Michelle Mascarenhas-Swan

Biographical Information
"Michelle brings a love of soil, a passion for strategic thinking, (and sometimes her two lively little ones) to her work for long-term systemic change.

"Over the last 15 years, Michelle Mascarenhas-Swan has played multiple leadership roles in the social justice movement in California. Most recently, she was Co-Director of the School of Unity and Liberation, a movement-building training center based in Oakland, California. Prior to that, she worked for more than a decade towards food justice in working-class communities of color. Michelle co-founded and served as director of the Center for Food and Justice in Los Angeles from 1997 through 2001, helping to develop farm-to-school programs nationally and organizing campaigns for food justice in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Michelle was also a Kellogg Food & Society Policy Fellow.

"Michelle became active in social justice work through anti-war and labor/community organizing in greater Los Angeles where she was born and raised. She graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in History, specializing in Women’s Studies in 1994 and an M.A. in Urban Planning in 1997. During her time at UCLA, she helped organize the campaign for union recognition of graduate student workers."

Affiliations

 * Team, Movement Generation