Barbie Izquierdo is a courageous mother who brings humanity to social justice issues like food insecurity and poverty in America. Born and raised in North Philadelphia, her family experienced food insecurity firsthand. As a result, she has turned her experience into expertise with years of direct service experience, grassroots organizing, and advising non-profit organizations. Barbie has dedicated over a decade to being an activist, organizer, and advocate and has found it to be her life’s calling. She is the Founder of Community Driven Consulting LLC and the Director of Advocacy-Neighbors Engagement at Feeding America.

Miss Izquierdo is an afro-latina born into generational cycles of poverty, and has battled to stop the cycle for her family. She struggled with food insecurity as a child and it followed her into adulthood having lost her job during a recession. Barbie was often unable to buy enough food for her daughter, son, and herself. On many days, she skipped meals to make sure her children had something to eat. This ignited her passion for change, and desperation to take action! She is a bilingual activist with lived expertise trailblazing in the movement to fight the exploitation of people of color who have been affected by public policy.

Barbie has been a keynote speaker at the White House and has been featured on BBC World News, CNN, Associated Press, Washington Post, People Magazine, and many conferences, podcasts and was awarded the 2022 Global Citizen Prize Award and recognition for her work demanding equity. Finally, Ms. Izquierdo takes pride in providing impactful public speaking driven by vulnerability, truth, and authenticity to empower and motivate thought leaders and organizations to action. Barbie says, “I feel like America has this huge stigma of how families are supposed to eat together at a table, but they don’t talk about what it takes to get you there or what’s there when you’re actually at the table.” She is, “fighting for substantial changes to eradicate food insecurity so that her children and their children won’t have to choose between feeding themselves and paying a bill.” Barbie has used her circumstances as motivation to fight for others. She raises awareness by sharing her story and advocating for policy changes that are both dignified and equitable.

Alyssa Dixon is a chef and small business owner from the Gila River Indian Community who has used her knowledge of traditional foods to create Alyssa’s Kosin, or Kitchen, to promote healthier recipes for her O’odham community. Although raised as an urban Native, she stays close to her roots in Vah-Ki, District 5, by using lessons passed down from her family to make delicious food with fresh ingredients.

Her cooking skills developed by learning how to combine traditional foods with healthy culinary ideas. Alyssa’s food tells a story of survival and resilience for Community members to reconnect with their culture in every bite.

Before starting Alyssa’s Kosin in 2017, she worked for Ramona Farms, an American Indian Foods grower in the Gila River Indian Community, and participated in the PWNA Train the Trainer with Indigenous chefs. She has used this hands-on experience to share her knowledge of traditional and non-traditional foods with tribal members.

She encourages cooking as a way to connect with elders and family members to demonstrate O’odham values, such as respect and other teachings. Her food has been featured at community events for those who share in the stories of ancestral foods such as Stotoah Bavi (White Tepary Beans), Soam Bavi (Brown Tepary Beans), Viohog (Mesquite Beans), Hannam (Cholla Buds), and Hashan Bahidaj (Saguaro Cactus Fruit).