Growing Justice Fund names first managing director

The Growing Justice Fund has named Elizabeth J. Reynoso as its first managing director, giving the practitioner-led food justice fund a senior leader to guide strategy and operations. The appointment comes as the fund works to expand values-based good food purchasing and community-led investment across the food chain.

Why it matters: - The Growing Justice Fund is adding its first top operational leader as it scales a model centered on practitioner-led grantmaking. - Reynoso will help steer resources toward community-led food system initiatives that support values-based good food purchasing. - The role is meant to strengthen the fund’s work with grantee partners, advisory leadership and the broader food justice movement.

What happened: - The Growing Justice Fund named Elizabeth J. Reynoso as its first managing director. - The announcement was made in Washington, D.C., on September 15, 2026. - Reynoso will lead the fund’s strategy and operations in a founding role. - Reynoso will work closely with the Growing Justice Fund’s Advisory Committee, grantee partners and food justice stakeholders.

The details: - Reynoso brings more than 20 years of experience across government, philanthropy and national systems-change work. - Her career has focused on food policy, economic opportunity and community-led governance. - At Living Cities, Reynoso led an initiative for public servants and leaders focused on changing policies, practices and processes to address wealth disparities through procurement and other government systems. - Reynoso said food systems work is tied to land, labor, culture and community power. - Reynoso said she is joining the Growing Justice Fund because the fund is building a model accountable to the communities and grantee partners it serves. - Reynoso said she wants to strengthen that model and help expand the resources partners need to lead the work. - Reynoso holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Wellesley College. - Reynoso serves on the boards of the Center for Good Food Purchasing and the NJ Foodshed Alliance.

Between the lines: - The hire signals a transition from launch-stage structure to a more formal operating model. - The fund is positioning practitioner leadership and community accountability as core parts of its identity. - The focus on procurement suggests an effort to move institutional buying power toward local and regionally owned food businesses.

What's next: - Reynoso is expected to begin shaping the fund’s strategy, operations and partner relationships. - The Growing Justice Fund will continue directing resources to Tribal, Indigenous, Black, Latine, Pacific Islander, Asian, immigrant and other historically underserved producers, organizers, advocates and workers. - The fund will keep advancing support for schools, hospitals, early childhood centers and elder care centers that buy from sustainable farms, ranches, fisheries and food businesses. - The Growing Justice Fund is a fiscally sponsored project of Assets Under Movement. - More information is available on LinkedIn and Instagram.