Melina Shannon-DiPietro has been a director of the Yale Sustainable Food Project since 2003. Since joining the Project, she has overseen the transition to a sustainable dining program, the creation of the Yale Farm, and the development of educational and academic programming related to food, agriculture, and the environment. Under her leadership, the Project has emerged as one of the nation’s foremost leaders on innovative and creative educational approaches to food, agriculture, and environment, making Yale a center for this work. Before coming to Yale, Melina farmed in Sicily and Maine and taught history at the Maine Coast Semester, a selective semester high school program for thirty high-achieving students from around the nation. She also worked as a consultant for Bain and Company, where she focused on non-profit strategy and business planning. Melina grew up in Albany, New York. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Social Studies from Harvard University, magna cum laude with honors.

Melina also serves as a consultant to foundations and not-for-profit organizations, and she advised the development of model gardens at the 2008 Venice Biennale and the 2005 Smithsonian Folk Life Festival. She is an active member of the New Haven Food Security Council, Yale’s Women’s Leadership Consortium, and the Friends of East Rock Park.

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