Antonino Maltese
he/him/his
Antonino comes to us from the small island of Sicily, in southern Italy. A Brooklyn kid through and through, he knows the best pizza shops in Coney Island and loves jogging through Prospect Park. His passions include playing with his cat and white-water rafting. He got into his food justice journey after working with local food pantries and experiencing the need that many New Yorkers face. Working with Healthy CUNY has been a great opportunity as it allowed him to work with like-minded individuals with a goal of equitable outcomes for all.
Elaine Li
she/her/hers
Elaine is a sophomore at Macaulay Honors College at CUNY Baccalaureate for Interdisciplinary Studies studying Economics and Public Health. She has been with Healthy CUNY Advocates since 2021 and is so grateful to be a part of this team and see the difference their advocacy makes for their community.
Mckenley Dieudonne
he/him/his
Mckenley got into his food justice journey by working at Transition Academy Cougar Country Pantry at Medgar Evers College. Interacting with students on campus, he noticed many were food insecure. As a result, students were unable to focus on their classes successfully. Working at Transition Academy Cougar Country Pantry, he prepared bags with fresh produce and non-perishable items for students to revive proper nourishment to enhance them mentally and physically for school. Food justice is essential for college students to reduce academic struggles and poor retention rates. Food justice means finding ways to advocate for individuals to access proper nourishment. To advocate for food justice is to educate about the value of healthy food, donate to local food pantries and create policies that provide free purchasing assistance. Individuals should have the privilege of proper food regardless of any circumstances. Healthy food creates a long life span, boosts immunity, better mood, reduces disease, and enhances memory. Food justice advocates contribute to a healthy local food system, self-sufficient people, and a supportive environment.
Carolina Juarez-Hernandez
she/her/hers
Carolina is a proud first-generation Mexican-American born and raised in East Harlem. She is a CUNY Hostos student working to become a Maternal & Infant Health Social Worker inspired by her own parenting journey. What Carolina likes the most about working in advocacy is the people. She likes getting to know the stories and connecting with people. Carolina plans to expand her studies and advocacy work in mental health awareness and maternal care during infancy. She started doing work in advocacy in the middle of a pandemic and it was an eye-opener to what is missing for minorities in her community, in all the communities.
Jailine Acosta Molina
she/her/hers
Jailine got into her food justice journey went she applied to be an advocate. She earned a bachelor’s in Dietetics, Foods, and Nutrition. Although she studied food and its components and how food can help with diseases, she learned very little about food advocacy and policies. One or two classes were taught on this topic for about 3 hours. She came across an email from the department about opportunities to be an advocator and she immediately applied. She knew she wanted to combine her passion for food with advocacy. She likes advocating for what she believes in, that we all deserve access to nutritious foods. Her end goal is to become a community RDN and being an advocator is teaching her how to be a good one in the future. Food justice to her means having access to nutritious foods, being able to have access to them via SNAP, community gardens, food pantries, and more. Food justice is to find ways to provide our community with the food they need.
