Biography

Erin MacDougall is a healthy eating and active living specialist and scientist dedicated to ensuring a future in which every person has access to healthy food produced in a just and sustainable manner and safe places to be active. With a background as a nutrition scientist studying heart disease, Erin approaches real-world problems with a systems view toward comprehensive solutions. As a public health practitioner, she works with a diverse group of community-based organizations, government agencies, policymakers and community residents to help identify and realize tangible changes for policy and systems to improve the food system and public health for residents in the Pacific Northwest. She was a founding member of the Regional Food Policy Council. She is currently engaged in the work of the statewide Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition and the Good Food Coalition. She is committed to improving school food both locally and across the nation, advancing efforts to institutionalize Farm to School and school garden programs. She works to improve access to healthy foods in low-income communities by helping to advance policy efforts for local farms and food harvesters to sell to low-income residents and institutions, while simultaneously promoting economic development through green jobs. Prior to working in public health, Erin worked as a scientist studying cardiovascular disease, in particular researching the impacts of systemic inflammation on late-stage heart disease. Her commitment to promoting lifelong health for all people comes from her understanding of the origins of chronic diseases and the importance of a healthy diet and physical activity in preventing them.