I accelerate political decision-making and organizational development around ecological justice, including through:
- Program Management and Policy Analysis: I lead assessments, qualitative research, and project development on both small and larger issues. Currently, I am managing an effort with Grasse River Heritage to more meaningfully represent the eco-cultural history, and Indigenous perspectives specifically, on what are today parklands designated for public recreational use in upstate New York. In 2019, I was Policy Fellow at Farm to Institution New England, where I initiated a research collaboration with Vermont Law School. We produced a comprehensive policy analysis and several briefs addressing New England states' local food procurement initiatives and their regional impact. I am also co-author on the Detroit case study for the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems' commissioned What Makes Urban Food Policy Happen report, in which I provide qualitative research and analysis into equitable urban food policy within an international comparative perspective.
- Multi-Stakeholder Networking: I work steadfastly with communities to build capacity and uplift their voices in policymaking. In Milwaukee, I partnered with the Coalition on Lead Elimination and African American Breastfeeding Network to develop and mobilize legislation mitigating harm in the relationship between environmental contamination and community health, including in direct advocacy with municipal legislators. At Farm to Institution New England, I networked with fifty-six regional food systems stakeholders and leveraged their input to motivate new policy research and advocacy channels. Additionally, I have collaborated with members of the Navajo Nation Breastfeeding Coalition to lobby key stakeholders ahead of the vote on a now adopted Resolution on food security of the NAABIK’ ÍYÁTI’ Standing Committee of the 23rd Navajo Nation Council, and towards the sharing of institutional supports to assist with several of the Coalition's celebrations, trainings, and their Covid-19 response.
- Expert Input: I am an invited consultant and speaker on the politics of social inequality, civic engagement, and the environment. In 2022, I supported the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on the ethics of public engagement in environmental decision-making on behalf of the Commonwealth of Virginia, specifically in the context of mineral mining near historically marginalized communities. I have briefed national and international decision-makers on first food (human milk and infant formula) links to social, economic, and environmental (in)equity as part of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine's Ninth Annual Summit at the Pew Charitable Trusts in Washington, D.C and in relation to environmental racism and water contamination at the National Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Association's 2020 Nutrition Education and Breastfeeding Promotion Conference, among other outlets. From 2017-2019, I served on the International Lactation Consultant Association's Equity Committee, where I contributed project management and collaborative expertise to inform advancements in professional training requirements and equity dialogues and analysis engaging the Association's wider membership.
