Our Members
Please check back soon for more information on our members!Our Staff & Consultants
The FEC is staffed by a Director, consultants, and interns and receives technical assistance from the Coordinating Committee. The Coordinating Committee includes Institute for Public Health Innovation staff members and consultants that provide ongoing technical assistance, logistical support, and guidance in collaboration with its internal leadership structure.
Sydney Daigle | Food Equity Council Director
Contact Sydney at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Sydney directs the work of the Prince George’s County Food Equity Council (FEC) and provides Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Training to state and local-level public health-focused coalitions through the Institute for Public Health Innovation. For the past eight years, Sydney has worked with the FEC, a local independent food policy council of twenty-two diverse members. FEC advances county and state-level food and agriculture policies to promote public health, environmental sustainability, and sound economic development in the local food system.
Sydney is passionate about strengthening local food systems and improving under-resourced communities’ access to healthy foods. She has over a decade of experience working on systems-level public health interventions and local food and farm advocacy. Prior to working with IPHI, she served as the South Carolina Department of Education’s Farm to School & Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program Coordinator and as the Sustainability Coordinator at St. Francis Hospital in Greenville, South Carolina. She has worked successfully with diverse audiences ranging from school cafeteria staff to policymakers to affect change at the institutional, municipal, county, and state levels. Sydney serves on and chairs multiple advisory and steering committees in Prince George's County including the Healthy and Safe Food Truck Committee, the Health Department Health Action Coalition’s HEAL Workgroup, Prince George's County Healthy Corner Store Steering Committee, and the Greater Riverdale Cares Coalition.
Julia Groenfeldt | Food Equity Council Coordinator
Contact Julia at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Julia is a Coordinator with the Prince George’s Food Equity Council (FEC). Julia administers many of the FEC’s operations, including coordinating the FEC’s food assistance resources and networks and overseeing communications and outreach among FEC members and partners. Julia is committed to addressing food equity through policies and environmental changes that improve access to healthy and affordable foods.
Before joining the FEC, Julia served as the Program and Communications Associate with the Institute for Public Health Innovation, where she worked on food systems and policy initiatives throughout Maryland and Virginia, including the Healthy Eating & Active Living Cities & Towns Campaign and the Healthy Montgomery Transforming Communities Initiative. Julia has worked as a nutrition and food systems educator where she developed and implemented garden-based curriculum and programs for elementary and middle school students. Julia holds a B.A. in Global Environmental Studies & Food Systems and M.A. in Community Development and Planning from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Travertine Garcia | Prince George’s Fresh Health Navigator:
Contact Travertine at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.Travertine is a soon-to-be licensed dietitian and committed advocate for healthier, more equitable, and sustainable food systems. Prior to joining the Food Equity Council (FEC), Travertine conducted research related to cooking skills education as a public health intervention, reproductive health disparities, and initiatives to support regional food systems development, such as farm-to-institution and food council networks.
Travertine earned her Masters of Public Health in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Michigan and her B.S. in Human Nutrition, Foods & Exercise from Virginia Tech. She recently completed her dietetic internship through Virginia Tech, where she trained with DC Public Schools, Common Threads, Children's National Medical Center, and the Veterans Health Administration. Travertine is originally from Virginia and currently lives in Fort Washington, Maryland with her husband and her vegetable garden.
William Jennings, Summer Healthy Food Access Intern:
William is a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America where he studied Culinary Arts and Applied Food Studies. Through his college education, he gained a professional understanding of culinary knowledge. Seeking to gain additional knowledge of the food system, William pursued the Applied Food Studies program where he gained a clearer understanding of food systems, ethics surrounding food, and ecology. William is a Maryland native, who currently lives in Prince George’s County. When he isn’t learning about our current food system, he is spending his time practicing photography and painting.
Tess Kerkhof, Summer Communications Intern:
Tess is a recent graduate of Grinnell College, where she focused on organizing her community and mitigating food insecurity. Interested in building networks of mutual aid, she knows that prioritizing access to nutritious food for all must be the first step. When Tess isn't growing, cooking, or advocating for fresh food, she spends her time starting craft projects (that may or may not ever be finished).
