Keynote Speaker
Chinwe Onyekere
Chinwe Onyekere grew up in the Overbrook neighborhood of West Philadelphia, across the city line from the Lankenau Medical Center, where today she is the Associate Administrator. Chinwe has a Master's Degree in Public Health from Columbia University, a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Wellesley College, and a Certificate in Business Essentials from Wharton School of Business. At Lankenau, Onyekere has implemented innovative models for primary care medicine, developed a robust community health program, and built strong relationships with community-based organizations in the Philadelphia area.
In her community-based work, Onyekere has focused on reducing healthcare disparities and identifying innovative ways to improve healthcare delivery. One of these innovations is the Deaver Wellness Garden, an organic garden on-site at Lankenau. Fresh produce from the farm makes its way to year-round farmers' market for patients, visitors and employees. This bounty of nutritious food is also used to address the food insecurity and chronic disease management needs of the Medical Center's most vulnerable patients, and is donated to local food banks. One of Onyekere's guiding principles is to focus first on her patients' needs, and to find solutions and interventions that are able to meet these needs and keep community members healthy.
Curators
Aurora Sanchez
Aurora Sanchez first began working at the Free Library of Philadelphia in 2004 as part of a work study program. She currently holds the position of Healthy Communities Coordinator, which is supported by the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. Her work focuses on lifting up the voices of community members, particularly youth and those of low-income status, and emphasizes health and wellness. She uses methods such as physical activity, gardening, culinary programs, and mindfulness as ways to approach health and wellness as holistically as possible. Aurora has also worked with various organizations in the community, such as PhillyCAM and Get HYPE Philly!. She has a bachelor's degree in Spanish.
Amanda Wagner
Amanda Wagner, MCP, MGA is Get Healthy Philly's Nutrition and Physical Activity Program Manager, working with stakeholders across the city to help Philadelphians eat healthy and be active. She is a member of the Mayor's Food Policy Advisory Council and previously Get Healthy Philly's Food Policy Coordinator. Amanda has worked on food system issues in Philadelphia with a variety of organizations, including as a Food System Planner with the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. Nationally, she served as a Congressional Hunger Fellow in Arizona and Washington, D.C. She holds master degrees in City and Regional Planning and Public Administration from the University of Pennsylvania, and a bachelor's degree from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA.
Kathy Fisher
Kathy Fisher joined the Coalition in August 2014. As Policy Director, she performs research and policy analysis, presents information to elected officials, service providers and community members, and works with a wide-range of anti-hunger and nutrition partners to promote policies and programs that will best serve those who struggle with hunger in Philadelphia communities. Kathy joined the team with nearly twenty years of social service and advocacy experience, many of them working at Public Citizens for Children and Youth focused on family economic security issues, including child nutrition, welfare (TANF), and tax policies and programs. She has her J.D. and M.S.W. degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and completed her undergraduate work at Rutgers University.
Special Guest: Councilwoman Helen Gym
Seated in 2016, Councilwoman Helen Gym is the first Asian-American woman to serve on Philadelphia's City Council. Prior to her election, she spent more than two decades as one of the city's leading community organizers in the areas of public education and immigrant rights. As chair of City Council's Children and Youth Committee, she has won historic investments for public schools, expanded pre-kindergarten programs, and infrastructure safety. She established new city funds to address youth homelessness as well as a legal defense fund for tenants facing wrongful evictions. She is a leading national voice for immigrant rights, a co-sponsor of a municipal ID card program, and a resolution supporting the Adoptee Citizenship Act.
Past Keynote Speakers
Saru Jayaraman (2017)
Saru Jayaraman is Co-Founder and Co-Director of ROC United and Director of the Food Labor Research Center at UC Berkeley. She is the author of Forked, among other works.
Karen Washington (2016)
Karen Washington is a political activist and community organizer fighting for food justice. She is the founder of Farm School of NYC and Black Urban Growers in New York.
Linda Tirado (2015)
Linda Tirado is a young, average mother from Utah whose reflection on poverty went viral and prompted her to write Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America.
Press
- 2017 Broad Street Review photo essay