Expert Resource Directory

and more equitable inner city communities through solutions shaped by the history, knowledge and cultures of those diverse communities. With a background in the environmental justice movement, Brahm has, for the last ten years, focused his work on creating meaningful change and innovation to critical facets of the food system that directly impact low-income urban communities. In 2003, Brahm co-founded People’s Grocery, a nonprofit organization that has attracted local and national attention for its effort to transform inner city food systems. Seeking to create new solutions to creating access to fresh food in “food desert” communities, People’s Grocery launched the nation’s first Mobile Market - a traveling food store that sold healthy foods at affordable prices. In 2010, Brahm founded People’s Community Market (PCM) to develop a food retail store that provides programs, tools and settings for engaging residents in improving their health. Brahm has a B.A. in Sociology from the University of California and a M.B.A. in Sustainable Management from the Presidio Graduate School. He is a member of the 2011-2013 class of IATP Food and Community Fellows. Brahm was born is Tehran, Iran and grew up in Los Angeles, CA. He now lives in Oakland, CA, with his wife.

acclaimed books–Vegan Soul Kitchen: Fresh, Healthy, and Creative African-American Cuisine and Grub: Ideas for an Urban Organic Kitchen (called “ingenious” by New York Times).  For the past decade he has worked to build a more just and sustainable food system. Bryant has used cooking as a tool to illuminate the intersections of poverty, structural racism, and food insecurity. He has made appearances on The Martha Stewart Show and Emeril Green, and his work has appeared in The New York Times, Food & Wine, Oprah, Vegetarian Times, and Yoga Journal. His next book,The Inspired Vegan, will be published in January 2012, and he is currently working on a new website that will launch that month as well. He was also a member of the 2008-2009 class of Food and Society Policy Fellows.

Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project. He is a frequent speaker and consultant on local food system development.

at Michigan State University, Cheryl Danley engages with communities to strengthen their access to fresh, locally grown, healthy and affordable food. Previously Cheryl served as the technical assistance liaison to the W.K. Kellogg Foundation's Food and Fitness Initiative aimed at creating healthy community environments for children, youth and families. Currently she provides outreach as part of the Food and Community Connections program. Cheryl has worked in academia, philanthropy, and the non-profit sector for more than 20 years on issues of environment and sustainable development, both in the US and abroad. Trained as an agricultural economist, Cheryl has broad international experience in community development, agricultural marketing, natural resource management and policy. She has been involved in teaching and research in a number of African countries. Prior to her current position at MSU, Cheryl served as Country Representative for Africare in Tanzania and South Africa, managing a diverse portfolio of health and agriculture programs, including projects in primary health care, HIV/AIDS, food security, natural resources, social infrastructure development, and refugee relief. Prior to that she was the Assistant Director for MSU's Partnerships for Food Industry Development (Fruits & Vegetables) -- program of the U.S. Agency for International Development designed to strengthen supply chains and improve incomes and retail linkages for farmers in developing countries. Cheryl received her B.A. from Wellesley College and her M.S. in Food and Resource Economics from the University of Florida. She is a member of the 2011-2013 class of IATP Food and Community Fellows.

specializes in commodity program reform, rural development policy, research and extension, rural revitalization, and higher education. Hassebrook has been with the Center for 30 years, developing strategies for rural revitalization, devising farm program payment limitations and enhancing federal funding for rural programs. The Center for Rural Affairs has helped nearly 5,000 small businesses get started or survive, and has assisted in the development of nearly one dozen cooperatives.

journalist. She writes about the environmental, political, and cultural implications of food and farming. She produces, hosts, and reports for public radio, had a popular weekly show on KPFA-FM in Berkeley called "Eater's Digest." She lived and farmed in Vietnam and California, served in the USDA's office of General Counsel for four years and worked with traditional native communities for over 20 years. She was a member of the 2001-2003 class of Food and Society Policy Fellows. Claire's book "Uncertain Peril: genetic engineering and the future of seeds" won the 2009 American Book Award, and the Mary Klinger award for outstanding book from the Society for Economic Botany.

2010, he has written about his own observations of rural landscapes and communities, humorous farm stories, and resilient farm folks for a weekly column called Farm to Family, originally published in the Cedar County News in Nebraska. Arens recently discontinued his colums after accepting a position as a regional editor for Farm Progress Publications, visiting farms and ranches and interviewing agriculture professionals, writing mostly for Nebraska Farmer and Dakota Farmer magazines. He was also a member of the 2003-2005 class of Food and Society Policy Fellows.

County. She works with the Boulder County Farmers' Market as the manager of the Longmont Farmers' Market and co-organizes the farmers market Inclusiveness Committee, identifying ways to make the market more accessible for under-served communities. She was also a member of the 2008-2009 class of Food and Society Fellows.

Iowa Carmody developed a keen appreciation for central cities and Main Streets. Schooled as a city planner in the Midwest and the North of England, Carmody is a devoted urbanist with special interest in regenerating depressed local economies.Since 2007 Carmody has served as President of Detroit's Eastern Market Corporation (EMC), where he leads the non-profit entity charged with converting one of the nation's oldest and largest public markets into a healthy urban food hub.