Policy and Advocacy for Food Systems Change: A Conversation with Seasoned Leaders 

The Wallace Center’s Food Systems Leadership Network is excited to invite you to the upcoming Policy and Advocacy for Food Systems Change: A Conversation with Seasoned Leaders panel discussion.  

Political advocacy is one of the most effective ways of achieving lasting systems change in our communities and in our food system. With an unprecedented amount of funding coming from the federal government to protect and advance local food systems, and with the Farm Bill up for renewal in 2023, now is the time to get motivated, excited, and ready to act to ensure that Congress continues supporting programs that build more equitable, resilient, and climate-smart food systems in the United States.  

Food policy experts Edna Rodriguez of RAFI-USA, Kate Fitzgerald of Fitzgerald-Canepa, LLC, Paula Daniels of the Center for Good Food Purchasing, and Savi Horne of North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers, Land Loss Prevention Project will be joining a panel conversation moderated by the Wallace Center’s Susan Schempf to share their experiences and perspectives on engaging in food policy and advocacy. Together, these leaders bring decades of experience using policy and advocacy as tools for creating lasting change. We’re honored to have them share insight into best practices and approaches for navigating food systems policy and their visions for moving these efforts forward. 

We hope to see you on Wednesday, May 18 at 11am Central for a discussion infused with wisdom and ideas that will leave you with a renewed energy to act and advocate for the issues that are important to you and your community.  

 Wednesday, May 18 at 11am Central 

Register here. 

Meet the Panelists 

Edna Rodriguez has been at RAFI-USA for 11 years becoming its Executive Director in 2017. Edna has strategically grown RAFI-USA’s organizational capacity, and as a fervent advocate for equity and justice, has been committed to imbuing these values into all of RAFI-USA’s work. She serves on the Boards of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) and the National Family Farm Coalition (NFFC) and originally hails from the Dominican Republic. 

Paula Daniels is Co-founder, Chief of What’s Next, and Founding Chair of the Center for Good Food Purchasing. She is a lawyer, and has held a number of senior positions in government in California and Los Angeles, including as Senior Advisor on Food Policy to Mayor Villaraigosa of Los Angeles.  She has also taught food policy at UC Berkeley, UCLA, USC and Vermont Law School. She is an Ashoka Fellow, and a Stanton Fellow of the Durfee Foundation. 

Kate Fitzgerald works on policy that links family farms with consumers to achieve better health, fair economic opportunity, and community sustainability.  Based in Texas for 20 years, she has worked in Washington, DC since 2009, concentrating on farm bill policy and helping USDA implement food and farm programs.   

Savi Horne is Executive Director of the North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers’ Land Loss Prevention Project, a non-profit law firm that has offered, for more than 33 years, legal representation of clients, community economic development, and professional outreach in the effort to promote wealth, land preservation, and rural livelihoods. As a state, regional, and national non-governmental organization leader, she has been instrumental in addressing the needs of socially disadvantaged farmers and rural communities.