kind and a leading authority in helping hospital foodservice departments reach the highest levels of excellence.