Vanessa García-Polanco

Vanessa Garcia Polanco co-designs the strategy and implementation of Young Farmers’ policy campaigns, ensuring equity-driven, farmer-centric research, policy, and programmatic interventions for a more just food system. She serves as the organizational council member and co-chair of the Farming Opportunities & Fair Competition Committee of the US National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. She has previously worked with the US Department of Agriculture, and the Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems. She is a member of the United Nations YOUNGO Agriculture Working Group and was part of 2021 New York Times Generation Climate at the UN Conference of the Parties Climate Hub. She is an alumna of Michigan State University and the University of Rhode Island. She is a James Beard Foundation Scholar, an Agriculture, Food, Human Values Society Innovation Leader, and a 2021 Emerging Leader in Food and Ag. As an Afro-Dominican immigrant, she brings her experiences and identities to her policy and advocacy activities.