After Kiddush, join us for a thoughtful conversation exploring the crucial connections between the food choices we make every day and the impact on climate change.
This panel is moderated by Michael Hurwitz, who spent the past two decades addressing equitable food access and previously served as the Director of Food Access & Agriculture for GrowNYC.
Tutu Badaru, Assistant Director for GrowNYC’s Food Access Initiatives and Partnerships
Milagros de Hoz, Senior Food Policy Advisor at the NYC Mayor’s Office of Food Policy
About the Speakers
Michael Hurwitz has spent the past two decades building vital community resources to address community wealth creation, equitable food access, and to strengthen the Northeast circular economy. Most recently Michael launched Landing Lights Strategies—a consultancy specializing in senior-level strategic and operational support for nonprofit and for-profit clients as well as food system resiliency. Previously, he served as the Director of Food Access & Agriculture for GrowNYC, where he transformed and strategically grew the +30-year-old Greenmarket division into the nation’s largest farmers market-based food access and agriculture initiative. Working with an incredible team of young adults, Michael co-led the launch and management of Added Value & Herban Solutions, Inc., establishing a 2.75-acre farm in Brooklyn and a multiprogram incubator for new generations of youth leadership. Michael is an Adjunct Professor of Food Policy at Hunter College and holds a J.D. from Benjamin Cardozo School of Law, a M.S.W. from the University of Pennsylvania, and a B.A. from the University of Michigan. He was recognized in 2018 as a McSilver Institute Vanguard for Social Justice and lives with his wife and children in Queens and can be found eating his way through the most diverse borough in the world.
Tutu Badaru is the Assistant Director for Food Access Initiatives and Partnerships at GrowNYC, where she is responsible for the program management, strategy, and development of GrowNYC’s Food Access Initiatives and program partnerships, which enhance food access throughout New York City. Eight years ago, she moved from Uganda to New York City to pursue a graduate degree in Clinical Nutrition. Halfway through the program, she realized that effective nutrition programs would require a multipronged approach on policy, clinical, and community or grassroots levels. She has also served as Chair for the Steering and Envisioning Committee for the New York City Nutrition Education Network (NYCNEN) 2019-2022 and more recently as the 2022-2023 board chair for Farm School New York City.
Milagros de Hoz serves as the Senior Food Policy Advisor at the New York City Mayor’s Office of Food Policy (MOFP), where she is responsible for advancing MOFP’s work in the intersection of food, environment, and climate.de Hoz is also responsible for reporting on progress towards the goals set in Food Forward NYC, the city’s ambitious 10-year food policy plan.
