Our Team

DIRECTOR OF EVALUATION

Gabriela is a dedicated public health professional and researcher with a strong focus on the connections between food systems, food environments, and nutrition. She holds both an MD and an MPH with a concentration in Nutrition and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior at the University of South Carolina. Gabriela has extensive experience in managing large-scale public health projects and working on various food system and nutrition-related initiatives. She brings a global health perspective to her work, excelling in research, evaluation, and community outreach. Passionate about using mixed methods to better understand population needs, Gabriela is committed to improving health outcomes in underserved communities by advocating for healthier, more equitable food systems.

DIRECTOR OF POLICY + STRATEGY

Debbie is passionate about building consensus around food system transformation and evidence-based policy change. She’s a former practicing attorney who has launched and led community-based organizations focused on shifting agricultural policies towards agroecological systems. She is a strategist and coalition builder. Drawing upon her experiences in law, media, communications, and grassroots organizing, Debbie works towards a vision of a climate resilient, fair, and equitable food system that supports powerful regional food economies. Debbie is a Kitchen Table Advisor to State Innovation Exchange’s Cohort for Rural Opportunity and Prosperity (CROP) Program and a subcommittee member for the CA Farm to School Roadmap, Planting the Seed, released February, 2022.

SENIOR EVALUATION SPECIALIST

Rebecca believes deeply in the transformative power of food systems. Her experience spans both facilitation of systems change and local engagement, including advocating for urban agriculture, launching composting programs, strengthening nutrition initiatives, and leading school-based data collection to guide health policy work. She recently spent five years working for Washington, DC’s local government, focused on public health strategy and the well-being of public school students throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Nationally, she served as an evaluator for the USDA’s Rural Child Poverty Nutrition Center, to improve federal nutrition program coordination and access to healthy food in rural communities. Rebecca holds a Master’s degree in Agriculture, Food, and Environment from Tufts University and is a certified Master Recycler-Composter and Master Gardener.

CO-FOUNDER | EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Beth is passionate about the intersections of food, environment, culture, and social justice. She holds a PhD in Nutrition Intervention and Policy from UNC-Chapel Hill and has worked across the US and around the world to help communities identify food system challenges and address them by leveraging community strengths. Beth uses quantitative and qualitative research methods in her work with farmers, grocery retailers, schools, nonprofits, foundations, and community development financial institutions. She strongly believes in the power of food to connect people. Beth served on the Board of Directors for the Durham Co-op Market and is based in the Bay Area of California.

EVALUATION SPECIALIST

Yasmeen is passionate about the power of data to connect those at the grassroots with those who can enact change at the grass tops. She is a researcher, evaluator, project manager, and policy professional. Prior to joining Food Insight Group, Yasmeen worked on multiple consultancies for projects related to the North Carolina food system. Additionally, she worked as a consultant conducting large-scale evaluations for life sciences, regulatory, and healthcare organizations. Yasmeen received her MPH with a concentration in health policy from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.

DIRECTOR OF EVALUATION

Meagan brings enthusiasm for mixed methods research with an interdisciplinary approach in partnering with communities to guide evaluation. With over 25 years of experience working with families with young children, Extension, public health, state government, and education settings, she has a BS in Dietetics with a Specialization in Health Promotion, an MS in Community Services, and a PhD in Educational Psychology from Michigan State University. Meagan has worked to link farms and food producers with educational institutions while advocating for young children and policy initiates to improve access to nutrient-dense and locally produced, affordable foods as part of a just food system in early childhood and K-12 education settings.

CO-FOUNDER | STRATEGIC ADVISOR

Linden co-founded FIG as a way to continue her passion for community-based, food-as-social-justice work. She holds a PhD in Nutrition Intervention and Policy from UNC-Chapel Hill, and she relishes the opportunity to work across disciplines, social agendas, and geographies to build programs, policies, research, and connections that promote the health and wellbeing of communities. As a former “Lunch Lady,” she has a particular passion for supporting schools’, students’, and families’ efforts to grow school food systems that support community wellbeing from farm to school to child. She hopes that FIG’s work empowers many others to take up food system causes in their own communities.

SEEDS OF CHANGE CONSULTING

LaShauna is the Founder and Principal of Seeds of Change Consulting (SOC). SOC provides racial equity consulting with a focus on the food system, strategies for supporting the growth of farmers of color, organizational and leadership development, research, evaluation, feasibility studies, facilitation, and a range of services to individuals and organizations seeking to deepen and apply a racial equity analysis to their work and missions. LaShauna is a training consultant with the Racial Equity Institute, and she is passionate about rural life, preserving farmland and natural resources, and Southern foodways.

RAINDROP WORKSHOP

Eva works with groups, organizations, and government agencies to design learning and evaluation processes that support systemic change. She is dedicated to creating food systems that are just, resilient, and provide delicious food to all. Eva spent a decade building and leading FoodCorps’ evaluation program before launching Raindrop Workshop. Her professional experience spans multiple roles in service of sustainable community food systems and healthy schools, including as a food access policy and urban planning consultant, a school-based food educator, and a pastry chef. She earned Master of Public Administration and Master of Urban Planning degrees from the University of Washington.

PROJECT REFLECT

Angela is the Founder and CEO of Project Reflect, a food systems design lab that develops and builds meaningful, just and joyful food experiences with communities. Prior to launching the lab, she served the Executive Director with The Edible Schoolyard Project and the Director of Innovation and Strategy with San Francisco Unified School District’s Future Dining Experience. She is a 2024 Mimi and Peter E. Haas Distinguished Visitor with the Haas Center for Public Service at Stanford University and has also served as a 2016-2017 Stanford University d.school Civic Innovation Fellow. Angela holds a Master’s in Food Studies from NYU and lives in Richmond, Virginia, with her wife, Annemarie.