With an eye to grooming leaders in U.S. food policy, a Washington-based university is launching a one-year program to prepare graduates to take a guiding hand in resolving climate change and food inequalities. Former deputy agriculture secretary Kathleen Merrigan says the Food Policy Leadership Institute will “supercharge” the work of the Food Institute that she leads at George Washington University.
In an announcement, Merrigan listed manifold challenges facing agriculture, including thin profit margins, rising global demand for food, volatile weather and markets, and limited access to credit. The challenges “require creative solutions and government must play a role,” said Merrigan, often identified with local and regional food networks and sustainable agriculture. “It is time to throw our collective weight behind building a bench of diverse new leaders who can carry the work, and the world, forward.”
A GW description of the new program says, “A strong future for our food and agricultural systems requires leaders with diverse perspectives to shape policies that work for all.” The program is aimed at working professionals, graduate students and people considering a master’s degree.
Merrigan was one of four women working in Washington who are on Food Tank’s list of “22 women fighting for food system change.” The women on the list span the world.