Alesha Black, who spent eight years working on agricultural development at the Gates Foundation, is the new director of the global food and agriculture portfolio at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, one of the most active think tanks on the topic.
Former agriculture secretary Dan Glickman is a co-chair of the agricultural development initiative. As one of her first duties, Black will oversee the council’s annual food-security symposium in Washington. This year’s symposium, scheduled for April 26, will focus on the challenge of feeding cities as the world population urbanizes. At Gates, Black coordinated the foundation’s partnerships with China, Brazil, the United States and U.N. agencies that supported small farmers.