Emerson Fellow: Theodora Gibbs-Plessl »
18th Class, 2011-2012
Field Placement: Hunger Task Force (Milwaukee, WI)
Theo conducted an assessment of food affordability and healthy food access in SNAP-authorized food retail stores by surveying the food available in 128 different stores. Using GIS and SPSS, she identified the nutritional quality disparities in the city that fall primarily along racial and socioeconomic lines. She also interviewed SNAP recipients to better understand what barriers individuals face in their daily food acquisition decisions.
Hunger Free Community Report:
Twinkies, Tomatoes, and Tomatillos: A Quantitative Assessment of Healthy Food Accessibility in Milwaukee County documents healthy food access in Milwaukee County and offers a set of strategic suggestions for how community stakeholders might address inequalities in healthy food access.
Policy Placement: Center for Community Change (Washington, DC)
Theo is working on organizing campaigns for retirement security and job growth. She is acting as an information liaison between the Center’s grassroots partners around the country and the federal policy developments on Capitol Hill that affect those communities. She is also developing materials on grassroots job growth campaigns in Ohio and North Carolina.
Pre-Fellowship Education/Experience:
Born in Argentina and raised in Arizona, Theo Gibbs graduated with a degree in anthropology from Stanford University in 2011. Theo served as president of Students for a Sustainable Stanford, and worked on multiple campus initiatives focused on environmental sustainability, including the creation of a two acre educational organic production farm on campus. Her previous experiences include developing sustainable production practices with small-scale citrus growers in Belize and a quantitative study of the cultural values of ecosystem services and forest restoration strategies in Hawai’i.
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News & Events
- Honorees Announced for CHC’s June 2012 Congressional Awards Ceremony
- May 1, 2012
At CHC’s June 7, 2012, Congressional Awards Ceremony… Read more we will honor Senator Dick Durbin and Senator Roy Blunt. We invite
- Hunger Center Releases Paper
- April 20, 2012
The goal of ending childhood hunger can be furthered effectively through alliances of anti-hunger advocates and partners from the education… Read more