Maria Islam is currently a PhD student in Public Policy and Political Economy who has cultivated a profound interest in food systems policy, with a special focus on anti-hunger and sustainability initiatives. Her passion and commitment have earned her the prestigious position of Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellow, providing her the unique opportunity to collaborate with various anti-hunger and food policy organizations nationwide. Read more about her experience below.
“As a Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellow this past year, I had the transformative opportunity to work in anti-hunger and food policy organizations around the country. Given my academic and career interests in school meals policy, this fellowship was the perfect opportunity for me to put what I had learned during my first year in EPPS into practice with my fellowship projects. At the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, I helped launch the Neighbor Leadership Council, a board of community leaders with lived experience. Later in Washington D.C., I worked at the Food Research and Action Center and had the opportunity to focus on school meals policy. I participated as a speaker at the National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference and compiled an annotated bibliography on school meals research. Through my fellowship, I was also able to gain contacts back in Dallas and I plan on leveraging those relationships to contribute both to my dissertation work and local school meals advocacy efforts. This fellowship has reenforced my commitment to studying and shaping school meals policy, and I look forward to applying my insights from the fellowship to my research and projects back at EPPS.”