Nicholas French
30th Class, 2023-2024

A resident of Southfield, Michigan, Nicholas French recently graduated from Cornell University with a major in Human Development and minors in Creative Writing and Law and Society. Nicholas’ passion for food justice and housing security began in his native Metro-Detroit, where he witnessed the hardships of hunger and the perseverance of the people who overcame it. Nicholas is especially proud of his experience as a Congressional Intern for the offices of former Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence and current Congressman Hank Johnson through the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. Through these experiences, Nicholas was able to conduct research on homelessness and basic needs in his community and provide resources for constituents affected by natural disasters and other issues, and he is excited to continue to grow as a leader.

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Melanie Sudetic
12th Class, 2023-2025

Melanie holds a BS in Nutrition & Dietetics from Kent State University and an MSc in Nutrition for Global Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She began her career in nutrition as a registered dietitian focusing on food security and community nutrition in low-income areas of Cleveland, Ohio. Soon after, she shifted her focus to global nutrition and served in rural Guatemala with the Peace Corps as a Maternal and Child Health Facilitator. There, she supported the Guatemalan Ministry of Health with the implementation of interventions aimed at preventing maternal and child morbidity and mortality. In 2021, she remotely supported the World Food Programme Cambodia country office by conducting a desk review of nutrition and school feeding programmes as an entry point to prevent acute malnutrition in pre-primary school age children in Cambodia. Most recently, she worked with the World Food Programme in Mozambique to support the development of a digital optimization tool to produce nutritious and affordable recipes from locally available foods. In particular, Melanie supported this project through the collection of food price data from informal markets in three regions of Mozambique using the Cost of Diet methodology. Her primary interest is maternal and child nutrition in humanitarian settings.

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