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

Nyami Aghedo
Emerson Fellow

Theo Anastopoulo
Leland Fellow

Kaila Balch
Leland Fellow

Inshira Bediako
Emerson Fellow

Lora Boll
Leland Fellow

Peter Bowman
Leland Fellow

Theodore Clayton
Emerson Fellow

Jonathan Dabel
Emerson Fellow, Zero Hunger Intern

Theresa Fang
Leland Fellow

Joshua Greene
Emerson Fellow, Zero Hunger Intern

Alaine Johnson
Leland Fellow

Chika Kondo
Leland Fellow

Erin Mercado
Leland Fellow

Ranen Miao
Emerson Fellow

Bryan Molina
Emerson Fellow

Alex Ochoa
Emerson Fellow

Marquelle Ogletree
Emerson Fellow

Shanella Palmer
Emerson Fellow

Sarah Pechtl
Leland Fellow

Emily Rodriguez
Emerson Fellow

Melanie Sudetic
Leland Fellow

William Teasley
Emerson Fellow

Lauren Walcott
Emerson Fellow

James Ziegeweid
Emerson Fellow, Zero Hunger Intern
Our Staff

Asma Azimi
Program and Operations Coordinator

Sophia Behrens
Senior 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

Joel Anderson
Master of Public Administration Candidate, Evans School of Public Policy & Governance, University of Washington

Olivier Bradley
Student, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Riani Carr
Senior Research Coordinator, Aspen Institute Financial Security Program

Julian Cohen
Student, Brown University

Michelle DeFreese
Senior Officer, Global Green Growth Institute

London Dejarnette
Food Programs Coordinator, Oberlin Community Services

Mercy Erhiawarien
Program Coordinator, Halcyon

Breanna Gomillion
Advocacy Officer, Helen Keller International

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

Margaux Johnson-Green
Public Health Analyst, Health Resources and Services Administration

Morgan McKinney
Process Innovation Project Associate, American Public Human Services Association (APHSA)

Maria Wrabel
Power of Nutrition Research Project Coordinator, Action Against Hunger USA

Angela Zhang
Ph.D. Candidate, University of Southern California
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.