Cultivating Resilience in Indian Country: An Assessment of COVID-19’s Impact on Tribal Food Systems

Born and raised in New York City, Olivia graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a degree in public health and minor in social policy, where she was a Woodrow Wilson Research Fellow, examining barriers to healthy eating and food access through interviews with soup kitchen guests. Her interests center on addressing the social determinants of health—especially in regard to food and housing insecurity, the environment, and educational opportunities—and strengthening our social safety nets to promote health equity. Olivia has worked on healthcare policy with the Century Foundation and served as a human services worker at the Franciscan Center of Baltimore, an emergency outreach center. She has also worked at the Center for a Livable Future on city and state innovations to improve access to healthy foods and supported research on the Philadelphia beverage tax, housing safety in Baltimore, and behavior change interventions for family planning.

Born and raised in Tacoma, Washington, Joel graduated with college honors from Washington University in St. Louis in 2020 with a major in anthropology: global health and environment and a minor in sociology. Before leaving home, he developed a deeply-rooted passion for advocacy while providing in-home medical care for his terminally-ill father. During his time at WashU, Joel was a member of the John B. Ervin Scholars Program, supported first-year students as a Resident Advisor, served as a student representative to the university’s Board of Trustees, and volunteered with a community mentoring program called City Faces in the St. Louis area. Over multiple summers, he built off of these experiences by resettling refugees and asylees with World Relief Seattle, lobbying for various anti-poverty programs as a REAL Change and Advocacy Fellow with RESULTS, and working on Capitol Hill for Rep. Derek Kilmer (WA-06).