Alexina Cather, MPH, is the Director of Policy and Special Projects at Wellness in the
Schools, a national nonprofit that teaches public school students healthy habits to learn,
live, and thrive. She is also a consultant with Food Tank on Policy and Special Projects
and the Deputy Chair and a Founding Member of the Board of Advisors at the Center
for Food as Medicine where she works to increase equity and access to food as
medicine treatments, programs, and interventions. Prior to her current roles she was the
Director of Policy Advocacy and Sustainability at the James Beard Foundation where
she led the foundation’s efforts towards food system change.
For six years she was the Deputy Director at the Hunter College NYC Food Policy
Center where she worked to develop innovative, evidence-based solutions to prevent
diet-related diseases and protect food security. Throughout her career she has worked
closely with policy makers, community organizations, advocates and the public to
increase access to more nutritious foods and to create healthier, more sustainable food
environments.
Alexina currently serves on the advisory boards of the NYC Healthy School Food
Alliance, the Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center, the Weill Cornell Community
Advisory Board and is a Steering Committee Member and Co-Chair of the Healthy
Eating and Active Living Action Team at the New York State Cancer Consortium. She
graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Integrative Biology and holds a Master of
Public Health from the University of San Francisco. Alexina was the Lead Co-Chair for
New York City Mayor-Elect Eric Adams’ food policy transition team.
Her passion for connecting all people and especially children with real, healthy food is
inspired and powered daily by her three sons. Prior to her career in food systems, she
was a semi-professional soccer player in the Women’s Premier Soccer League and
worked in as a science teacher in a school program at a children’s hospital.