Athena Rae Roesler is an associate director at the Milken Institute Center for Public Health. Her work champions public health policies, solutions, and partnerships to build a more equitable world. Most recently, she led a partnership with the DC government to better understand how cities can leverage food procurement to support nutrition, the environment, and equitable local economies. Roesler’s experience in public health started literally from the ground up, teaching thousands of students about nutrition as a farm-based educator in Arizona, Washington, DC, and South India. Her graduate research centered on the human right to food, a dignified emergency food system, and strategies to reduce health disparities. She was part of a research team evaluating California sugary drink tax and warning label policies. At Leah’s Pantry, a nonprofit supporting California SNAP-Ed, she furthered behavioral economics-based and trauma-informed nutrition security initiatives. Roesler holds a Master of Public Health in public health nutrition from the University of California-Berkeley and a BA in public health and educational studies from American University.