Dec 1, 2022
This week on SA Voices From the Field we interviewed Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield and Gina Plata-Nino about SNAP and TANF benefits for College Students.
Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield is Managing Director of Policy and Advocacy at Higher Learning Advocates. She is an advocate with over 20 years of leadership in developing and expanding state and federal policies to increase postsecondary access and success for students with low incomes and students of color.
Prior to joining Higher Learning Advocates, Amy Ellen was a Senior Director for Advocacy and Policy at the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice. Amy Ellen also served as a Senior Policy Analyst at the Center for Law and Social Policy for over 15 years, where she analyzed and advocated for federal and state higher education policies to better serve adults with low incomes and others. She developed and advocated for a comprehensive student aid framework that combines financial aid, public benefits, and refundable tax credits to increase postsecondary access for low-income students. She also directed the Benefits Access for College Completion initiative to increase access to public benefits and financial aid for low-income students at community and technical colleges across the country.
Gina Plata-Nino has devoted much of her early professional life
to addressing the many causes of hunger and ensuring that
low-income individuals never have to place other needs above
feeding themselves or their families.
She’s an attorney at the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute. She
serves as a lead advocate on the Hunger Free Campus legislative
campaign and helps address related food security issues among
college students. She also assists on targetted help on passage of
current legislation working with the Central MA Legislative
delegation. She works with state and federal agencies to eliminate
systemic barriers to food access. She leads the Central MA SNAP
Coalition and the Worcester Food Security Task Force, regional
coalitions focused on reducing food insecurity. Prior to joining
MLRI she managed the Food Security Project - a collaboration of the
Worcester County Food Bank and Central West Justice Center. She has
presented at both state and national conferences on the importance
of equity in food security. She utilizes her skills as a vehicle
for motivating and supporting lasting changes that bring about
social justice and build grassroots leadership in her community.
She is a graduate of Northeastern University School of Law and
began her career by clerking at the Massachusetts State Appeals
Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the first
circuit.
Please subscribe to SA Voices from the Field on your favorite podcasting device and share the podcast with other student affairs colleagues!