Chen headshot

Emerson Fellow

Katherine Chen

14th Class, 2007-2008

Katherine, a San Francisco native, is a 2007 graduate of the University of California at Berkeley where she majored in public health and minored in public policy.  She has researched the role of school gardens in urban middle schools with large minority populations and the impact of particulate matter pollution on elementary school students.  Katherine also interned in Senator Tom Harkin’s office through the Barbara Jordan Health Policy Scholars Program.

Field placement: Solid Ground

Seattle, Washington

Katherine worked to increase  Rainier Valley residents' access to fresh and affordable produce.  Through focus groups and interviews, she assessed how to best enhance economic opportunities while making healthy food options more readily available.  She also established the Rainer Valley Growers’ Co-operative to promote farmers markets, urban agriculture, and other community supported projects.

Policy placement: Association of Nutrition Services Agencies

Washington, D.C.

Katherine developed a grassroots advocacy guide for ANSA members and other community-based food and nutrition services programs to use in educating policymakers about the power of nutrition in combating disease.  Katherine also researched the history of the 1969 White House Conference on Food and Nutrition.

Publications