Who We Are
Founded in 1993 by a bipartisan group of Members of Congress, we are a global nonprofit organization dedicated to the principle that access to nutritious, affordable, and culturally appropriate food is a basic human right. We develop, inspire, and connect leaders in the movement to end hunger, and advocate for public policies that will create a food secure world.
Our Mission
We develop, inspire, and connect leaders in the movement to end hunger, and advocate for public policies to create a food-secure world.
Leader In Action
Emerson Fellow De’Sean Weber gives an interview to local media on his work for the Health Corners initiative in Jersey City, N.J.
Our Fellows & Interns
Trish Abalo
Emerson Fellow
Rhiley Allbee
Leland Fellow
Alexa Angelo
Emerson Fellow
Mariama Badjie
Emerson Fellow
Sandrine Bakuramutsa
Zero Hunger Internship
Analicia Bañales
Emerson Fellow
Jarvis Benson
Emerson Fellow
Madelaine Britt
Emerson Fellow
Mary Jane Builes
Zero Hunger Internship
Esther Davila
Emerson Fellow
Jaylah Davis
Zero Hunger Internship
Methany Eltigani
Emerson Fellow
Gasana Elyvine
Zero Hunger Internship
Rachel Flores
Emerson Fellow
Alyssa Fortner
Zero Hunger Internship
Caroline George
Emerson Fellow
Cassandra Granville
Emerson Fellow
Chloe Green
Emerson Fellow
Sebastian Hickey
Emerson Fellow
Sara Higgins
Leland Fellow
Sofia Hinojosa
Emerson Fellow
Emily Hwang
Emerson Fellow
Jacob Ivey
Zero Hunger Internship
Margaux Johnson-Green
Emerson Fellow
Jini Kades
Leland Fellow
Riley Link
Emerson Fellow
Tiphaine Monroe
Leland Fellow
Dan Myers
Leland Fellow
Navya Nadimpalli
Leland Fellow
Khiem Nguyen
Zero Hunger Internship
Anne Marie Noll
Emerson Fellow
Marisa Nowicki
Leland Fellow
Hinal Patel
Zero Hunger Internship
Emma Peterson
Zero Hunger Internship
Britney Powell
Zero Hunger Internship
Bryan Pride
Leland Fellow
Aedan Raleigh
Zero Hunger Internship
Ivan Ruiz-Hernandez
Zero Hunger Internship
Jessi Russell
Zero Hunger Internship
Jacqueline Shieh
Leland Fellow
Megan Smith
Emerson Fellow
Amit Smotrich
Leland Fellow
Heather Street
Emerson Fellow
Paige Swanson
Zero Hunger Internship
Isis Blanco Vera
Leland Fellow
Allyson Vertti
Leland Fellow
Sean Walsh
Emerson Fellow
Michael Wang
Leland Fellow
Erin Warren
Zero Hunger Internship
Emma Williamson
Emerson Fellow
Maria Wrabel
Leland Fellow
Our Staff
Layla Amarir
Program and Operations Associate
Kristin Anderson
Chief Operating Officer
Zack Bly
Communications and Engagement Manager
Emily Byers
Director, Leland International Hunger Fellows Program
Yolanda Fraction
Director, Training and Development
Kiana Kelly
Senior Development Associate
Shannon Maynard
Executive Director
Sakeenah Shabazz
Senior Associate, Emerson National Hunger Fellows Program
Sam Stevens
Senior Specialist, Policy and Strategic Initiatives
Our Board
Representative James P. McGovern
Member of Congress, Hunger Center Board Chair
Representative Sheila Jackson Lee
Member of Congress
Karen Coble Edwards
Principal at KCE Public Affairs Associates, Hunger Center Board Vice Chair
Katharine Emerson
Director, Political Affairs at Bayer, Hunger Center Board Secretary
Brian Folkerts
Lou Gerber
Senior Fellow at the Food Research & Action Center
Dennis Hertel
Member of Congress (Retired), Distinguished Professor at National Defense University
Kate Houston
Alfonso Martinez
Global Head of Human Resources, International Baccalaureate Organization
Gerri Mason Hall
Chief Diversity, Inclusion & Social Responsibility Officer, Sodexo
Kimberly Perry
Executive Director, DC Action for Children
Leslie Sarasin
President and CEO at Food Marketing Institute
Jim Scheibel
Professor of Practice, Hamline University
Ria Shah
Principal at Athira Solutions, Hunger Center Board Treasurer
Eric Silva
Founding Principal at North South Government Strategies
Eric J. Steiner
Senior Director of U.S. Government Affairs at Elanco Animal Health
Mary Catherine Toker
Vice President of Government Relations at General Mills, Inc.
Our HisTory
Mickey Leland and Bill Emerson. Photo credit: Marty LaVor
In 1983, U.S. Representatives Benjamin Gilman (R-N.Y.), Mickey Leland (D-Texas) and Tony Hall (D-Ohio) formed the House Select Committee on Hunger to find sustainable solutions to national and international hunger and poverty. Rep. Leland chaired the committee until his death during a famine relief mission to the Horn of Africa in 1989.
In 1993, the House allowed a number of select committees to expire including the House Select Committee on Hunger. The committee’s chairman, Rep. Hall, responded by embarking on a 22-day fast, an act that garnered bipartisan support to form the Congressional Hunger Center as a nonprofit organization to help ensure Congress continued to address hunger. Representative Bill Emerson (R-Mo.) joined Rep. Hall as the first co-chairs of the Congressional Hunger Center's Board of Directors.
our supporters
We couldn’t do our work alone. We’re grateful to our funders for the generous financial and in-kind support that makes our work possible.
