Thursday, November 12 | 3:00-4:00 pm EST
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Food connects to nearly every issue our communities care about, including early childhood development, immigrant rights, family well-being and economic justice. Yet advocates in these movements are rarely invited into the spaces where food policy is shaped. The Los Angeles Food Policy Council’s Food Leaders Lab is working to change that.

Join Alba Velasquez, Executive Director of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council (LAFPC), for a conversation about cross-sector organizing. Alba will share how the Food Leaders Lab has trained advocates from early childhood, immigrant rights and other movements to understand food systems and policy, and how these leaders are bringing that knowledge back to their own communities and coalitions. Together, we’ll explore why intersectional, systems-level approaches are essential to building a food system that is more equitable, healthy and sustainable for everyone.

In this webinar, participants will:

• Learn why food systems are a natural connector across movements and issue areas

• Hear how the Food Leaders Lab equips advocates to navigate local government and decision-making

• Explore strategies for building cross-sector relationships and coalitions

• Reflect on how to bring an intersectional, systems-change lens to their own work

About the Speaker

Alba Velasquez (she/her) is the Executive Director of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council (LAFPC), a collective impact initiative working to build a more equitable, healthy and sustainable food system across Los Angeles. Alba joined LAFPC in 2017 and has held several leadership roles within the organization, including Program Director and Interim Executive Director, before becoming Executive Director in 2023. Her work focuses on bringing together community organizations, government, philanthropy, businesses and other food system partners to advance policy and systems change across Los Angeles.

About the Food Leaders Lab

Launched by the Los Angeles Food Policy Council in 2018, the Food Leaders Lab is a capacity-building fellowship program for local leaders working to strengthen their role in food systems change. The program helps participants better understand local government and decision-making structures, build relationships, and develop the tools to deepen their civic engagement and influence food policy in their communities.