May Lecture: Marian Flaxman, Food as Medicine—What, Why, and How?

Marian Flaxman, Food as Medicine—What, Why and How?
Tuesday, May 28
10:30 AM
Online via Zoom

Marian Flaxman’s passion for health advocacy began when her first daughter was born with nearly a dozen life threatening food allergies. As a very young first-time Mom, Marian felt intuitively that there was something going on within the food and healthcare systems that was contributing to the exponential rise in food allergies and inflammatory illness. For the next decade, Marian threw herself into the work of studying health, nutrition, and the food industry. She became a certified holistic health counselor at the age of 21, was elected to the board of an organic food co-op at 23, and opened her first gluten-free, organic café at 24. She then went on to open another bar and restaurant before moving into management for the corporate natural food restaurant chain, True Food Kitchen. During her time in management, Marian developed her passion for systems and organization, policy development, and personnel management. After the birth of her third daughter, Marian left the world of restaurant management for a Director of Sales position, where she rebuilt the internal structures of the company’s sales and marketing department, and further sharpened her skills for managing people and systems. She also spent a year working on and around The Hill, working as a lobbying assistant for the Kombucha Brewers Trade Organization, KBI.

After more than a decade in the professional world, Marian returned to academia, studying Public Health at American University in Washington, DC. She worked as a research assistant in the lab of Nutritional Neuroscience, studying the impact of diet on neurotransmission. Marian then went on to complete a Master of Science in Biomedical Science Policy and Advocacy at Georgetown University. Her master’s project explored the role of the human microbiome in health and disease and proposed policy solutions to protect and promote a healthy microbiome, reduce chronic disease risk, and lower healthcare expenditures. Marian currently works as a health and nutrition policy consultant, helping both individuals and organizations tackle complex health problems with data driven solutions. Above all, Marian cherishes her role as the mother of three amazing, healthy girls who inspire the work she does every single day.

No registration is required. The Zoom link will be sent to all those subscribed to the OLLI newsletter the morning of the lecture. If you do not receive the OLLI newsletter and would like to attend, please email [email protected].