Madeline Bennett Email & Phone Number

United States

United States

Washington Dc-Baltimore Area

In this role, my goal is to ensure that evidence-based nutrition is reflected in federal policy. In pursuit of that aim, I produce qualitative food and nutrition policy analysis and montior developments in food policy and nutrition science. Alongside my colleagues within a coalition of allied organizations, I promote plant-forward nutrition policies to regulators at the USDA and to lawmakers in Congress; these policies typically revolve around school nutrition and federal nutrition guidelines. I also hold a leadership position within this coalition as policy co-chair. For policy-centered projects, I collect and analyze qualitative and quantitative data to develop data-driven and evidence-based resources and other works of writing. These include research reports, white papers, comments, memos, blog and Medium posts, outreach materials, guides, op-eds, and more. Nutrition science communication is integral to much of my writing. Currently, I am leading a research project investigating the fiber content of school meals using nationally representative data. Our team hopes to publish our findings in a peer-reviewed journal.

Washington D.C. Metro Area

The primary aims of this role were to develop Balanced's institutional outreach program and to help institutions design healthier menus and food environments. As such, my work regularly included the following: - Institutional menu analysis for schools, hospitals, worksites, and universities- Consultation with schools, universities, and other institutions on designing more health-promoting food environments- Development of outreach program strategy and projects- Production of numerous healthy-menu and nutrition resources for institutional food service professionals, everyday people, caregivers, and nutritionally at-risk groups- Creation of other written and video content for our blog and social media that garnered thousands of views- Supervision of internsThanks to my work in this role, Balanced has expanded its influence in the public health space, and its resources are used by many peer organizations. The institutional outreach team regularly receives request for our services, and we have built a reputation of dependability and efficacy.

Houston, Texas Area

In this position, I developed two adaptable survey instruments that assess the nutritional quality of meal offerings at institutions like schools and hospitals. The questions and scoring criteria were based in part on facility compliance with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. To achieve this, I conducted background research on the DGA, planned the survey construction, developed the scoring framework, and tested the precision, repeatability, and usability of the survey. I then used the school-specific survey to score breakfast and lunch menus from the nation's largest school districts and led outreach efforts to their food service departments.

Houston, Texas Area

In this role, I researched the state, federal, and international regulations that impact administrators, exchangers, and users of virtual (crytpo) currencies for a startup crypto group. My research informed the development of the startup as well as the market niche of the prospective tokens. In addition, I networked with attorneys and law students working in the crypto space, and I set up and participated in meetings with firms in NYC and Philadelphia.My research was extensive and comprised the following: Bank Secrecy Act, Money Services Businesses, Anti Money Laundering (Know-your-customer laws, Mandatory reporting laws, etc.), JOBS Act, Money transmission laws and state-level licensure, federal-level FinCEN registration and regulations, New York State's BitLicense, Financial Action Task Force, Prepaid Access, Simple Agreement for Future Tokens, Initial Coin Offerings, taxation with respect to virtual currency, airdropping, the emerging regulatory frameworks that differ from country to country, application of regulations to nonprofit organization in the crypto space, international nonprofit reciprocity, 501(c)(3) application process, banks and credit unions, well and less well capitalized depository institutions, FDIC interest rate caps, PayPal

Washington D.C. Metro Area

The main focus of my internship was to develop a project proposal to create a Food Retailer Scorecard. The proposed scorecard would be used to assess how health-promoting or health-harming in-store marketing practices were in a given grocery store. I conducted background research, consisting of internet searches and literature reviews on behavioral economics in food retail. I conducted phone interviews with experts in academia and with the authors of similar existing scorecards published at other nonprofits. I compiled and presented my findings with colleagues to CSPI's Vice President of Nutrition. I also began the survey design process. For a similar project on healthier food bank practices, I conducted background research on Feeding America, food bank operations, food waste at the retail level, and dollar store business models.

Galveston County, Texas

To make an impact in the community where I grew up, I volunteered with the Galveston County Food Bank as a nutrition education consultant. I edited and fact-checked the nutrition curriculum for the food bank's student and parent outreach program and updated the food bank’s nutrition policies to be more in line with the latest nutrition science. I also surveyed beneficiaries at a mobile distribution site in League City, TX, to explore the usefulness of an app that would help community members access the food bank's resources across the county.

Greater Boston Area

As a french translator for the Food Aid Quality Review, I translated focus group transcripts, conducted in rural Burkina Faso, from French to English. Transcripts were each 30 to 65 pages in length. These translated transcripts were used by Tufts researchers to better understand the positive and negative feedback from food aid recipients on the process of obtaining the food aid products, their nutritional impact on the recipients' children, and how and by whom the products were being used.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Selamta Family Project is a non-profit organization based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The organization rehouses orphaned children and conducts an outreach program for low-income families. In preparation for my field work, I designed two health and nutrition surveys that assessed different dimensions of household food insecurity and then conducted a focus group to ensure that the survey was culturally competent. With the help of Selamta's social workers, I administered these surveys to the organization's beneficiaries across Addis Ababa. I then analyzed and synthesized the survey data in two reports for the organization; these included a summary of the survey findings, factors contributing to ongoing household food insecurity, and recommended actions Selamta could take to improve health outcomes of their beneficiaries.I also had the opportunity to teach a half-day nutrition workshop for beneficiaries and assist with Selamta's English language summer camp.

Austin, Texas

The Sugar Brain Study investigated neuronal activation in naïve and frequent drinkers of sugar sweetened-beverages and subsequent hunger/satiety ratings in ad libitum meal challenges. All study subjects were Hispanic children with overweight or obesity. As a research volunteer on the study, I collected anthropometric and meal challenge data, recruited and enrolled participants at pediatric clinics, performed data entry, and helped streamline the study protocol. I also attained Level-1 MRI training to assist in fMRI brain scans.The Freshman Health Study examined the relationship between eating behavior and various aspects of health, including liver adiposity, sleep pattern, physical activity, biomarkers, anthropometrics, and gut microbiota composition. All study participants were Hispanic college freshman. My role involved recruiting participants on a weekly basis, gathering and entering data from survey screeners, and quantifying participants' liver adiposity using MRI scans.

Austin, Texas Area

At this consumer rights and environmental advocacy nonprofit organization, I was responsible for researching the proposed development of a new coal terminal in southern Louisiana. I used this information to keep the Clean Gulf Commerce Coalition website up to date and raise awareness among the coalition's followers and supporters. I also used public records to collect and organize information on the top polluting companies in the state of Texas. These data were instrumental to the advocacy efforts of our team.

Houston, Texas Area

As a pre-medicine intern in this top-ranked cancer hospital, I observed surgical removal of osteosarcomas with Dr. Justin E. Bird.

Austin, Texas Area

The FRI is a competitive research program within The University of Texas that introduces freshman to research opportunities. As part of the Bioprospecting Stream, I learned to execute fundamental biology and chemistry wet lab techniques and protocols through instruction and individual research projects.

Master’S Degree, Food Policy And Applied Nutrition

Activities and Societies: Friedman Justice League

Bachelor’S Degree, International Nutrition

Activities and Societies: Oxfam UT

Study Abroad, Field Experience In Nutrition, Italian

Hosted by the Mediterranean Center for Arts and Sciences in Siracusa, Sicily Field experience in Nutrition, Italian I Learned.