Tina Tran

Tina grew up in North Richland Hills, Texas, and graduated from Stanford University in 2014 with a degree in human biology. She conducted research on the supplemental poverty measure and the Healthy Families (CHIP) program in California through the Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality. She helped pilot a student-run … Read more

Ada Recinos

Born in Los Angeles to parents who emigrated from El Salvador, Ada calls Torrance, California home. She graduated with a B.A. in global information and social enterprise studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She interned at the National Organization for Women, where she helped plan the 2013 National … Read more

Wendy Ortiz

Wendy grew up in a migrant Mexican neighborhood in Anaheim, California, and graduated with a degree in sociology from the University of California, Berkeley. In college, Wendy worked as a case manager to promote physical, emotional, and sexual well-being for teenage mothers. She collaborated with an Aztec dance group to … Read more

Tade Mengesha

Originally from Denver, Colorado, Tade graduated from Northwestern University in 2014 with a degree in social policy. She organized a student-run conference for international students to develop and implement successful social change projects in their communities. She also led a global health advocacy student-run nonprofit organization and wrote several policy … Read more

Melanie Meisenheimer

Melanie grew up in Clovis, California and graduated from Gettysburg College in 2014 with a degree in globalization studies and public policy. In college, she coordinated the Campus Kitchen Project, a food rescue organization serving families and seniors and promoting nutrition education. She also ran the Gleaning Project of South … Read more

Soad Mana

Soad graduated from Northwestern University. She served as director of Food Day, where she coordinated events and panels on intersecting issues of food access, race, and class. As a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow, she researched how communities of color define and achieve food justice in a food desert in Chicago’s … Read more

Leila Malow

Born in Mogadishu, Somalia and raised in Minnesota, Leila graduated from Macalester College in 2014 with a degree in political science. At Macalester, Leila was a Chuck Green Civic Engagement Fellow, and helped start a social enterprise providing immigrant young adults with work and leadership experience. She promoted multiculturalism and civic … Read more

Nora Leccese

Originally from Boulder, Colorado, Nora graduated from the University of Colorado in 2014, with a degree in economics and a focus on community leadership. Nora helped found Boulder Food Rescue, a national organization that uses bicycle power to redistribute produce that would otherwise go to waste from grocery stores to … Read more

Julia Kortrey

Julia grew up in the Atlanta area and graduated from Emory University in 2013 with a degree in English and minors in Arabic and community building and social change. As an Emory Community Building and Social Change Fellow, Julia collaborated with community leaders, nonprofits, government officials, and private sector leaders … Read more

Georgina Jimenez

Georgina grew up in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico and El Paso, Texas and graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso in 2012 with a degree in political science and Chicano studies. She participated in the Service Learning program for Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center and Centro De Los Trabajadores … Read more

Erika Inwald

Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Erika graduated from Brown University with a degree in environmental studies in 2014. At Brown, Erika wrote a senior honors thesis about how food cooperatives in New York City can address issues of low-income food access. She also helped build a coalition of … Read more

Emily Duma

Emily was raised in Dousman, Wisconsin, and graduated from the University of Wisconsin Madison with degrees in political science and international studies. Emily developed and facilitated an anti-racist food justice seminar, supported the development of Growing Power’s Madison hub, and helped start and grow a Slow Food campus chapter that served … Read more