Arlene is the Executive Director of the Global Child Nutrition Foundation (GCNF), working with a global network of stakeholders to ensure that children around the world have nutritious, locally-sourced meals at school. She is spearheading GCNF’s Global Survey of School Meal Programs, which is being implemented in 2019. Arlene also advises or serves on boards for several other international food, agriculture, and nutrition-focused organizations.
Previously, Arlene was a Deputy Director for Agricultural Development at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and an executive in the United Nations World Food Programme, where she led the school feeding program, management and security training programs, and an annual global walk to raise awareness about child hunger. Arlene also managed international technical assistance for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, served both as a volunteer and as a staff member of the Peace Corps, ran a restaurant, and managed a small snack machine company. She grew up on a family farm in Michigan and is a graduate of Michigan State University.
