PRESS RELEASE
-For Immediate Release-
September 10, 2008

Contact: Brian Gumm, (202) 683-4812, bgumm@ombwatch.org

Aileen Carr Wins Award for Outstanding Public Interest Work

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2008—OMB Watch is pleased to announce that Aileen Carr, Co-Director of the Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellowship Program at the Congressional Hunger Center, has won a Public Interest Rising Star Award for her outstanding public interest work in the Washington area and on the national stage. Carr is a graduate of Tufts University.

The Public Interest Rising Star Awards are part of OMB Watch's year-long 25th Anniversary celebration. They honor the outstanding, dedicated work of younger people and encourage their continued pursuit of government accountability, citizen participation, or social justice. Public Interest Rising Star Award winners will be recognized at OMB Watch's 25th Anniversary event in Washington, DC, the evening of Sept. 17.

Carr was nominated for this award because she demonstrates a commitment to creating a more just and democratic society by training, mentoring, and inspiring the next generation of social justice leaders. Her tireless efforts contribute to the public's health and well-being through her work to end hunger by creating an affordable, healthy, and sustainable food system. She has also created a growing, active, and engaged group of citizens empowered with the tools to make a difference.

Upon learning of the award, Carr said, "I am truly humbled by this award. It was certainly unexpected! I am more of a behind the scenes person, creating opportunities for others to work for justice directly. This is a great honor."

Gary D. Bass, Executive Director at OMB Watch, offered his congratulations. "Aileen's work at the Congressional Hunger Center is of critical importance to Washington and the nation. In this time of skyrocketing food prices and failures of the federal safety net, more Americans than ever are at risk of hunger and malnutrition. Aileen's efforts have been successful at combating this growing threat to America's well-being, and her leadership will become more crucial than ever in the coming years. OMB Watch is proud to present Aileen with one of five Public Interest Rising Star Awards."

The full list of award winners is available at /files/25th. There were roughly 100 nominees considered for the award. For more information about OMB Watch, see http://www.ombwatch.org/article/archive/250.

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Aileen Carr Bio

Aileen Carr has served the Congressional Hunger Center since December 2001 and has been directing the Emerson National Hunger Fellows Program since the summer of 2006. Aileen has recruited, trained, and mentored more than 175 Hunger Fellows, supporting an effective cadre of young leaders with critical experience and knowledge needed to make positive change. Those fellows have completed over 300 vital projects for organizations working to meet the basic needs of all, bring justice to the food system, and end poverty.

Aileen believes that diverse people, organizations, and approaches must be engaged in the fight to end hunger and ensure that healthy food is available for all. Early in her tenure at CHC, she worked to broaden the program focus from support for the emergency food system to engagement with the root causes of hunger and poverty and systemic solutions, including federal nutrition and anti-poverty programs. Later, she redesigned the Emerson Program training curriculum, developed a new recruitment plan that resulted in a substantial increase in applications and enrollment of Hunger Fellows from low-income families and racial minority groups, and strengthened the alumni network. She is currently working to integrate an anti-racist approach to all aspects of the Emerson Program, including field and policy site selection and training.

Aileen has been a proud resident of the District of Columbia for seven years and enjoys the city's farmers markets, go-go music, and cultural diversity.

Prior to joining the Hunger Center, Aileen created the International Community Alumni Project at Tufts University in her home state of Massachusetts, linking over 450 alumni all over the world to the University and to each other. She also worked as a paralegal at Hale and Dorr, LLP in Boston, where she focused primarily on pro bono trial cases addressing prisoners' civil rights, environmental protection, and funding for legal services.

In 2000-2001, Aileen traveled through developing countries in Asia and Africa and co-developed an interdisciplinary lesson series for fifth grade students in the U.S. designed to promote their understanding of the inter-relationships between geography and world history.

Aileen graduated cum laude from Tufts University with a Bachelor of Arts in History in 1998. She spent one semester abroad at La Universidad de Salamanca in Spain and has limited proficiency in Spanish.

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OMB Watch is a nonprofit government watchdog organization dedicated to promoting government accountability, citizen participation in public policy decisions, and the use of fiscal and regulatory policy to serve the public interest