Our Team

Angela R. Hansen

Angela founded Food Systems Foresight in 2019 to help food system decision-makers to illuminate systems dynamics, spur social innovation, and ensure sustainable development. In her 20+ year advisory career, Angela has advised Heads of State, UN Executive Directors, Civil Society leaders and three World Food Prize Laureates.

Angela previously served as CEO of GKI, a social enterprise advancing systems thinking, and as Partner and Director of Agriculture & Food Security at Dalberg, a global strategy firm.

Angela is a Ph.D. candidate and research supervisor at the Graduate School of Business at the University of Cape Town and a contributing author to two books; Corporate Citizenship in Africa and Financial Inclusion in Africa.

Maria Paula Gomez

Maria brings over a decade of experience in human-centered design and strategy consulting, specializing in climate resilience and agtech. As a Manager at FSF, she has led global initiatives, including work with FAO to integrate a food systems lens into food loss and waste efforts and a project with WFP's Latin America office focused on the future of food in the Amazon. In addition to her work with FSF, Maria leads the Climate Venture Lab at Mercy Corps Ventures, where she pilots tech-enabled solutions for climate resilience in emerging markets. Previously, she led the design and operationalization of USAID's digital development portfolio in Southeast Asia and was a Senior Project Manager at Dalberg. Maria holds a BA and MA in Economics from Los Andes University in Colombia and an MPP from the University of Chicago. She lives in Mexico City with her husband and two daughters.

Hazel Okech

Hazel is a Public Health Nutritionist and researcher, specializing in food systems analysis and systems thinking. She holds a Bachelor's in Nutrition and Dietetics from Maseno University, Kenya and is pursuing her Masters in Community Nutrition and Development in the same institution. Hazel has contributed to high impact projects including the development of a Human-Centered Design for Nutrition-Sensitive Social Protection Toolkit and research on food systems transformation indicators for GAIN, and a Village-based Advisor and Agro-dealer Business Model assessment for AGRA. Previously, she worked at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, gaining experience in nutrition research. Hazel is passionate about building resilience within local communities and advancing nutrition-sensitive policies and programs. She is fluent in English and Kiswahili.

Eugenia Chung

Eugenia is a public health nutritionist and researcher who brings a comprehensive approach to interconnected global issues. Her interdisciplinary and intercultural background enables nuanced, context-sensitive approaches to addressing systemic challenges in global health and food systems. Her experience spans Africa, the Americas, and Asia, working with organizations including USAID, KOICA, Helen Keller International, IVAC, and Vitamin Angels. At Food Systems Foresight, Eugenia supported the City of Kingston, NY to develop its first ever food systems plan. Eugenia holds a master's degree in International Health and Nutrition from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and dual bachelor's degrees in History and Culture and Food and Nutrition from Sookmyung Women's University in South Korea.

Rachel Juel

Rachel is a mixed-methods researcher and consultant with a Masters in Public Health from Cambridge. She sees food as a solution to our world's most-pressing problems and seeks to realize the co-benefits that can emerge from food system transformations. Rachel has experience in academic institutions, UN Agencies, and NGOs in HICs and LMICs. She is passionate about climate policy and has been a delegate at three international climate conferences (COP26, COP28, and COP29). She brings these diverse experiences to her role as Chief of Staff for Food Systems Foresight.

Dr. Keneilwe Munyai

Keneilwe is a human-centred designer with 20 years experience collaborating in academic, social, private, and public sector projects. She specialises in introducing HCD to new users by connecting them to design thinking and leading fast-paced design sprints. Keneilwe has facilitated high-stakes design sprints with international partners like GAIN, developing tangible solutions to address critical issues like food safety in complex contexts, like the informal markets in Kebbi stake in Nigeria. She helped design tools to advance HCD in support of Nutrition Sensitive Social Protection in LMICs, and was a core member of the founding team of the The Hasso Plattner School of Design Thinking (d-school) at the University of Cape Town.

Flavius Mihaies

Flavius is a bilingual (French/English) sustainable development professional with 20 years of experience across Eastern Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. He has supported multilateral banks, regional organizations, think tanks, and governments in areas such as project design, financing, entrepreneurship, innovation, monitoring, evaluation, and stakeholder engagement.

In addition to his development work, Flavius has a background as an investigative journalist in conflict zones, covering critical issues like food security in Syria. His articles have appeared in HuffPost, Al Jazeera, and the Atlantic Council. Flavius holds a Master's in International Political Economy from Oxford University.

Jeff Kangacha

Jeff is an analyst and researcher working at the intersection of agriculture, technology, and policy. Jeff supported our team working with the City of Kingston in New York to develop a food system plan to enhance resilience, tackle food insecurity, and improve access to nutritious food over the next decade. He also serves as a research and policy consultant at the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, focusing on digital finance and policy development across Sub-Saharan Africa. Jeff previously worked with Sanergy Collaborative, Grub Ventures, and Cornell Institute for Digital Agriculture where he built experience in systems thinking and impact-driven research in food systems. Jeff is a graduate of Cornell University with a dual degree in International Agriculture & Rural Development and Computing & Information Sciences.

Hlubikazi Jordan

As Senior Operations Manager, Hlubikazi is responsible for planning, organizing, and coordinating Food Systems Foresight’s collective resources to meet our operational goals. She has over a decade of HR experience, both in South Africa and internationally, and has held various roles in global consulting firms including Deloitte and Dalberg. Hlubikazi holds a Bachelor of Arts in Human Resource Management and Sociology from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa.

María Cordero-Fernández

María is a Nicaraguan environmental engineer driven by a passion for socio-environmental justice. Through her work, she aims to challenge unsustainable agricultural paradigms and promote inclusive, community-driven approaches to rural development. María's experience includes work on Just Transitions in European food systems, as well as action-research projects across Latin America, particularly in Nicaragua and Peru, where she explored alternative rural development pathways and agrobiodiversity governance. At Food Systems Foresight, María recently supported the World Food Programme on an Exploratory Scenario Planning exercise in the Amazon region. She holds a Master of Science in Rural Development from the University of Ghent and is in pursuit of a PhD in Development Studies at the University of Antwerp, Belgium.

Meredith Lobel

Meredith draws on 20 years of experience in human-centered design and strategy to design systems that unleash innovation and foster equity. Meredith began her food systems career investigating the social equity implications of agro-export models in Central America. She was then a general manager at the leading international social entrepreneurship non-profit, Ashoka. Meredith pursued her passion for food at a start-up spun-out from the human-centered firm, IDEO, as well as the leading impact technology company, Divert, that converts food waste into energy. Meredith holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.A. in Sociology and Latin American Studies from Wesleyan University.

Eilif

Ronning

Eilif is a geographer passionate about agrobiodiversity, seed sovereignty, and inclusive sustainable development. He is pursuing an MSc in Environmental Studies from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Geography and Chinese Studies from Vassar College. Eilif is a multilingual researcher and facilitator who has worked across 17 countries on 4 continents with organizations including FAO, IDRC, GAIN, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, the City of Kingston, NY, and the Western Cape’s Economic Development Partnership. He was also Food Systems Foresight’s inaugural Chief of Staff.

Prior to Food Systems Foresight, Eilif worked with the International Bamboo and Rattan Organisation in Beijing. He also previously led–and remains a trusted advisor to the Board of–a non-profit organization working towards socially and environmentally sustainable development in northern Haiti.

Esona Makinana

Esona is a social entrepreneur with a gift for facilitation. He believes deeply in collaboration and human-centered design to tackle complex problems. Esona has been certified as a Design Thinking Lead Coach at the Hasso Plattner School of Design Thinking, University of Cape Town, where he trains students in human-centered design methods. Esona has co-designed and led the pan-African “Design Thinking in Afrika” programme and worked with organizations like the French Development Agency and Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN). His expertise spans public, private, and multilateral sectors, making him skilled in facilitating inclusive, cross-cultural dialogues to create actionable solutions and drive social innovation in diverse contexts.

Amaris Mercado

Amaris is a food systems researcher with a Master of Arts in Food Studies from the American University of Rome and a Master of Public Health in Policy and Management from New York University. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences from the University of South Florida. While at Food Systems Foresight, she contributed to the City of Kingston’s Community Food Systems Plan, supporting research efforts to enhance resilience, address food insecurity, and improve access to nutritious foods. Amaris has international experience in the U.S. and Italy and worked with the United Nations World Food Programme during her time in Italy. Passionate about sustainability, agroecology, and food security, she is dedicated to innovative solutions that strengthen global food systems.

Our Team

Collaborating Alumni