🚀 Kicking Off HEAL’s 2025 SoPL Blog Series!
Welcome to the first post in our 2025 School of Political Leadership (SoPL) blog series! This year, 14 dynamic leaders are joining SoPL to build powerful advocacy campaigns that drive racial, economic, and environmental justice in our food and farm systems.
Over six months, participants will dive into leadership training, strategy development, and mentorship—gaining the skills and support they need to create lasting change. Stay tuned as we follow their journey! 💡🌱✨
Finding Power in Our Stories: Reflections from HEAL’s 2025 School of Political Leadership
By Ana-Alicia Carr, Los Angeles Food Policy Council, Good Food Zones
As someone who identifies as a lifelong learner, I tend to feel most productive and effective when I’m in a learning mindset. In 2024 I set the intention of using 2025 as a year to seek out spaces that would foster asset-building and refining of skills in my personal and professional life. I’m filled with gratitude to be a part of the HEAL Food Alliance School of Political Leadership (SoPL) 2025 cohort alongside my amazing colleagues – Alba Velasquez and Deja Thomas from the Los Angeles Food Policy Council as well as building relationships with food system leaders across the country.
The second session of SoPL opened up a meaningful and reflective space which enabled understanding and recognition through curiosity. This session centered on Political Leadership Life Mapping and Storytelling, with an opportunity to revisit our own life history and work in political leadership. I found this session really insightful as growing up I didn’t intentionally set out to pursue a career in policy. However, through the exercises I recognized the seeds of policy advocacy are embedded and woven into my life’s story. Using a timeline from past to present members of the SoPL cohort we
- explored questions related to influences, struggles, experiences and even the way various forms of media directly and indirectly existed in and around our lives.
- identified and named our actual and aspirational guiding values of our leadership, starting initially with six and narrowing down to the one or two of our most important values.
- finished the session with one last reflection with prompts to round out our stories defining who we are, who we consider our people, what we fight to defend and our vision for the future.
The part I found most impactful was hearing everyone share their statements out loud. While some were simple, some were insightful, and some were quite poetic, they were all strongly rooted in their own unique and compelling humanity. My fellow SoPL cohort conveyed determination, compassion, joy and relentlessness in powerful and diverse ways. It was such an humbling reminder to me that even in our busy campaigns focused on overcoming historic and system injustices, the importance of creating time and space for advocates to revisit and reflect on their own stories as this may ultimately be the most powerful tool at our disposal. When we can create space for vulnerability and honestly in storytelling, truly impactful and persuasive narratives can be formed.
As I look ahead to supporting our efforts to ensure food is healthy, affordable, accessible, sustainable and fair in Los Angeles through initiatives like the Good Food Zones, I hope to embed these types of practices into our working group spaces to foster improved pathways towards policy change and our shared vision for a just and sustainable food system.
About Ana-Alicia!
Ana-Alicia Carr is the Director of Policy & Coalitions at the Los Angeles Food Policy Council, with a background in public health and policy. With degrees in Health Science and Public Health, her journey from health education to community advocacy initiatives has positioned her at the forefront of food policy reform. At LAFPC, Ana-Alicia spearheads efforts in policy development, coalition-building, and partnership cultivation, focusing on expanding access to healthy food and promoting equitable, sustainable food systems. She plays a pivotal role in tracking and influencing food policy at local and state-level, ensuring that the council’s initiatives align with broader legislative trends and opportunities for systemic change. Her work is marked by a collaborative, inclusive approach to policy-making, driven by a deep commitment to transforming the food landscape and public health.