Jamila Walida Simon
Jamila Walida Simon earned her Bachelor's Degree from Wells College and her Master's Degree from Cornell University. She began her career with Cornell University Cooperative Extension in New York City (CUCE-NYC) under the direction of Cornell Human Ecology (CHE) alum, Dr. Davis-Manigaulte the former CUCE-NYC Family and Youth Development Program Leader. Jamila served as the CYFAR CITY Project Coordinator while with CUCE-NYC. This launched her love for anchoring youth voices in her positive youth development
Nathaniel Vacanti
Kenjin Chang
Kenjin is a doctoral candidate interested in the design of food environments and its role in promoting transitions to healthier, more sustainable diets. In addition to his position within the Department of Human-Centered Design, he also serves as the Co-Chair of Research and Education for the Menus of Change University Research Collaborative (MCURC).
Kenjin received his master's degree from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and, prior to joining the College of Human
Nathalie Celestin
Nathalie Celestin, MPH, CHES, is a Ph.D. student in Community Nutrition working with Dr. Angela Odoms-Young at Cornell University. Her research interests center on the social and structural determinants of nutrition equity, with a focus on belonging and food access. Prior to joining Dr. Odoms-Young’s lab, she served as the SNAP-Ed Coordinator for the Georgia Department of Public Health and as the Food and Nutrition Security Fellow at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Jingjie Du
Jingjie joined the Ph.D. program in Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University in January 2023. She works in Dr. Xin-Gen Lei’s group, where she studies phytases as both animal feed additives and soil fertilizers using computational biology and enzyme engineering. Her work focuses on uncovering the evolutionary diversity and catalytic mechanisms of phosphorus-mobilizing enzymes and developing soil-compatible biocatalysts to reduce fertilizer dependence and environmental impact. Motivated by the potential of biotechnology to address global challenges in