Meet the Team – Maryland Hunger Solutions

LaMonika Jones, Interim Director

Elisabet Eppes, Deputy Director
eeppes@mdhungersolutions.org

Julia Gross, Senior Anti-Hunger Program Associate
jgross@mdhungersolutions.org
Phone extension: 6029

James Dominick Robinson, Anti-Hunger Program Coordinator
JDRobinson@mdhungersolutions.org
Phone extension: 6026

Brielle Pinzini, Anti-Hunger Program Associate
BPinzini@mdhungersolutions.org

Andrea Dulanto, Anti-Hunger Program Associate
ADulanto@mdhungersolutions.org

Michael J. Wilson, He/Him

Michael joined Maryland Hunger Solutions in July 2013 as Director. In this role, he is helping to lead Maryland’s premier hunger advocacy, education, and outreach organization as it works to end hunger and improve the nutrition, health, economic security, and well-being of low-income families in Maryland. Michael serves in a leadership role in many statewide coalitions and is a collaborator with other anti-poverty advocates.

For more than three decades, Michael has been a leading advocate for economic and social justice. He worked on Capitol Hill as a legislative and press assistant for the late U.S. Representative Charles Hayes (IL). He also served in numerous positions at the U.S. Department of Labor, culminating as Chief of Staff in the Employment Standards Administration where he coordinated legislative, regulatory, communications, and policy development. Michael also was an international officer and director at the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union where he headed the legislative and political department and led the union’s efforts in food policy and worker advocacy. Michael served as a FRAC Board Member for more than a decade, as well as a Board Member for the Consumer Federation of America and Americans for Democratic Action, where he also served as National Director.

Michael currently chairs the Board of the Montgomery County Food Council, formerly co-chaired the Prince George’s County Food Equity Council, and served on the Howard County Food Task Force. He also serves as a member of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Government Food and Agriculture Regional Member (FARM) Advisory committee, and on the Maryland Food System Resiliency Council, where he chairs the Communication and Coordination Committee.

Michael has a B.A. in communications arts and sciences from Michigan State University.

Elisabet Eppes, She/Her

Elisabet joined FRAC in January 2023 as the deputy director of Maryland Hunger Solutions. In this role, she plays a leadership role within the unit, working closely with the director in policy development, advocacy, and coalition building as well as providing team leadership, staff growth, and project management support.

Elisabet has ten years of experience in public health nutrition, primarily focused on WIC (the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children). Her background includes serving on the Public Policy and Program Innovation teams at the National WIC Association as well as managing a national WIC innovation project at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Elisabet earned an MPH from the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Washington and a BS in Biobehavioral Health from the Pennsylvania State University.

Julia Gross, She/Her

Julia joined Maryland Hunger Solutions in October 2018. In her role as anti-hunger program associate, she works with a diverse group of state and local partners to expand participation in and access to child nutrition programs, including school and out-of-school-time meals, WIC, and Pandemic EBT. Before coming to Maryland Hunger Solutions, Julia served as a health educator with Peace Corps Albania and AmeriCorps VISTA, focusing on youth development and women’s health issues.

Julia received her B.A. in Anthropology from San Diego State University and holds a Master of Public Health from Tulane University’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

JD Robinson, He/Him

JD joined Maryland Hunger Solutions, an initiative of FRAC, as an Outreach Intern in 2018, and is currently an Anti-Hunger Program Coordinator – SNAP. In this role, he leads policy efforts to improve access and quality of the SNAP program in Maryland. Additionally, he works to increase participation and access to the SNAP program for all Marylanders by coordinating outreach efforts with staff and volunteers. He also engages local partners and organizations in training and educating their staff on SNAP and food insecurity issues.

JD previously worked as a bartender in Baltimore and volunteered on local farms.

JD holds a B.A in communication from McDaniel College.

Brielle Pinzini, She/Her

Brielle joined Maryland Hunger Solutions as an AmeriCorps VISTA SNAP Outreach Associate in June 2021. She began as a Summer Associate and is currently the yearlong VISTA. Her work focuses on building the capacity of the SNAP Outreach team and leading the Hunger-Free Campus Network Initiative.

Brielle earned her B.A. in Film and Sociology from Temple University and is currently working towards her M.S. in Nutrition Education from American University.

Andrea Dulanto, She/They

Andrea joined FRAC in June 2021 as an Anti-Hunger Program Assistant. In this role, she/they assist with SNAP outreach through the Maryland Hunger Solutions hotline. She/they also support outreach through the development of relationships with community partners and other organizations. Her/their professional experience includes working as a tutor, writer, editor, and English as a Second Language instructor.

Andrea has a B.A. in Literature from Antioch College, and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Florida International University.