Earlene Cruz

Earlene Cruz is an accomplished professional in the field of food studies and social entrepreneurship. She is the founder and executive director of Kitchen Connection Alliance (KCA), an organization dedicated to educating global citizens on promoting and developing a better food system.3 Cruz serves as an adjunct professor at the NYU School of Global Public Health, focusing on food insecurity.25

Cruz completed her Master's degree in Social Entrepreneurship and Food Studies at the Gallatin School of New York University.15 Her academic research centers on the power of food to unite or divide people, and she is passionate about bringing people together through food culture.1

Some key aspects of Earlene Cruz's career and achievements include:

1. Founder of KitchenConnection.org, a platform for live, online cooking classes supporting SDG 2: Zero Hunger.1
2. James Beard Scholar Award Winner.12
3. Youth Representative and Steering Committee Member to the United Nations Department of Public Information.13
4. Board member of nonprofits promoting social entrepreneurship and peace through tourism.1
5. Multilingual, speaking English, Spanish, French, Italian, and learning German.1
6. Author of "The Cookbook in Support of the United Nations: For People and Planet" and a children's book titled "How Does our Food Grow?".4

Cruz's work focuses on transforming the global food system through education, addressing issues such as climate change, food insecurity, and economic instability.3 Her experiences, including a transformative homestay in Ghana, have shaped her mission to connect people from diverse backgrounds through shared culinary experiences.4