Blog

Client Leadership Council member Melody Lawson was born and raised in Washington, DC and has dedicated her life here to giving back to the community. She’s been passionate about food since she was a little girl, and every day she wakes up and lives by the motto her grandmother taught her: never let anybody go hungry.

Shonnie Jones’s passion is helping people. She believes that empowering families through food access and security is central to improving the lives of families in her community and furthering equity in the D.C. area. As a member of our Client Leadership Council, Shonnie hopes to become a more effective advocate for her family and community.

Joussell Lopez was a young teenager when he emigrated from Nicaragua to the United States to be with his family. Now, he’s in his last semester at Northern Virginia Community College before he’ll transfer to George Mason University. He’s passionate about ensuring others have access to the same educational opportunities - and have access to enough food to be successful in school. That's why he's become a member of the food bank's Client Leadership Council.

As part of the food bank's Client Leadership Council, members hear from experienced advocates from across the region who have used their perspectives and experiences with food insecurity to raise their voices for change. In January, the Council kicked off 2020 with a special visit from seasoned advocate Amy Jo Hutchinson.

Shauna Gray has taken care of people for most of her life—first as a home health aide, and then as a caretaker for family members. Now, she feels driven to keep her community safe and fed. She's getting started on that work as part of the CAFB’s Client Leadership Council (CLC), a group of like-minded individuals taking part in a ten-month advocacy training program aimed at empowering them to serve as effective agents of change.

As a veteran who has experienced homelessness and food insecurity, James Littlejohn understands what it means to keep persevering in tough circumstances. He also knows how important it is to connect people with the resources they need. And as a member of the Capital Area Food Bank’s 2020 Client Leadership Council, his goal is to use his unique perspective to advocate for more funding to go to resources that serve our society’s most vulnerable.

Vanessa Pierre has lived in White Oak, a neighborhood in Silver Spring, Maryland, for four years. In that short time, she’s made her mark advocating for access to healthy and affordable food — and the resources to grow it — in her community. She’s among the new members of the CAFB's Client Leadership Council (CLC), a group of like-minded individuals from across the food bank's service area taking part in a ten-month advocacy training program aimed at empowering them to serve as effective agents of change in their communities.

The CAFB Client Leadership Council brings together people with an array of perspectives and experiences from across the region, and seeks to empower members through a ten-month advocacy training program. We spoke with Odessa Davis, one of the CLC's newest members, to learn what inspires her to raise her voice for change