Farmworker Health Policy Database

Laurie Beyranevand JD’03 is a Professor of Law at Vermont Law and Graduate School and an attorney focused on public health in the context of the food system. Before joining the VLGS faculty, she worked for Vermont Legal Aid, where she represented adults and children advocating for access to health care, education, and civil rights. Laurie is an appointed member of the Food and Drug Law Institute, a founding member of the Academy of Food Law and Policy, and Chair Elect of the Agriculture and Food Law Section of the American Association of Law Schools. A first-generation American with Iranian and Appalachian roots, Laurie has always appreciated the power of diverse foods to bring people together.

Lihlani Nelson manages operations and a wide range of administrative functions at CAFS. She also leads and contributes to a variety of projects, including the Healthy Food Policy Project, which elevates local-level policies that increase access to healthy food. She has a background in planning and food systems, with a dual masters in Agroecology and Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Before joining the CAFS team, she worked as a Program Associate with the National Farm to School Network on the Seed Change initiative, building capacity for schools to increase local procurement, on-site food production, and nutrition and agriculture education.