Christine C. Caruso

Christine C. Caruso, PhD, MPH (she/her) is a public health/environmental psychologist and community-based researcher, with expertise in food systems, school climate, participatory process, and health equity.  Christine is currently a Professor of the Practice in the College of the Environment at Wesleyan University. She also has an Affiliate Faculty appointment in the Department of Public Health Sciences, at the UConn School of Medicine. Most recently she served as Chief of Research and Advocacy at the Hispanic Health Council, a nationally recognized community based organization located in Hartford, CT, which works to address health equity among vulnerable populations. Christine continues to support school food advocacy in her home state as a member of the Connecticut Farm to School Collaborative.

Christine has over 20 years of experience in community health and food systems work. She began focusing on institutional food in 2016, while serving as Research Fellow for School Food Focus/FoodCorps, where she was co-investigator for a study exploring values-based procurement practices in school food programs across the US. Christine has published widely and presented nationally and internationally on school food and institutional procurement practices.  She earned her PhD in Environmental Psychology, with a concentration in Food Studies from The Graduate School of the City University of New York.  Christine also holds an MPH in Community Health from Boston University, as well as an MA in Clinical Psychology from Columbia University.