Char Potes joined the Nutrition Policy Institute at the University of California in September 2025 as our 2025-2026 UC Bonnie Reiss Climate Action Fellowship, Sustainable Agriculture and Food Fellow. Potes is a graduate student at UC Berkeley School of Public Health, where he is interested in nutrition, mental health, and working with underserved communities. He is pursuing a master’s in public health with an emphasis on food, nutrition, and population health. As an NPI fellow, Potes will support evaluation efforts for NPI’s collaborative Farm-to-Corrections project, which seeks to increase access to fresh, seasonal, and locally grown produce for individuals incarcerated in California prisons through a Harvest of the Month program. The project also provides nutrition education to formerly incarcerated and system-impacted individuals as they reenter society. This 10-month fellowship is part of the 2025-2026 UC Bonnie Reiss Climate Action Fellowship Program, which funds student-generated projects that support the UC system’s climate action goals. In addition to working with the NPI Farm to Corrections project team, Potes will participate in UC systemwide activities. He previously worked as an NPI student research assistant in 2023 to support a school meals study.
