This week on SA Voices From the Field we interviewed Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield and Gina Plata-Nino about SNAP and TANF benefits for College Students. 

Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield is Managing Director of Policy and Advocacy at Higher Learning Advocates.  She is an advocate with over 20 years of leadership in developing and expanding state and federal policies to increase postsecondary access and success for students with low incomes and students of color. 

Prior to joining Higher Learning Advocates, Amy Ellen was a Senior Director for Advocacy and Policy at the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice. Amy Ellen also served as a Senior Policy Analyst at the Center for Law and Social Policy for over 15 years, where she analyzed and advocated for federal and state higher education policies to better serve adults with low incomes and others. She developed and advocated for a comprehensive student aid framework that combines financial aid, public benefits, and refundable tax credits to increase postsecondary access for low-income students. She also directed the Benefits Access for College Completion initiative to increase access to public benefits and financial aid for low-income students at community and technical colleges across the country. 

Gina Plata-Nino has devoted much of her early professional life to addressing the many causes of hunger and ensuring that low-income individuals never have to place other needs above feeding themselves or their families. She’s an attorney at the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute. She serves as a lead advocate on the Hunger Free Campus legislative campaign and helps address related food security issues among college students. She also assists on targetted help on passage of current legislation working with the Central MA Legislative delegation. She works with state and federal agencies to eliminate systemic barriers to food access. She leads the Central MA SNAP Coalition and the Worcester Food Security Task Force, regional coalitions focused on reducing food insecurity. Prior to joining MLRI she managed the Food Security Project - a collaboration of the Worcester County Food Bank and Central West Justice Center. She has presented at both state and national conferences on the importance of equity in food security. She utilizes her skills as a vehicle for motivating and supporting lasting changes that bring about social justice and build grassroots leadership in her community. She is a graduate of Northeastern University School of Law and began her career by clerking at the Massachusetts State Appeals Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the first circuit.

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