We are excited to announce the 23rd Class of Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellows! This year’s selection process was as competitive as ever; the 15 Fellows of the new class were selected from more than 267 applications. We are also pleased to announce the field site partner organizations where they will work this fall and winter. Their placements span four time zones and range from the Rocky Mountains to the Santa Clara Valley, from Puget Sound to the Mississippi River Delta to the banks of the Potomac. Fellows will be working with food bankers, researchers, advocates, organizers, and urban farmers on issues from child nutrition and maternal health to senior hunger. They will have their work cut out from them. Despite the U.S. economy’s continuing recovery, the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) estimates that nearly 1 in 6 Americans lacked the money to buy food at times in 2015. We look forward to the Fellows’ arrival in Washington for field training in August, and to the great work they’ll be doing to end hunger across the country.
23rd Class of Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellows
| Fellow | Field Site | Project Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Alysha Alani |
United Way of King County Seattle, WA |
Economic Security |
| Ashley Burnside |
Denver Urban Matters* Denver, CO |
Community Leadership and Hunger |
| Anne Marie Buron |
Illinois Hunger Coalition* Chicago, IL |
SNAP |
| Ray Chen |
Los Angeles County Community Action Network* Los Angeles, CA |
Food Justice |
| Eduardo Hernandez |
United Way of King County Seattle, WA |
Child Nutrition |
| NaShawn Johnson |
L.A. Kitchen* Los Angeles, CA |
Senior Hunger |
| Deondre’ Jones |
Market Umbrella* New Orleans, LA |
Food Access |
| David Lazere |
Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara & San Mateo Counties San Jose, CA |
Child Nutrition |
| Michelle Loo |
9to5 Colorado Denver, CO |
Hunger and Economic Security |
| Kyle Machicado |
Dreaming Out Loud* Washington, DC |
Urban Agriculture |
| Imani Marshall |
Market Umbrella* New Orleans, LA |
Maternal Health and Nutrition |
| Margo Nitschke |
La Casa Norte Chicago, IL |
Food Access and Emergency Food |
| Sakeenah Shabazz |
Jesuit Social Research Institute* New Orleans, LA |
SNAP |
| Samantha Stevens |
Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara & San Mateo Counties San Jose, CA |
Child Nutrition |
| Joanna Williams |
Dreaming Out Loud* Washington, DC |
Urban Agriculture |
* indicates this organization is hosting an Emerson Hunger Fellow for the first time.
23rd Class of Emerson Hunger Fellows: Field Placements