Carissa Dillon receives Minnesota Public Health Association award
Food Security Coordinator Carissa Dillon, MPH RD was recently honored by the Minnesota Public Health Association with the Paul and Sheila Wellstone Public Health Achievement Award.
The award recognizes individuals who promote and protect public health, demonstrate leadership and pioneer excellence within public service. She was nominated by Kathy Hedin and Sarah Auten and recognized on June 14 for this prestigious award.
A statewide leader in promoting food security, Dillon commissioned a Food Security Needs Assessment and Food Security website to identify and improve gaps within Ramsey County communities. Dillon worked to reach those frequently excluded from formal data collection. She personally interviewed more than 75 in-depth food security professionals, making sure their perspectives were considered in developing key priorities.
As Food Security Coordinator, Dillon has been determined to promote people’s voices and reduce hunger amidst a legacy of mistrust from inequitable policies affecting residents from racially and ethnically-diverse communities. In this work, she has prioritized opening more public land for community gardens, expanding access to SNAP and other food benefits and securing funds for community-based organizations to reach specific communities with higher food insecurity rates, including Hmong, Native American, African American and Latine residents.
Dillon began her career within Saint Paul - Ramsey County Public Health as a Health Educator and later coordinated chronic disease promotion through the Statewide Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP) grant. Additionally, she worked on a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grant (1817) which linked mental health to chronic disease prevention. She has also served as chair of Public Health's Workforce Development Team.