Community Engagement Statement
Gabi was born and raised in North St. Louis City, Missouri. She moved to Chicago after high school to study Political Science and Sociology at DePaul University. She later returned and obtained a Master of Science in Nonprofit Management from Fontbonne University. She is currently a nonprofit executive and consultant, educator, and author.
Her passion for public health and food access drove her to research and develop a local wellness nonprofit program established in 2012 for underserved families in the St. Louis area. The Fit and Food Connection’s mission is to promote equitable wellness programming and healthy food access to support her community. Because of this, she has exceptional leadership experience with racial equity work, creating and leading successful programs led by community, direct practice, public relations, community engagement and organizational planning. Her consultant work specializes in team facilitating workshops and training covering various social justice topics, liberatory resource development, grassroot organizational development, and coaching.
She believes that social and community organizations should be mission-driven and stay true to their values. Gabi is a member of the American Public Health Association and has been recognized for several outstanding leadership and fundraising awards. Gabi is married with two children and resides in North Saint Louis City.
Community Engagement Statement
Community engagement is important to me because justice is built through authentic relationships, power, and accountability to the people most impacted by inequity. Community engagement ensures we are a part of important conversations and accurately represented in order to design, create and imagine healthy and sustainability communities for our families. Across my work as a food access advocate, health and wellness practitioner, and community-member, I’ve learned that meaningful change does not come from top-down solutions, but from communities leading the vision, priorities, and strategies that lead to ownership.
Engagement is how we listen deeply, surface lived experience as expertise, and confront the structural barriers that limit access to generational wealth, health, and opportunity. When engagement is rooted in trust and shared leadership, it creates space for collective learning, healing, and action. Ongoing feedback, leadership development, and intergenerational involvement ensure that this work remains responsive, sustainable, and grounded in justice, so communities are not merely consulted, but resourced, valued, and positioned as agents over our own liberation.