Drexel University

The Center for Hunger-Free Communities

Solutions Based on Science and the Human Experience

Staff

Mariana Chilton

Mariana Chilton, PhD, MPH is a nationally recognized leader addressing child hunger in America. She is an Associate Professor at Drexel University School of Public Health, Co-Principal Investigator of Children’s HealthWatch and the Director of the Center for Hunger-Free Communities at Drexel University School of Public Health. Dr. Chilton received her PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from the University of Oklahoma, and Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University. She has testified before the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives on the importance of child nutrition and other anti­ poverty policies.

She has served as an advisor to Sesame Street and to the Institute of Medicine. Her awards include the Nourish Award from Manna, the Unsung Hero Award for Improving the Lives of Women and Girls from Women’s Way and the Young Professional Award in Maternal and Child Health from the American Public Health Association.

Amanda Breen, PhD, is the Research and Site Coordinator for Children’s HealthWatch Philadelphia. She oversees the entire research project in Philadelphia including the interviewing of participants, the management and supervision of research assistants, the uploading and cleaning of interview data to the national data coordinator in Boston, Massachusetts, and the analysis and publication of data for policy-relevant reports and other peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Breen holds a PhD in social psychology from Temple University and received her B.A. in psychology from Ithaca College.
Angelo Melendez

Angelo Melendez, MSW, LCSW is the Outreach Manager for the Center. He has over twenty-five years of experience in the social work profession ranging from direct clinical to mental health and juvenile justice program settings. As Outreach Manager, he connects participants from Children’s HealthWatch and Witnesses to Hunger to social services and resources. He earned his Masters in Social Work and BA in Criminal Justice from Temple University.

Jenny Rabinowich, MPH, is the Project Manager for Witnesses to Hunger. She has been with the Witnesses to Hunger project since its start in 2008 as a Research Assistant, interviewing participants, and is now overseeing the expansion of the project to new sites in Baltimore, Boston and Camden, New Jersey as well as the development of the Expansion Manual and Resource Guide. Jenny is a graduate of Haverford College with her Bachelors in Cultural Anthropology and received her Masters in Public Health through Drexel’s Executive Program.
Kate Scully, JD, is the Policy Analyst for the Center.  She works to translate the Center’s research and practices into policy-relevant communications.  Kate will also coordinate the Center’s social media communications on Facebook and Twitter.  Kate earned her JD from Widener University where she was the Research Editor of the Widener Law Review. She also has her bachelors in History from the University of Maryland Baltimore County and graduated as a Humanities Scholar.

Victoria Egan is the Program Coordinator for the Center. She provides administrative, logistical and financial coordination for all of the programs  of the Center and serves as Dr. Chilton’s Executive Assistant. Victoria is a graduate of Harvard College with a Baccalaureate degree in Biological Anthropology and a former Naval Officer. She is currently enrolled in Drexel's Masters in Public Health Executive Program.

Lili Dodderidge has been at the Center as a Witnesses to Hunger Expansion Intern since January. She is a rising senior at Georgetown University, majoring in English and minoring in Classical Studies. Currently, she is working on visual and data analysis of photographs taken by the Witnesses of Philadelphia, and she has created a toolkit for community-based advocacy work.
Beatriz Sanchez graduated from Haverford College this past May with a degree in Anthropology and a concentration in Latin American and Iberian Studies. She will be working as a community-based research fellow with Children's Health Watch, Witnesses to Hunger and other research projects that develop during the upcoming year. She looks forward to collaborating with everyone in the office, learning from Witnesses and other interviewees and contributing to the Center's positive environment. Yoga break… anyone? Beatriz is a certified Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga instructor.
Patrick Wiggins is a second year Public Health Master's Student at Drexel University School of Public Health. He currently is interning with Witnesses to Hunger for the Bridging the Gaps Internship in the Summer of 2012. He is also interning with Dr. Arthur Evans, Commissioner of the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual DisAbility Services, who is the Chair of the Philadelphia Mayor's 90 day Task Force on Outdoor Serving of Food.