Holly Freishtat is the senior director of Feeding Change at the Milken Institute. She is an experienced director, transformative leader, and strategist with a 20-year track record developing and implementing food system policies and programs. Freishtat served as Baltimore City’s first food policy director and chief of food policy and planning, where she founded and directed the Baltimore Food Policy Initiative. She spent over a decade building an equitable and resilient food environment by creating policies and programs that directly impact health and economic disparities. As a result, Baltimore City has become internationally renowned for innovative food governance and leadership.

Freishtat has received national and international recognition for her public speaking and food systems expertise. She has presented at 125 international and national speaking engagements and has been interviewed by CNN, NBC, Huffington Post, Politico, and the Associated Press. In addition, Freishtat has been awarded numerous accolades for her contributions to food systems, including the Mayor’s Medallion for Meritorious Service Award, Maryland Daily Record’s Top 100 Women, and the 2016 Milan Urban Food Policy Pact Award. She has served as a food systems strategist, agricultural marketing director, nutrition educator, and grower. She holds an MS in agriculture, food, and environment from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, a BS in nutrition from the University of Vermont, and an executive certificate from Carey Business School.