Tristan Quinn-Thibodeau

Tristan Quinn-Thibodeau

Senior Policy Campaigner

Meet Tristan, our Senior Policy Campaigner here at ActionAid USA! He combines his passion for sustainable food systems with his storytelling flair to advance policies that promote food sovereignty, land rights, and agroecology. With a strong background in philosophy and political science, Tristan understands the power of grassroots movements and works closely with community organizations and allies to build coalitions that empower families and communities.

Tristan's early years were spent on a fruit and vegetable farm in southern Maine, where he developed his love for sustainable agriculture and selling sweet corn at a roadside stand. After completing his BA in Philosophy and Political Science at the University of Maine, he went on to earn his MA in Philosophy from the New School for Social Research in New York City.

Before joining ActionAid in 2016, Tristan worked with social movements across Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean as the Program Manager in the Global Movements Program at WhyHunger.

When Tristan isn't working towards climate justice, he is indulging in his passion for composting and urban container gardening.

Why are you working with ActionAid?  

I am working at ActionAid because I want to make the world a better place. I want to create a world where everyone takes care of each other and of the natural world, and AA is an organization that holds our leaders accountable and calls on all of us to live up to our ethical and moral responsibilities to each other. 

I’m an expert! Talk to me about:  

Food Security; Right to Food and Agriculture; Sustainable and Resilient Livelihoods; Climate Change; Climate Justice; Politics and Economics; Land Rights; Social justice. 

 

POSTS BY Tristan Quinn-Thibodeau

Insight /

How President Biden can claim real climate leadership

April 23, 2021 By

Throughout his presidential campaign, President Biden put a premium on reclaiming America’s climate leadership. However, the actual history of the United States in climate negotiations has generally been one of undercutting ambition. So for the U.S. to truly claim climate leadership, Biden will need to do more than break with…

Insight

Vilsack is the wrong choice for Secretary of Agriculture

December 10, 2020 By

President-Elect Joe Biden has announced he will be nominating Tom Vilsack to return to the role he had for eight years under the Obama Administration. This is a major misstep from the Biden team, doubling down on an approach to agriculture that has failed farmers, rural communities, and the planet.…

Insight / /

Joining Farmworkers, Farmers and Food Justice Activists to Stand for the Right to Food

October 12, 2018 By

Right now, I’m in Bellingham, WA, to participate in the IV Membership Assembly of the U.S. Food Sovereignty Alliance (USFSA). At a time when global social, political, and ecological crises continue to accelerate, communities from around the country on the frontlines of the corporate, industrial food and agriculture system are…

Insight /

Trump Weaponizes Childhood Food Assistance in Violation of the Human Right to Food

October 6, 2018 By

Last week, the Trump Administration announced that it would begin denying green cards and visa renewals to immigrants who have participated in nutrition assistance programs for their children, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), as well as federal health programs like Medicare and Medicaid public housing assistance. Undocumented…