Advisory Board Spotlight: Meet Lisa Davis

The Urban School Food Alliance is pleased to have the support of an advisory board– a diverse group of leaders and professionals to bring their unique knowledge, skill sets and experiences to the Alliance and its mission.  Members of the advisory board volunteer their time to provide valuable input and technical expertise to help the Alliance champion important initiatives to serve the health and wellness of students.

In this week’s “Advisory Board Spotlight” series, we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Davis.

Lisa Davis, Senior Vice President, No Kid Hungry Campaign at Share Our Strength

At Share Our Strength, Lisa is responsible for developing and implementing results-driven strategies and local campaigns that leverage partnerships, programmatic expertise, advocacy and communications to increase participation in federal nutrition programs and build momentum toward ending childhood hunger. Previously, Lisa held leadership positions at Feeding America and AARP, leading advocacy and member engagement strategies.

Why do you want to work with the Urban School Food Alliance?

The innovative school districts that make up the Urban School Food Alliance serve 584 million school meals annually, directly affecting 3.3 million students. Share Our Strength and the Alliance share the same goal of delivering high quality, accessible school nutrition programs to children throughout the U.S. The vision and reach of the Alliance makes the group a natural collaborator as we work together to achieve success on behalf of children.

What experiences and special skill sets do you have that you believe from which the Alliance can benefit most?

Similar to the Alliance, Share Our Strength is driving toward a national vision of ending childhood hunger in the U.S. and at the same time, our No Kid Hungry campaigns are working locally to achieve success and build momentum. As an organization, we are working to ensure kids can connect with nutritious school meals at both the systems level, as well as on the ground. No Kid Hungry campaigns operating in Alliance member districts are able to leverage external resources including grants, communications, and marketing assets to support the work of districts to enhance school nutrition operations.

What are you most excited about for the future of the Alliance?

The Alliance’s leadership is poised to make real changes in school food. Their vision is exactly what the field needs to innovate and share efficiencies. It is exciting to see the organization add capacity to execute this ambitious vision and make incremental progress toward its very important goals!

What new or upcoming events, or initiatives is your organization working on that align with the mission of the Alliance?

Increasing participation in school nutrition programs – with a specific emphasis on breakfast – is a shared goal of our two organizations. We look forward to aligning our resources to continue program expansion, with an eye toward growing and improving the nutritious options available in the K-12 marketplace with the help of the Alliance’s purchasing power. Additionally, the Alliance districts have a powerful voice to shape policy priorities impacting federal nutrition programs. Share Our Strength’s advocacy efforts, on both state and federal levels, combined with the Alliance’s practical insight about how programs operate on the ground, create an opportunity to positively shape policy initiatives in the coming years.