Committee Hearings

The Healthy Schools Act is a landmark bill that will substantially improve health, wellness, and nutrition in our schools. The Act will raise the nutritional standards and improve the quality of school meals. It will bring more fresh, local fruits and vegetables to schools. The bill will triple the amount of physical and health education by adopting national standards. It will create school gardens and support other environmental initiatives, and it will expand school-based health and wellness programs. More than 350 stakeholders, including 100 students, participated in the transparent, inclusive process that crafted this critically important legislation, which is supported by dozens of organizations, such as the American Heart Association. This legislation was passed unanimously by the D.C. Council on May 4, 2010. However, the Healthy Schools Act's 6.5 million cost has not yet been funded.

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For more information, please visit the Healthy Schools Act page.

Panel 1

• Kathy Woodward, M.D., Society of Adolescent Medicine
• Douglas Van Zoeren, M.D., Kaiser Permanente
• Muriel Wolf, M.D., Children’s National Medical Center
• Mary Beth Tinker, R.N., Public Witness

Panel 2

• Walter Smith, D.C. Appleseed
• Amy F. Shroades, R.N., Public Witness
• Nicole Farmer, M.D., Public Witness
• Charlene Burgeson, National Association for Sport and Physical Education

Panel 3

• Yolandra Hancock, M.D., Children’s National Medical Center
• Deazon Gardener, 3rd Grade Student, Kimball Elementary School
• Tamara Robinson, 3rd Grade Student, Kimball Elementary School
• Kristin Roberts, D.C. Hunger Solutions

Panel 4

• Kate Vinopal, D.C. Hunger Solutions
• Allison Sosna, D.C. Central Kitchen,
• Jody Tick, Capital Area Food Bank
• Erica Austin, Kids Café

Panel 5

• Edward Bruske, Parents for Better D.C. School Food
• Kaifa Anderson-Hall, Washington Youth Garden
• Ethan Genauer, School Gardens Across America
• Lauren Biel, D.C. Greens

Panel 6

• Lola Bloom, City Blossoms
• Carl Rollins, Common Good City Farm
• Rebecca Davis, D.C. Environmental Education Consortium
• Sandra Farber Bandier, University System of D.C.

Panel 7

• Ona Balkus, Center for Science in the Public Interest
• Ralph Scott, Parents for Nontoxic Alternatives
• Joshua M. Volinsky, Earth Day Network
• Thornell Page, PhD, Page Research Associates

Panel 8

• Brian Castelli, Alliance to Save Energy
• Andrew Fellows, Clean Water Action
• Adam Tenner, Metro Teen AIDS
• Ryan Pleune, Maryland Green Schools Coordinator

Panel 9

• Jennifer Guste Leonard, D.C. Assembly on School Health Care
• Josephine Baker, Public Charter School Board
• Ariana Quinones-Miranda, Friends of Choice in Urban Schools
• Erika Wadlington, Friends of Choice in Urban Schools

Panel 10

• Cassandra S. Pinkney, Eagle Academy PCS
• Donald Hense, Friendship PCS
• Daniel Hudspeth, Hope PCS
• Vinnie Bevivino, Engaged Community Offshoots, Inc.

Panel 11

• Nura Green, PhD, Aban Institute and Associates, Inc.
• Beth Perry, Mary’s Center for Maternal and Child Care
• Mark Haskell, Friends & Food International
• Antoinette McIntosh, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority

Panel 12

• Erika Watson, Revolution Foods
• Keith Jenkins, Student, Thurgood Marshall PCHS
• Tara Flakker, Parents for Better D.C. School Food
• Ariel Trahan, Anacostia Watershed Society

Panel 13

• Cathy Reilly, SHAPPE
• Jeffrey Wilkes, D.C. Smart Schools
• Amber McDonald, Public Witness
• Robert Bettmann, D.C. Advocates for the Arts

Panel 14

• Ellen Valentino, Maryland, Delaware, and D.C. Beverage Association
• Bonita Pennino, American Cancer Society
• Polly Thibodeau, Joy of Motion Dance Center
• Nina Dodge, Politics and Prose Climate Action Project

Panel 15

• Abdur-Rahim Muhammad, Hung Tao Choy Mei Leadership Institute