Completing her studies in schools across three continents, Dianna came to see that food was central to the culture, economy, and health of every community. She developed a passion for healthy food access and a belief that systemic, sustainable change occurs when communities build on their own unique strengths.

Dianna completed her BA at New York University and her MBA at the University of Cape Town, where she focused on the equitable development of food systems, small enterprise growth, and developing economies. She then challenged systemic barriers to smallholder farmers’ market access in South Africa by leading initiatives built on cross-sector collaboration and a farmer-centered approach. She also designed growth strategies for a social enterprise with an innovative way of producing organic, non-GMO vegetables using 80% less water without soil or tools.

When Dianna joined the Whole Cities team in 2015, she built the foundation’s programmatic work from the ground up. In her role, Dianna sets the strategic direction and objectives, identifies opportunities and partnerships to maximize the foundation’s impact, and works with stakeholders to continually improve Whole Cities’ support. During her time at Whole Cities, she has created five grant programs including funding opportunities for multi-year commitments, community-determined grants, and an employee program that has engaged Team Members at 100+ locations. These initiatives have expanded the foundation’s reach from 14 cities to over 130 in the U.S. and Canada and supported more than 250 organizations.