Emerson Fellow
Shireen Cama
11th Class, 2004-2005
Shireen graduated with distinction from Yale in 2004 with a degree in economics. She served as a freshman counselor, coordinated an elementary school tutoring program, and volunteered as a community health educator. She was also a leader in the South Asian Students and Persian Students Associations, worked on health education, disaster relief, and HIV prevention in rural India, and health care policy at Families USA.
Field placement: FoodChange
New York City, New York
Shireen developed educational and promotional materials that focused on the nutritional benefits of the Food Stamp program. She also conducted cooking demonstrations alongside FoodChange’s food stamp pre-screeners in supermarkets in low-income neighborhoods of New York City to expose people to healthy meals and to help them makea clear connection between a healthy diet and participation in the Food Stamp program.
Policy placement: Food Research & Action Center
Washington, D.C.
Shireen created educational material for advocates on local school wellness policies. The material focused on helping low-income school districts create wellness policies that meet their unique needs. Shireen conveneda conference of key stakeholders to discuss avenues for collaboration and best practices on the wellness policies. She also assisted with the production and distribution of FRAC’s annual Summer Food Report by analyzing state legislation and other data relevant to summer food programs for children.