Maria Islam is a doctoral candidate in Public Policy and Political Economy at The University of Texas at Dallas. Her passion and research interests are in food systems policy, particularly anti-hunger and sustainability policies. Maria hopes to help reimagine current systems and make nutritious and delicious food accessible to all. … Read more

Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, Tatiana Villegas recently graduated from Whitman College with a BA in environmental sociology. Tatiana believes that healthy communities can only flourish when they acknowledge multiple perspectives. Incorporating this belief into her life, she has done research and work that discusses the connection between people … Read more

Driven by a profound dedication to addressing global injustices, Katie Tzivanis pursued a B.A. in Urban Studies at the New School. Katie’s fervent interests lie at the confluence of public education reform and food security, with a particular emphasis on the detrimental effects of hunger on educational experiences and graduation … Read more

Denise Ramos-Vega was born and raised in small, predominately Latinx community in Fullerton, California, and is daughter of working-class Mexican immigrants. Denise graduated from UCLA in June 2023 with degrees in Geography and Chicano/a/x Studies with a minor in Education. As someone who has been impacted by systemic inequity throughout … Read more

A native Kansan from Lawrence, Kenneth currently lives in Denver, Colorado, continuing his work on food justice at We Don’t Waste, a food recovery organization that helps redirect food that would otherwise go uneaten to social service agencies. Kenneth graduated from Harvard University in History and Literature, during which time … Read more

Having grown up in Richmond, Kentucky, Chas is a recent graduate from Centre College with a B.A. in Sociology and English. The highly prevalent Issues of poverty and food insecurity, which Chas witnessed in his own community in rural Kentucky, led him to focus on examining the structural roots of … Read more

Having grown up in two different parts of the world, Kurdistan (Iraq) and Moorhead, Minnesota, Avyan Mejdeen was immersed in two different cultures. The experience has shaped her into an advocate fighting for the human rights of women, girls, and minorities; equal access to basic needs; and the Kurdish struggle … Read more

Hailing from Trumbull, Connecticut, Stefano Mancini graduated with a degree in history from Lafayette College in 2022. While at Lafayette, Stefano led community engagement initiatives, coordinating hundreds of hours worth of service and educational experiences. He also immersed himself in food history through curating an exhibit on American food ephemera … Read more

Originally from Santiago, Chile, Jeanie Kim is a recent graduate from Claremont McKenna College, where she majored in Environment, Economics, and Politics (EEP) and History, with a sequence in Gender and Sexuality. Over the past years, she has been focusing on the intersection between social and climate justice, especially throughout … Read more

Born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, John continues to cultivate what he has learned from the legacies and infrastructures left by justice and equity pioneers of the past and present into accessible, approachable, and active actions for positive and transformative restitution as change. As a Bonner and McNair Scholar, … Read more

Tylah Harrison, originally from Durham, North Carolina, graduated in May 2023 with a B.S.P.H. in Health Policy and Management and a minor in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Always interested in the intersection of public health and medicine, Tylah is passionate about addressing the social … Read more

Originally from Buffalo, New York, Alfred is a graduate of the University at Buffalo, earning his MPH with a concentration in Health Equity. Shaped by his life experiences as a Black male born and raised in Buffalo’s predominantly Black neighborhood, structural realities like food insecurity, lack of mobility, and mass … Read more