Wellman is a registered dietitian who is past president of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly the American Dietetic Association), the world's largest group of food and nutrition professionals.

As one of its first national spokespersons (1982-90), she was regularly in the national press and on TV and radio. During her presidency, the Academy launched the Nutrition Screening Initiative, a national campaign against malnutrition in older adults backed by a coalition of 35 prominent aging organizations. Wellman served as national chair of the Nutrition Screening Initiative for its entire 15-year existence.

Wellman currently serves on the American Society for Nutrition (ASN) Public Information Committee and is an ASN national spokesperson. She also serves on the McCormick Science Institute Advisory Council. She became chair emeritus in 2011 for the International Food Information Council Foundation's Board of Trustees after serving as the first and only chair of the Board of Trustees from the Foundation's inception in 1991.

She completed appointments on the USDA National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board and the Dannon Institute Scientific Council. She has testified before committees of the U.S. Senate, House of Representatives and the Food and Drug Administration.

The recipient of numerous honors, Wellman was recognized with the Florida International University Outstanding Faculty Award in 2006 and was the American Dietetic Association Lenna Francis Cooper Memorial Lecturer in 2005. She holds a doctorate from the University of Miami and a Master of Science degree from the Columbia University Institute of Human Nutrition.

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