Alexandrea is from Chicago, Illinois, and recently graduated with her masters in social service administration from the University of Chicago. Prior to graduate school Alexandrea served in the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps where she worked on health related projects where she began to understand the importance of food access in … Read more
Joshua Greene
Joshua Greene is originally from Brooklyn, New York but now resides in Raleigh, North Carolina. He graduated from UNC Chapel-Hill in 2023 with a dual degree in Public Policy and Political Science. He spent four years as a Bonner Leader at UNC working with the Communiversity Youth Program serving k-8 … Read more
Joshua was a 4th Class Zero Hunger Intern in 2021. Internship Placement: Congressional Hunger Center
Nick Battles
Nick is from Indianola, Iowa. As of May 2022, he is an alumnus of Iowa State University with Bachelor of Science degrees in Global Resource Systems and Agriculture & Society (agricultural and rural policy studies), plus a minor study in Learning & Leadership Sciences. In 2017, he spent time interviewing … Read more
Nick was a 4th Class Zero Hunger Intern in 2021. Internship Placement: Food Research & Action Center
Jonathan Dabel
Born in Boston, Jonathan spent his formative years in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, before returning to the U.S. in 2016. He earned a B.A. in Economics and Public Policy from the University of Mississippi, where he served as a student body senator and actively advocated for student needs. During his freshman year, … Read more
Jonathan was a 4th Class Zero Hunger Intern in 2021. Internship Placement: Good Samaritan Center
Niisoja Torto
Niisoja graduated from Duke University, where he studied public policy with a focus on health and nutrition policy. His Ghanaian heritage and experience growing up in Florida inform his interest in equity issues. Niisoja’s particular passion for food and nutrition solidified with his senior thesis that explored the role of … Read more
Xavier Roberts
Homeschooled until college, Xavier graduated with his associate’s degree from Piedmont Virginia Community College at the age of eighteen before traveling to India for six months to study yoga and meditation in advance of completing a year of service as a third grade teacher in Southeast Washington, D.C., with the … Read more
Leslie Rios
Born in Wisconsin and raised in Hidalgo, Texas, Leslie graduated from St. Edward’s University with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a minor in Economics, becoming a Presidential Award Receipt and a McNair Scholar in the process. Leslie first became interested in food justice when she took a course … Read more
Rocio Perez
Rocio Perez is a first-generation Latina who was born and raised in Downtown Los Angeles. Growing up in a low-income and predominantly undocumented community, Rocio learned how to navigate educational, legal, and health barriers that influenced her public service career. She has staffed a bill aimed at protecting low-income workers … Read more
Michelle Nikfarjam
Michelle, a second-generation Iranian-American raised in Massachusetts, is an M.A. graduate of the University of Oregon’s (UO) International Studies and Food Studies Programs, a UO Promising Scholar and a David L. Boren Fellow. She comes to the Emerson Fellowship having recently returned from Rajasthan, India where she conducted research on … Read more
Janiah Miller
Janiah is a native of the Greater Cincinnati area where her lived experiences have shaped her worldview. She attended Northern Kentucky University where she gained her Bachelor’s degree in Integrative Studies which consists of three minors in Political Science, Social Justice and University Honors with focus areas in Women & … Read more
Sara Maillacheruvu
A longtime Midwesterner, Sara Maillacheruvu graduated with honors from the University of Chicago in 2018 and returned to her hometown of Peoria, Illinois, where she spent two years working in community development as an urban planner. While there, she researched affordable housing trends and created policy proposals, relevant and applicable … Read more
Curtis Hills
A native of Lexington, Mississippi, Curtis graduated from the University of Mississippi with a degree in English. His passion for social justice began in the eighth grade, while working with the non-profit Nollie Jenkins Center to help dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline tract and research ways to alleviate food insecurity in … Read more