Gabe Hafemann

A lifelong Upper Midwesterner and proud child of the Driftless region, Gabe has spent the last ten years exploring unique niches in regional policy and food systems. They’ve taken a hands-on approach to service and learning – advancing food cooperatives’ outreach and operations, farming on a UNESCO world heritage site, supporting LGBTQ youth in rural Wisconsin schools, and consulting to sustainable agriculture and hunger relief nonprofits. In 2021, they graduated magna cum laude in Political Science from the University of Minnesota, where they focused their undergraduate thesis on labor organizing in the COVID-19 era. They strive to inform policy and practice such that everyone can be seen, celebrated, and well-fed.

Field placement: Greater Boston Food Bank

Boston, Massachusetts

Gabe is working with the Public Affairs team at the Greater Boston Food Bank in Boston, Massachusetts. They are developing a toolkit to situate the work of the food bank in the greater context of the industry's policy origins, and to provide a launchpad for GBFB policy advocates to further their understanding of applying equity lenses in the hunger relief policy space. Their work establishes state advocacy priorities predicated on a wide-scope understanding of what it is to meaningfully alleviate hunger.

Policy placement: RESULTS

Washington, D.C.

Gabe Hafemann is working with RESULTS Educational Fund to grow the campaign for a federal Renter Tax Credit. They're bringing a critical, people-centric communication lens to make concepts accessible to grassroots activists and empower them to join a strong campaign for more equitable housing nationwide. Further, Gabe is researching and contextualizing policy to position RESULTS to be a responsive and nimble leader in a shifting federal housing policy and tax code environment.

Publications