Toni Holness

Toni graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2005 with a BA in Health and Societies and a concentration in International Health.  She conducted research for the Philadelphia Food Trust, worked to rectify the dearth of healthy food sources within urban communities, and participated in Mayor John Street’s Summer Internship Program where she developed and implemented a fitness initiative curbing current obesity trends in Philadelphia.  She has also worked with the Equal Rights Center in Washington, D.C. and completed a fellowship with the Public Service Program at the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Field placement: Medical Legal Partnership Boston

Boston, Massachusetts

Toni joined a team of lawyers and advocates to promote preventive law in the clinical setting and to address the social and environmental factors that affect child health.  Toni carried a caseload of clients seen at MLPC’s Food Stamp Clinic, screening patients for Food Stamp eligibility, submitting applications on behalf of patients, and assisting them with the entire application process.

Policy placement: Center for Community Change

Washington, D.C.

Toni worked with the Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM) team to draft a report on the fiscal viability of deporting all undocumented immigrants.  Toni also conducted outreach to Afro-Caribbean organizations in order to expand the CCC’s Black Brown and Beyond initiative and the Youth Changing A Nation alliance.

Publications