HEAL Food Alliance

School of Political Leadership

2017-2018 Cohort

Building Political Power to Transform Our Food & Farm Systems

The HEAL School of Political Leadership (SoPL) supports talented, passionate, food and farm justice leaders who are advocating for policies and solutions that will reimagine how our food and farm systems function. Over the course of a year, SoPL will equip a cohort of 10 leaders with the tools, knowledge, and skills they need to run for office, work on campaigns, and drive political change. Together we are creating a blueprint for inclusive, democratic food and farm systems that are accountable to all of our communities. We believe these renewed systems should prioritize:

Our Inaugural SoPL Cohort

The inaugural SoPL leaders are farmers, fishers, community activists, organizers, educators, and advocates working in diverse communities across the United States. Their work is creating pathways for a reimagined food and farm system - one in which every community has the right and the means to produce, procure, prepare, share, and eat nutritionally and culturally appropriate food free from exploitation of themselves, any other people, or the rest of the natural world.

Meet the 2017-2018 SoPL leaders from across the U.S. who are working to transform our food and farm systems

Sonia Galiber

Director of Operations, Urban Creators
& Farmer

Philadelphia, PA

"I want to bring about sustainable social change - as opposed to feeding a non-profit culture that operates as its own form of capitalistic exploitation."

Ángel García  

Tulare County Community Organizer,
Californians for Pesticide Reform

Lindsay, CA

"Through SoPL, I will learn how to leverage the power of California's farm working communities--a collective power that is based on lived experiences."

Miah Ulysse

Northside Fresh Coordinator
& Policy Manager,
Appetite for Change

Minneapolis, MN

"I'm excited to explore ways to radically queer the systems we have been bound to, and am interested in building my skills in municipal and statewide food policy campaign development."

Rebekah Williams

Youth Education Director, Mass Ave Project

Buffalo, NY

“I look forward to connecting with organizers, and farm and food systems workers nationwide. I am especially excited that SoPL can be a catapult for bringing the Good Food Purchasing Program to Buffalo.”

Hunter Scott 

Leadership Team Member, National Black Food and Justice Alliance

Cleveland, OH

"SoPL will provide me with new expertise, valuable resources, and connect me with consummate leaders. Together, we can recreate our food-system."

Brett Tolley

Community Organizer, Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance & Fisherman

Chatham, MA

“My hope is to deepen my commitment toward helping build an equitable and fair food system.”

Emmaline Bigongiari

Student Organizer, Real Food Challenge

Bellingham, WA

"I'm looking forward to gaining tools to be a more effective organizer for food justice."

Neftali Duran

Founder, I-Collective

Holyoke, MA

" I see SoPL as an opportunity to achieve a better understanding of the political systems that effect my community work. To understand bureaucratic systems is to understand systems of power, which are often the challenges that community work faces."

Victoria Quevedo

Food Policy Coordinator, 
La Semilla Food Center

Anthony, NM & El Paso, TX

"I look forward to sharing the strategies I learn with my community so we can organize and train new leaders with a deeper understanding of local economies, food justice, and policy advocacy.” 
Your tax-deductible donation will support diverse leaders from across the country who are committed to developing solutions to reimagine our food and farm systems. Donate now to support the HEAL School of Political Leadership!