Roots & Remedies 2021
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Denisa Livingston, M.P.H., (Diné, New Mexico, she/her/hers) is an unapologetic food justice organizer, Slow Food International Indigenous Councilor of the Global North, and an Appointed Member of the Champions Network of the United Nations Food Systems Summit. Her mission is to improve and empower the lives of others. She is committed to addressing food apartheid, nutritional trauma, the diabetes epidemic, the dominant culture of unhealthy foods, and the increasing need of healthy food access and restorative justice. Denisa has been a legislative speaker and community health advocate for the Diné Community Advocacy Alliance (DCAA). DCAA have been globally recognized for the successful passage of several laws, the first of its kind addressing food apartheid: Elimination of Tax on Healthy Foods with an emphasis on Indigenous foods, the Healthy Diné Nation Act of 2014 or Unhealthy Foods Tax, and a tax revenue allocation for Community Wellness Projects for all 110 Navajo Chapters. She has been addressing and raising awareness of the widening disparities and injustices caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in Indigenous communities. She holds a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). She is the co-chair of the advisory board of the Slow Food Indigenous Peoples international network - Indigenous Terra Madre, a steering committee member of the Slow Food Turtle Island Association, a member of a national Sugar Action Group, served as advisory member of the groundbreaking initiative, Reclaiming Native Truth: A Project to Dispel America's Myths and Misconceptions, currently on the Seeds of Native Health Research Conference committee, member of the Slow Food USA Equity, Inclusion, and Justice working group, and an Ashoka Fellow. She is one of the contributors of the newly published anthology, Food Sovereignty in the United States: Restoring Cultural Knowledge, Protecting Environments, and Regaining Health. The work and efforts of Denisa focus on servant leadership, gastronomy, creating new roles for society, and bridging community members to purpose and innovation. Contact or follow her at Facebook, Instagram or Twitter: @PrincesseDenisa and @DineAdvocacy