What is your current position?
Executive Director, Safe Tables Our Priority (S.T.O.P.) www.safetables.org. S.T.O.P. is a national organization working to make food safer and prevent illness and death from infectious diseases transmitted by food, such as E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella and Listeria. Few people realize that infectious diseases are essentially pollutants in our foodstream, and foodborne disease is a silent environmental health crisis that is injuring millions and killing 5,000 Americans a year. Most of these illnesses are preventable, which is why S.T.O.P. works to raise awareness of the issue, assist victims, and change corporate and government policies that perpetuate foodborne disease.
Have you earned any advanced degrees since Middlebury? In your field, when is the best time to pursue an advanced degree?
I went back to earn a mid-career Masters degree in Public Administration at the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Governent a few years ago. Achieving that after building a solid background in non-profit development has proved to be ideal because the training and credentials have allowed me to broaden my focus and take on much bigger policy and administrative responsibilities. My work experience definitely allowed me to better take advantage of the wealth of resources at the school. Plus, to be honest, taking a year off from my career to go back to school felt like a year-long vacation from the working world!
I was one of the youngest students in the MPA program, and I'm certain my Middlebury background was instrumental in my being accepted, because it demonstrated that I could handle the academic rigors. There were several other Midd grads at the Kennedy school while I was there, including Jodie Silverman and Dania Palanker.
What is your greatest career satisfaction? Your greatest life satisfaction?
On a professional level, S.T.O.P. is one of the most powerful voices working on a national level for better foodborne illness protection, and it is incredibly rewarding to be able to direct my talents and energy to something that is making such a strong impact where there is a dire need. On a personal level, I find inspiration in every single person I work with. S.T.O.P. has some of the world's most dedicated volunteers - people who put their lives on hold to go testify before Congress or spend days poring over research materials to ensure that proposed regulations really will protect the public health the way that is needed. And parents who call us for help when their own children are sick, who are shocked to learn that our food isn't as safe as it could be, often then go out and become leaders in their own communities to demand reform, and it's just incredibly inspiring. A job like this is challenging and all-encompassing, and I go home every day exhausted, but very thankful to be a part of this effort's success.