Who We Are
Founded in 1993 by a bipartisan group of Members of Congress, we are a global nonprofit organization dedicated to the principle that access to nutritious, affordable, and culturally appropriate food is a basic human right. We develop, inspire, and connect leaders in the movement to end hunger, and advocate for public policies that will create a food secure world.
Our Mission
We develop, inspire, and connect leaders in the movement to end hunger, and advocate for public policies to create a food-secure world.
Leader In Action
Emerson Fellow De’Sean Weber gives an interview to local media on his work for the Health Corners initiative in Jersey City, N.J.
Our Fellows & Interns
Theo Anastopoulo
Leland Fellow
Kaila Balch
Leland Fellow
Lora Boll
Leland Fellow
Peter Bowman
Leland Fellow
Adin Burwell
Emerson Fellow
Zhara Edwards
Emerson Fellow
Theresa Fang
Leland Fellow
Nicholas French
Emerson Fellow
Alfred Gary III
Emerson Fellow
Tylah Harrison
Emerson Fellow
John Hoang
Emerson Fellow
Maria Islam
Emerson Fellow
Alaine Johnson
Leland Fellow
Jeanie Kim
Emerson Fellow
Chika Kondo
Leland Fellow
Stefano Mancini
Emerson Fellow
Avyan Mejdeen
Emerson Fellow
Erin Mercado
Leland Fellow
Chas Nystrom
Emerson Fellow
Kenneth Palmer
Emerson Fellow
Sarah Pechtl
Leland Fellow
Denise Ramos-Vega
Emerson Fellow
Melanie Sudetic
Leland Fellow
Kathryn Tzivanis
Emerson Fellow
Tatiana Villegas
Emerson Fellow
Our Staff
Asma Azimi
Program and Operations Coordinator
Sophia Behrens
Program Associate, Emerson National Hunger Fellowship
Zack Bly
Senior Manager, Communications and Engagement
Bairy Diakite
Director of Operations
Emily Irsik
Internships and Recruitment Coordinator
Tony Jackson
Director, Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellowship
Shannon Maynard
Executive Director
Tatyana Noble
Manager, Mickey Leland International Fellowship
Liz Pearce
Partnership & Outreach Manager
Laura Tarre
Director of Development
Elizabeth Uriyo
Chief of Staff and Director, Mickey Leland International Hunger Fellowship
Arthurine Walker
Learning Director
Our Alum Council
Max De Faria
Food Justice Researcher & Policy Advocate, Alum Council Co-Chair
Sakeenah Shabazz
Policy Director, Berkeley Food Institute; Alum Council Co-Chair
Joel Anderson
Master of Public Administration Candidate, Evans School of Public Policy & Governance, University of Washington
Karolina Arias
Partner, Federal Hall Policy Advisors
Olivier Bradley
Student, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Riani Carr
Senior Research Coordinator, Aspen Institute Financial Security Program
Michelle DeFreese
Senior Officer, Global Green Growth Institute
Mercy Erhiawarien
Program Coordinator, Halcyon
Yesenia Garcia
Chloe Green
Senior Policy Associate, Food and Nutrition Services, American Public Human Services Association (APHSA)
Yesenia Jimenez
Policy Associate, GRACE/End Child Poverty in California
Morgan McKinney
Process Innovation Project Associate, American Public Human Services Association (APHSA)
Shanique Streete
Maria Wrabel
Power of Nutrition Research Project Coordinator, Action Against Hunger USA
James Ziegeweid
Student, Minnesota State University, Mankato
Our Board
Katharine Emerson
Chief of Staff, World Food Program USA
Hunger Center Board Chair
Karen Coble Edwards
Principal at KCE Public Affairs Associates, Hunger Center Board Vice Chair
Ria Shah
Principal at Athira Solutions, Hunger Center Board Treasurer
Jim Scheibel
Professor of Practice, Hamline University
Hunger Center Board Secretary
Claire Casey
President, AARP Foundation
Brian Folkerts
Yesenia García
Senior Vice President, WE Communications
Lou Gerber
Senior Fellow at the Food Research & Action Center
Dennis Hertel
Member of Congress (Retired), Distinguished Professor at National Defense University
Kate Houston
Joan McGlockton
Azad Oommen
Co-Founder, Global School Leaders
Patience B. Peabody
President & CEO, Book Trust
Leslie Sarasin
President and CEO at FMI: The Food Industry Association
Eric J. Steiner
Senior Policy Advisor, OFW Law
Mary Catherine Toker
Our HisTory
Mickey Leland and Bill Emerson. Photo credit: Marty LaVor
In 1983, U.S. Representatives Benjamin Gilman (R-N.Y.), Mickey Leland (D-Texas) and Tony Hall (D-Ohio) formed the House Select Committee on Hunger to find sustainable solutions to national and international hunger and poverty. Rep. Leland chaired the committee until his death during a famine relief mission to the Horn of Africa in 1989.
In 1993, the House allowed a number of select committees to expire including the House Select Committee on Hunger. The committee’s chairman, Rep. Hall, responded by embarking on a 22-day fast, an act that garnered bipartisan support to form the Congressional Hunger Center as a nonprofit organization to help ensure Congress continued to address hunger. Representative Bill Emerson (R-Mo.) joined Rep. Hall as the first co-chairs of the Congressional Hunger Center's Board of Directors.