Expert Resource Directory

focuses on how the food and agriculture system impacts public health, environmental sustainability, and community well-being. Shortly after joining the Cornell faculty, Wilkins conceptualized and developed the first regional food guide in the United States, the Northeast Regional Food Guide. This food guide promotes health, sustainability, and local food systems. She was a member of the 2004-2006 class of Food and Society Fellows.

Pennsylvania. He farms a 90-acre organic hay and vegetable farm and has participated in direct marketing of locally grown farm products for almost 20 years. During the past ten years, Jonathan has taught a number of classes as an adjunct instructor at Temple University and Millersville University on issues of sustainable food crop production, human spatial behavior and social issues of urban growth in the post-industrial city. Jonathan is a founding member of the Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture. He served on the Certification Committee of the Pennsylvania Certified Organic. He is an advisor on the Lebanon County Committee of the Farm Service Agency and a member of the Slow Food Convivia: Susquehanna Heartland in south central Pennsylvania. Thomas was a member of the 2003-2005 class of Food and Society Fellows.

Partnership.  Her work with the Partnership marries her passion for food with her strong commitment to social justice.  Pervious to joining the NYCF&F Partnership, Mergl spent numerous years focusing on the application of social research, quality improvement processes, program evaluation, and promoting best practice models in homelessness and child welfare.   Mergl has her MSW with a concentration in Macro-practice and MS in Social Policy (MSSP) from the University of Pennsylvania.

Association of New Jersey (NOFA-NJ). In this capacity, Anderson leads the organization’s efforts in developing a sustainable organic agricultural system, educating people about the meaning of organic practices and helping farmers implement and maintain sustainable operations. Most recently, Anderson and her colleagues have started programs for new farmers. NOFA-NJ is working to identify barriers to achieving a local food system, especially barriers to creating viable farm and food enterprises that serve local markets. She has served as a Food and Society Fellow.

Fitness, where she is committed to creating sustainable systems to ensure the optimal health and quality of life for all and residents. Her strong commitment to social justice and passion for addressing health inequities is why she has remained committed to the creation and continued work of the BCFF. Spiller brings with her over twenty years of experience in program development and training, resource development, health education, health promotion and health care research. Previously Karen was a Program Manager for Jump Up & Go! ®, a multidimensional campaign addressing childhood obesity, conducted through Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts. Karen is a graduate of Western Michigan University and has begun graduate study toward a Master's Degree in Public Health at Boston University.

mothers of color, author of The Mocha Manual™ series of books and founder ofwww.MochaManual.com, a daily parenting and lifestyle destination and blog for African American moms and moms-to-be. Her life’s mission is to help women become powerful parents and to live a life of endless possibilities. She is also a fiercely committed and highly respected advocate in the fight to reduce the high infant mortality and maternal mortality rates and increase the breastfeeding rates in the African American community. In addition to her popular blog on MochaManual.com, Kimberly blogs about the African American parenting experience for MomLogic.com, Babycenter.com, is a regular commentator for Essence.com and is the multicultural moms channel leader for LiftetimeMoms.com. She also serves as editorial director of the Black Maternal Health Project of Women’s eNews, a project of the Kellogg Foundation and is an advisory board member of the Bravado Breastfeeding Information Council. Her first book, The Mocha Manual to a Fabulous Pregnancy (Amistad/HarperCollins) a hip, funny and informative pregnancy guidebook for women of color put her on the map as a pregnancy and parenting expert with real-deal insights. The book was nominated for an NAACP Image Award and later turned into The Mocha Manual to a Fabulous Pregnancy DVD, available at Walmart.com. A divorced mom of 10-year-old Kayla and six-year-old Michael-Jaden, Kimberly left her successful 15-year career as an award winning journalist to transform her life and launch her own business. he had a vision to create a multi-media brand for the underserved market of women of color and even on the brink of single motherhood, she just couldn’t find a good enough answer to the “Why Not?” question that kept circling in her head. Since then, she launched a “mocha-flavored” maternity and new Dad tee shirt line sold at www.MochaManual.com and expanded her book series, writing The Mocha Manual to Turning Your Passion into Profit—How to Find & Grow Your Side Hustle in Any Economy (Amistad/HarperCollins) and then The Mocha Manual to Military Life—A Savvy Guide for Wives, Girlfriends and Female Service Members, both released in 2009. Kimberly and The Mocha Manual™ brand have been featured on various national and local media outlets including CNN, the Tom Joyner Morning Show, Fox News, U.S. News & World Report, Essence, Black Enterprise, Pregnancy and various web outlets, including Celebrity Baby Blog and The New York Times. A card-toting native of Queens, New York and graduate of New York University and Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, Kimberly most recently served as a senior editor at Essence magazine. Her previous positions include serving as a staff writer for Fortune magazine, a business columnist for the New York Post, and as a business writer for The Times of London. She is a member of the 2011-2013 class of IATP Food and Community Fellows.

daughter-in-law Judy of Stuart Farm, a 270-acre dairy enterprise with 240 milking cows and nearly 200 head of young cattle situated at the edge of the Great Bay Estuary. Over the years Stuart Farm has been recognized for its leadership in conservation and environmental management and in 2003 the Merrills were honored by the American Farmland Trust as Stewards of the Land, the organization’s highest honor. A founding member of the New Hampshire Coalition for Sustaining Agriculture, Lorraine has served on regional and national committees of the USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, and as state committee chair of the USDA Farm Service Agency. Lorraine also has extensive experience in education, as an elementary school teacher earlier in her career, as a local school board member, and more recently completing eight years as a trustee of the University System of New Hampshire. Lorraine was recently appointed and is now serving as Commissioner of Agriculture for the state of New Hampshire. She was a member of the 2007-2008 Food and Society Fellows.

marketing organization whose mission is connecting farmers and consumers through marketing, trade and education. Before Red Tomato, Rozyne co-founded and served as director of marketing for Equal Exchange, a fair trade food business that trades directly with small farmer cooperatives in Latin America, Africa and Asia. From 1981-1985, Rozyne was head buyer and marketing manager for Northeast Cooperatives in Brattleboro, VT, and he was marketing manager for Estabrook Farm in Yarmouth, ME, from 1978-1980. He lives with his partner Kimberly and two daughters in Middleborough, Massachusetts.

local and slowest foods of all: the ones we grow and prepare ourselves. He is Founding Director of Kitchen Gardeners International (KGI), a nonprofit network of 4,900 gardeners from 90 countries who are taking a hands-on approach to local foods systems development. Roger also works to promote vibrant local, state and regional food systems through his work with the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (NESAWG) and the Eat Local Foods Coalition of Maine (ELFC). In addition to his advocacy and organizing work, Roger is a freelance writer and public speaker specializing in gardening and sustainable cuisine. His articles on food, agriculture and gardening have appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, Organic Gardening magazine, and Saveur. He is a contributing editor for Mother Earth News. Although grounded in his own local food system, Roger remains interested in and connected to international food issues. Roger first became involved in food issues in Europe as head of Friends of the Earth's European office in Brussels during the 1990s at the height of the Europe's mad cow madness. He was also part of the American NGO delegation to the last UN World Food Summit. He enjoys cooking, gardening and eating with his three Belgo-American boys Francois, Maxim and Sebastian, and his wife Jacqueline. He was a member of the 2008-2009 class of Food and Community Fellows.

not to enjoy herself. Since her first article was published in 2001, Chang has written about growing, cooking, and eating food for a variety of national outlets, including the Boston Globe, the Associated Press, and a few major magazines. She is the Boston Globe's regular cookbook reviewer and a frequent contributor to NPR's Kitchen Window series. She was a member of the 2004-2006 class of Food and Society Policy Fellows.