We are excited to announce the 25th Class of Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellows! This year’s selection process was as competitive as ever; the 19 fellows of new class were selected from nearly 400 applications. Once assembled this fall, their cohort will partner with organizations around the country and in Washington D.C. to find solutions to hunger and poverty at the community level as well as the Federal policy level. They will be working with food bankers, researchers, advocates, organizers, and urban farmers on issues from child nutrition and maternal health to senior hunger. Some of the 25th class’s partner organizations, like Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona and Just Harvest Education Fund, have hosted numerous Hunger Fellows stretching back decades; others like Project Bread and CAPI USA are brand-new, and the four Hunger Fellows working in West Virginia and Rhode Island will be the first fellows in the history of the program to work in those states.
| Fellow | Alma Mater | Field Site Placement |
|---|---|---|
| Mackenzie Aime | Emory University | Reconnecting McDowell County Welch, WV |
| Jeremy Arnold | Evangel University | Alabama Possible Birmingham, AL |
| Davis Chhoa | Stanford University | CAPI USA Minneapolis, MN |
| Pierre Collins | Eastern Michigan University | URI Feinstein Center for a Hunger Free America Kingston, RI |
| Courtney Colwell | Johns Hopkins University | Project Bread Boston, MA |
| Baridilo Dube | Rice University | Northwest Harvest Seattle, WA |
| Richelle Grogg | UNC Chapel Hill | Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative Fayetteville, AR |
| Kiese Hansen | UMD College Park | United Way of Greater Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN |
| Jade Adia Harvey | Yale University | United Way of King County Seattle, WA |
| Yesenia Jimenez | UC Davis | Massachusetts Law Reform Institute Boston, MA |
| Malak Kudaimi | UC Irvine | University District Food Bank Seattle, WA |
| Paige Milson | UT Austin | Community Food Bank of Central Alabama Birmingham, AL |
| Lakeisha Perkins | Iowa State University | Reconnecting McDowell County Welch, WV |
| Chesterfield Polkey | Macalester College | Just Harvest Education Fund Pittsburgh, PA |
| Alekya Prathivadi | Loyola University Chicago | Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative Fayetteville, AR |
| Roxana Rodriguez | Williams College | Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona Tucson, AZ |
| Katherine Starr | UNC Chapel Hill | URI Feinstein Center for a Hunger Free America Kingston, RI |
| Kathy Vang | UC Davis | Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona Tucson, AZ |
| Cindy Vong | Binghamton University / U of Colorado Denver | Pittsburgh Food Policy Council Pittsburgh, PA |
The 25th class’s dedication and ingenuity are sorely needed in the communities where they will be placed. According to Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap project, more than 1 in 6 Americans, or more than 41 million people, were food insecure in 2016. 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.
The Congressional Hunger Center gratefully acknowledges the support of the Kroger Company Foundation, the General Mills Foundation, Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture for their support of the 25th Class of Emerson National Hunger Fellows.