RISE 2019 Conference

Angélica Valdés Valderrama is a doctoral student of Food and Nutrition Policy and Programs at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. Her research focuses on the evaluation of food-related policies and interventions using mixed methods approaches. Current and recent research projects include analyzing feeding goals and values of Hispanic-identifying mothers during the first 1000 days of life; assessing barriers and opportunities for acquiring healthy food and doing physical activity in schools among Puerto Rican pre-adolescents and parents; and a spatial analysis of the effects of the Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance Program on employment. Angélica is a recipient of the Tufts-USDA Fellowship in Childhood Obesity Prevention and the Stanley N. Gershoff Diversity Fellowship. Prior to joining the Friedman School, she received a Master of Science degree in Agricultural Economics at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (UPRM). She also holds a B.A. in Economics and a B.A. in Political Science from the UPRM. Angélica has experience with community activism and organizing in favor of accessible higher public education and decolonization for Puerto Rico. She was also involved with community mitigation efforts in Western Puerto Rico after Hurricane María through the Brigada Solidaria del Oeste. She is passionate about collaborating with stakeholders in an interdisciplinary fashion to address inequities in food systems through targeted policy solutions.