The Congressional Hunger Center is delighted to announce the next-generation leaders and partner organizations who have been selected to participate in the Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellowship and Mickey Leland International Hunger Fellowship. The 21 members of the 32nd Class of Emerson Fellows and 13th Class of Leland Fellows were chosen through a nationally competitive process and have demonstrated their deep commitment to using their professional and personal talents to eradicate hunger.
After completing their orientations in Washington, D.C., fellows have begun their work with anti-hunger partner organizations across the U.S. and globally. Fellows are placed with 17 partner organizations, spread out across seven countries, seven U.S. states, and the District of Columbia, focused on combatting hunger at the community, local, and regional level. In March Emerson Fellows will return to Washington for their public policy placements. Leland Fellows are placed with their host organizations for approximately two years, dividing their time between field-based and public policy rotations.
Fall 2025 Hunger Fellow Placements
(Click countries or markers for details)
Investing in Youth and Future Generations
Hunger and malnutrition rob children and young adults of the ability to thrive during their prime years of growth and development. Hunger Fellows provide their capacity and expertise to organizations that share the Hunger Center’s vision of a future where all children have enough nutritious food to reach their full potential.
For instance, we partner with UCI Basic Needs Center at the University of California at Irvine, which operates an emergency food pantry and assists students with completing CalFresh applications. Emerson Fellow Pallavi Patil will work to increase awareness of CalFresh among the student body, connecting more students with nutrition benefits.
Kansas Appleseed supports child nutrition programs in the Sunflower state through research and advocacy. Emerson Fellow Catalina Palacios-Cisneros will study how the state’s implementation of SUN Bucks, now finishing its second summer in operation, can be improved to keep more school children fed when school is out of session and school meals are unavailable.
32nd Class Emerson Fellows with Hunger Center Executive Director Shannon Maynard at orientation, October 2025.
Building Strong Food Systems
The world can produce enough food to feed all people, but failures in food systems mean that one in 12 people around the world are facing hunger. We partner to build strong food systems through projects ranging from adaptive agriculture to urban farming and food recovery.
Helen Keller International focuses on protecting vision, fighting disease, and enhancing nutrition, especially among children and mothers. Leland Fellow Michał Matejczuk will work in Cambodia to promote locally produced, affordable, nutrient-rich foods in local markets and research alternative staple foods that can be fortified, with the goal of tackling “hidden hunger” of micronutrient deficiencies.
The Maryland Department of Emergency Management is the state’s disaster preparedness and response agency. Emerson Fellow Piper Kohlenberger will connect with state and local agencies to coordinate the launch of a comprehensive statewide strategy to strengthen the state’s food system against extreme weather and other hazards.
Root Causes of Hunger
Whether in the U.S. or globally, hunger doesn’t happen on its own. It’s a byproduct of underlying causes that perpetuate poverty. That’s why we work with partners who address economic and social factors, natural disasters and environmental challenges, and conflict. We also support partners whose solutions are shaped by people who have experienced poverty and hunger themselves.
World Vision International helps vulnerable children overcome poverty and experience fullness of life, particularly in emergencies, disasters, and conflict areas. Burundi is one of over 100 countries where World Vision works; Leland Fellow Tonja Rice will work with the Bujumbura office to coordinate disaster responses, school meals, and other food security and agriculture programs.
In Oklahoma City, Emerson Fellow Natalie Zaffiro will work with Hunger Free Oklahoma (HFO), whose work supports federal nutrition programs statewide. HFO values the active involvement of people with lived experience of food insecurity, and with support from previous Emerson Fellows has founded LEARN (Lived Experience and Resource Network) to empower residents of Tulsa to tell their personal stories and advocate for change. Natalie will further develop this program and find new ways to share participants’ stories.
13th Class Leland Fellows at volunteer event with Shepherd’s Table in Silver Spring, Md.
Developing Leaders in the Movement to End Hunger
While supporting food security in communities across the U.S. and globally, the Hunger Fellows gain vital first-hand professional experience and access to wide-ranging perspectives and experiences through collaboration and learning. Over 32 years, a growing network of Emerson and Leland Hunger Fellows have secured leading positions working to advance food security in nonprofits, INGOs, government agencies, and the private sector.
Founded in 1993 by a bipartisan group of Members of Congress, the Congressional Hunger Center is dedicated to developing, inspiring, and connecting leaders in the movement to end hunger. Its flagship programs are named in honor of Rep. Mickey Leland (1944-1989) and Rep. Bill Emerson (1938-1996), former co-chairs of the House Select Committee on Hunger and exemplars of a practical, bipartisan approach to combatting hunger which is the foundation for our work to this day.
32nd Class of Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellows
| Emerson Fellow | School | Host Organization | Placement | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abigail Adams | UCLA |  |
Chicago Food Policy Action Council | Chicago, Ill. |
| Audrey Cesar | The Ohio State Univ. |  |
Common Threads | Miami, Fla. |
| Jane Dawson | Macalester College |  |
Greater Boston Food Bank | Boston, Mass. |
| Amienata Fatajo | Univ. of N.C. at Chapel Hill | |
Common Threads | Miami, Fla. |
| Piper Kohlenberger | Cornell Univ. |  |
Maryland Department of Emergency Management | Hanover, Md. |
| Yadira Lopez | Northwestern Univ. |  |
Hunger Free Oklahoma | Oklahoma City, Okla. |
| Anika Nayak | Univ. of Calif. Berkeley |  |
DC Hunger Solutions | Washington, D.C. |
| Catalina Palacios-Cisneros | Univ. of Denver |  |
Kansas Appleseed | Wichita, Kan. |
| Pallavi Patil | N.C. State Univ. |  |
Univ. of Calif. Irvine Basic Needs Center | Irvine, Calif. |
| Lina Verghese | Swarthmore Coll. | |
Chicago Food Policy Action Council | Chicago, Ill. |
| Natalie Zaffiro, MA | Boston Coll. | |
Hunger Free Oklahoma | Oklahoma City, Okla. |
13th Class of Mickey Leland International Hunger Fellows
| Leland Fellow | School | Host Organization | Placement | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Danielle Advani, MSc | London Sch. of Hygiene & Tropical Med. |  |
World Food Programe | Phnom Penh, Cambodia |
| Margot Bolaños-Gomez, MPH | Emory Univ. |  |
CIMMYT | Texcoco, Mexico |
| Emily Friedman, MGHD | Georgetown Univ. |  |
Tanager | Nairobi, Kenya |
| Cloé Gosselin, MSc | Univ. of Oxford | |
CIMMYT | Senegal |
| Jintana Malisueng-White, MA | Univ. of Sussex |  |
Global Child Nutrition Foundation | Washington, D.C. |
| Kavita Malstead, MGastro | Univ. degli Studi di Scienze Gastronomiche |  |
InterAction | Washington, D.C. |
| Michał Matejczuk, MSc | Cornell Univ. |  |
Helen Keller International | Phnom Penh, Cambodia |
| Tonja Rice, MPH | Univ. of Md. College Park |  |
World Vision International | Bujumbura, Burundi |
| Adrian Wilson, MSc | Columbia Univ. |  |
WorldFish | Honiara, Solomon Islands |
| Rachel Zimmerman, MPH | Washington Univ. in St. Louis |  |
Oxfam | Kampala, Uganda |