Petra Vallila-Buchman

Senior Associate

Petra has more than ten years of experience implementing programs and policies to improve community health and reduce health inequities. She facilitated a King County Board of Health Subcommittee comprised of city and county elected officials to develop and implement policies to increase access to healthy food and places to be physically active. She thrives in an interdisciplinary context and enjoys building relationships with diverse stakeholders to advance a policy or systems change. One of her favorite projects was developing and piloting a new approach to neighborhood planning, which engages residents as partners to create a neighborhood plan that increases access to local, healthy food, and facilitates active transportation, social cohesion, and economic opportunity. She is currently facilitating Washington’s Food Policy Forum, which is engaging diverse food system stakeholders to take collective action on fiscal and policy opportunities to improve the food system. Petra holds a Master of Public Health degree from Emory University. Previously, Petra was the Research Manager at Healthy Food America and served as a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Fellow with Public Health – Seattle & King County.