Industry Accountability Associate

Katie Marx (she/her/hers) is CSPI's Industry Accountability Associate. She works to ensure that the food and beverage industry is held responsible for its impact on our health and food systems.

Food safety

CSPI pushes for policies to keep our food supply free of dangerous pathogens, fight antibiotic resistance in the food chain, control and label allergens, and curb the use of synthetic dyes and poorly tested additives.

Director of Programs & Innovation, Los Angeles Food Policy Council

Valeria Velazquez Duenas brings over 17 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, working with organizations that aim to increase access to fundamental human needs. She and her team run and develop the LA Food Policy Council’s Healthy Retail initiatives and Cultivating Farmers program which have collectively provided training for over 190 food retailers and urban growers. Just prior to joining the Los Angeles Food Policy Council, Valeria led efforts to increase access to fresh, locally grown foods through Food Access Los Angeles’ Market Match program. This included a coalition based effort which led to the LA County wide ARP funded Market Match expansion program. She also oversaw the launch and growth of the Seasoned Accelerator program for micro and small food enterprises. Additionally, she co-founded Across Our Kitchen Tables in 2017, to build systems of support for women working in food in Los Angeles. Her interest in food systems was sparked by witnessing manufactured scarcity and high food prices in Haiti while volunteering in 2011, along with her mother’s experiences growing up around her father’s farm, and her father’s experiences of urban poverty and lack of food. She received a B.A. in Communication Studies with a Minor in Political Science, and a Masters Degree in Social Entrepreneurship. She was born in Orange, CA to immigrant parents and has called the Southern California area home ever since.

Executive Director, Hand, Heart, + Soul Project

Wande Okunoren-Meadows is a force. She is the visionary behind a groundbreaking nonprofit and the former leader of a nationally renowned early learning program. Her presence commands, her voice disrupts, and her impact reverberates, making her a catalyst whose work does not simply inspire change; it demands it. Wande's life has been defined by advocacy. From an early age, she learned what it felt like to be different in the South and to challenge expectations. Rather than shrinking herself to fit in, she stood firm in her identity and created her own path. Much of her journey can be described as that of a wildflower growing through concrete, again and again. Those experiences continue to shape her leadership and fuel her commitment to people who feel overlooked, unheard, or excluded. She understands the transformative power of being given the opportunity to thrive. Her early work as Executive Director of her family's early childhood center laid the foundation for her innovative approach, earning statewide recognition and a visit from Georgia's former First Lady, Sandra Deal, alongside other key leaders. One of Wande's many imprints is serving as a member of the Big Green DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization), the first nonprofit-led philanthropic DAO dedicated to putting nonprofits in the driver's seat. She is the recipient of numerous honors, including the Nikki T. Randall Servant Leadership Award presented by the Georgia Women's Legislative Caucus, the Martin Luther King Jr. Advisory Council's Rita Jackson Samuels Founder's Award, and a U.S. Senate Commendation from the Office of Senator Jon Ossoff. Wande's lived experiences of marginalization, rejection, and perseverance add depth to her advocacy. She draws from those experiences to inspire bold thinking, challenge assumptions, and help others imagine new possibilities for solving complex problems. Whether speaking to policymakers, educators, business leaders, or grassroots organizers, she challenges institutions to rethink how they serve, invest in, and partner with communities. Wande is a graduate of Emory University and the proud mother of three civically engaged children, whom she considers her greatest achievement. They are a happy handful who inspire her every day. Outside of her advocacy, she enjoys the gym, live comedy, and discovering hidden speakeasies.

Honorable Chief; Senior Policy Advisor, Hand, Heart + Soul Project

Honorable Chief Mrs. Valencia Stovall is a distinguished leader and public speaker from Southeast Atlanta, a devoted wife, mother and new Iya (grandmother). She is a highly accomplished professional in finance, entrepreneurship, and public policy. She served as a member of the Georgia General Assembly representing Clayton County from 2012 to 2020, authoring and co-authoring over two dozen bipartisan bills signed into law to include special needs students and single parents. During her tenure, she held a leadership role on the House Education Committee and served on several advisory councils and commissions, receiving numerous awards for her work. She organized the Educate Georgia Summit for three years, bringing together over 3,000 stakeholders to shape the future of education. She also supported more than 12,000 individuals through community events such as job fairs and leadership conferences. An alumni of Fort Valley State College and Georgia State University, she is also the Managing Partner of Val Promotions, LLC, and Georgia Youth Career Center, LLC. She currently serves as a Senior Policy Advisor for Hand, Heart + Soul Project, Vice Chair of the Martin Luther King Jr. Advisory Committee, Co-host Georgia Single Parent annual recognition, and host of WCEG Talk Radio, Issues and Answers. In 2024, she was honored with a Chieftaincy title in Nigeria. Her vast policy knowledge has become highly sought-after.

Director of Food Policy, Consumer Federation of America

Thomas Gremillion is the Director of Food Policy at the Consumer Federation of America. He advocates for improving food safety protections for consumers, including through his work with the Safe Food Coalition, a group of consumer, trade union, and foodborne illness victim organizations dedicated to reducing foodborne illness by reforming government food inspection programs. A graduate of Harvard Law School, La Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar, and the University of South Carolina, Gremillion is passionate about identifying and implementing public policies to give more consumers access to affordable, safe, and nutritious food.

Executive Director, Meals4Families

Dr. Kate Hanson is a mom, scientist, and advocate working to end child hunger in North Carolina. Kate's home and work life is filled with the gifts of having a big family, living close to extended family, living in a state with incredible local farmers and local food systems, and working with families and partners across NC from the mountains to the coast.

Fresh on a Budget?: Mapping Dollar Store Fresh Produce Availability

Healthier school food

Food offered at school is a key source of nutrition for millions of kids, playing a critical role in shaping children’s health, wellbeing, and ability to learn. CSPI advocates for evidence-based policies that ensure schools can provide and every child has access to nutritious, safe, and sustainable school food.

Uniting advocates to fight for a better food system