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Food Trails Think Tank

The Food Trails Think Tank is a pool of ten key experts, with different backgrounds and expertise, chosen to support the project in its development.

The team acts as a strategic and advisoring board on the project priorities and is there to provide advice on practical and theoretical steps to partner cities, to support, understand and shape sustainable, resilient, fair, and healthy urban food systems.

The Think Tank is supporting Food Trails work in the 11 European cities, and represents and includes a variety of actors, geographical areas, and backgrounds to ensure that their expertise complements what research organizations are developing under the project umbrella. 

Find out more about Food Trails Think Tank members by checking their profiles!

Profiles

Angela Frigo has been working in the EU field dealing with food, agriculture, and social affairs since 2010. She currently works as Secretary General at European Food Banks Federation (FEBA). She represents FEBA at meetings of the FEAD (Fund for European Aid to the most Deprived Community), the EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste, the Expert Group Contingency plan for ensuring food supply and food security, and the European Commission. She previously worked as EU and International Liaison Officer at Fondazione Banco Alimentare Onlus, and had a work experience at the EU Parliament. She holds an Executive Master in EU Union Studies from Université Libre de Bruxelles, a Bachelor of Arts and a Master’s Degree in Comparative Languages and Literatures.
Becca Jablonski is an Associate Professor and Food Systems Extension Economist in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at Colorado State University (CSU). Her research and extension program comprises evaluating the farm and ranch profitability impacts of sales through non-commodity markets; and assessing the community economic impacts of food system policies, investments, and programs, including strategies focused on strengthening rural-urban linkages. She co-leads CSU’s Food Systems Initiative and the CSU Food Systems Extension team.
Eveline van Leeuwen is Scientific Director at the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS), Chair of Urban Economics at Wageningen University & Research (WUR) and Vice President at the European Regional Science Association (ERSA). She is a member of the OECD Expert Advisory Committee on Rural Innovation and of the International Advisory Board (IAB) of the Amsterdam Economic Board. From 2001 to 2011 at VU University Amsterdam she developed an expertise in Spatial Economics. In her fields of research and education: relations between city and countryside, broad prosperity focused on circularity, energy transition and regional food systems.
Felipe Dizon is a Senior Economist in the Agriculture and Food Global Practice of the World Bank, where he co-leads the Community of Practice on Urban Food Systems. His current work focuses on understanding the constraints and opportunities to improving access to healthier and more sustainable diets in rural and urban areas. Prior to joining the Bank, he conducted research on financial inclusion and novel financial products, and led various research projects in Guatemala, Haiti, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Uganda, and Zambia. Felipe holds a Ph.D. in Agriculture and Resource Economics from the University of California- Davis, an MA from the University of San Francisco, and a BA from De La Salle University- Manila in the Philippines. 
Frederike Praasterink is professor of Future Food Systems at HAS University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. The Future Food Systems applied research group works with students and professionals on transformation of the food system to a positive, sustainable, food secure system. She is lead coordinator of a transdisciplinary scientific consortium Transition to a sustainable food system, member of many executive and advisory boards on policy for agriculture, food and natural environment, and founder of a small-scale agribusiness active in the circular economy. Previously he worked for over 15 years for the FAO in various countries in the world.
Giovanni Colombo Public Affairs Lead EU at DSM, an international high-technology company operating in the health, food and materials industries. Until December 2022 he was Senior Public Affairs Manager at EIT Food, where he was responsible for promoting synergies and collaborations for food system transformation, providing input into EU policy consultations and facilitating dialogue between policymakers and innovators. He previously led Hill+Knowlton Strategies' Food Practice in Brussels. He worked for the Brussels-based think tank Friends of Europe, organising high-level conferences on EU energy, climate change and water policies. He holds a Master's degree in European Studies from the University of Cambridge and a Bachelor's degree in Humanities with a specialisation in History from the University of Milan.
Claudia Giampietri works as the Director of Healthy Food Healthy Planet, a pooled fund initiative that brings together funders and organisations from different sectors (health, food, climate change, biodiversity, animal welfare, labour rights and just transitions) with the purpose of joining forces to transform the food system in Europe into one that is sustainable, fair and healthy for all. Claudia has a rich experience working in the international not-for-profit sector developing strategies and facilitating programmes and processes. Before joining Healthy Food Healthy Planet, she worked for a global philanthropy where she cooperated closely with partner organisations from civil society from all over Europe, facilitated processes that brought civil society and philanthropy closer together, and with other colleagues she strived to make grantmaking as participatory and inclusive as possible. Curious, entrepreneurial, loyal and dedicated, she is likes challenges and aspires to bring conversations, projects and partnerships to the next level.
Mario Roccaro Programme Manager Education at EIT Food, is a policy/project manager with 10+ years of experience in R&I policy analysis and project management. He has a strong scientific background in Life Science and Bio-Economy. Dr. Roccaro joined EIT Food in April 2018 as Programme Manager Education, developing educational offerings for postgraduates and professionals in the Agri-Food sector. Previously, he was a European Commission policy officer, designing and implementing HORIZON 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and managing working groups for online learning and skills development. He holds a PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Edinburgh and has conducted plant science research at the Max Planck Institute Cologne.
Nevin Cohen is an Associate Professor at the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate School of Public Health, and Health Policy and Research Director of the CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute. His research explores the policies, governance systems, practices and infrastructure to support socially just, healthy, ecologically resilient, and economically viable urban and regional food systems. He is the co-author of "Beyond the Kale: Urban Agriculture and Social Justice Activism in New York City", which examines the potential of urban farms and gardens to address racial, gender, and class oppression. He has a PhD in Urban Planning and Policy Development from Rutgers University, a Masters in City and Regional Planning from the University of California, and a BA from Cornell University.
Nikolai Pushkarev is Manager of EU Policy for Food and Land Use Sectors at the independent think tank Agora Agrar. Until the end of 2022 he was policy coordinator at the European Public Health Alliance (Epha), a leading European civil society network advocating for policies to improve health and well-being, where he led the work on Food Systems & non-communicable diseases prevention. Previous experiences include human rights, environment, energy, as well as work in the cultural and private sectors. He gained an MA in European Law from Maastricht University and a postgraduate degree in agricultural economics through the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London).
Philippe Schuler is an Independent Consultant, Advisor and Expert in Food Loss & Food Waste Reduction Global Impact Manager. Until the end of 2022 he was Global imapct manager at at Too Good To Go, where he was responsible among other things for driving the company’s ‘Cities Against Food Waste’ initiative - encouraging local governments and municipalities to fight food waste together. Graduate in Supply Chain Management at Copenhagen Business School, he has a widespread experience in researching the issue and closely working with public institutions and private industry in HoReCa to reduce their food waste within their operations in both Europe and Asia.
Stefan Swartling Peterson is professor of Global Transformations for Health at the Karolinska Institutet (Sweden), with side appointments at Makerere University School of Public Health and UNICEF Sweden. In these positions he is responsible for the agenda-setting for multisectoral systems transformations of sustainable health determinants. Previously he worked as Chief of Health Section for the UNICEF Program Division in New York (2016-2020) and has covered several positions and launched numerous initiatives worldwide in the public health domain, both in academia and policy-practice leadership.
Stephanie Wunder works at the independent think tank Agora Agriculture. She coordinates Agora Agriculture’s work on sustainable diets and focuses on the development of favourable policy frameworks at the German and EU level. Core topics of her research are food systems governance, food waste reduction, the promotion of plant-based diets, and the design of national and regional food strategies. Before joining Agora Agriculture, Stephanie worked at the Ecologic Institute as the Coordinator of Sustainable Food Systems and Land Use Policy for over 15 years. 

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The Food Trails project has received fundings from the European Union’s Horizon 2020
Research and Innovation programme, under grant agreement n. 101000812.