Partnerships & Impact Measurement in Youth Advocacy: Career Insights with Sienna Corral & Lila Sonmaz | That’s a Food Job! #135

Sienna Corral, Partnerships Lead, and Lila Sonmaz, Head of Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning, are co-founders of the World Food Forum Quebec Chapter, an FAO initiative connecting young leaders working on food security and sustainability.

What We Cover in This Episode

This is part two of a two part conversation with the WFF Quebec Chapter. Sienna and Lila break down what their roles actually entail from building partnerships across the agri-food sector to measuring the reach of chapter initiatives like Sustainable Gastronomy Week. They talk about what a “win” looks like for a young, growing chapter, how the global network of WFF chapters compares and supports each other, and why reframing the language we use about the food system (working versus broken) changes how people engage with it. They close with concrete, low-barrier ways students can start getting involved in food advocacy today.

Watch the Episode Below

Links

• Sienna Corral LinkedIn
• Lila Sonmaz LinkedIn
• Quebec Chapter of the World Food Forum (FAO) LinkedIn
• World Food Forum Website

Timestamps

• 00:00 – Intro
• 01:37 – Chapter Mission Recap
• 02:51 – Lila’s Path Into Food Systems
• 04:17 – Sienna’s Path Into Food Systems
• 05:55 – Sienna’s Role: Partnerships Lead
• 06:54 – Lila’s Role: Measuring Impact
• 08:31 – Chapter Partners & Agri-Food’s Scope
• 11:34 – What a Win Looks Like
• 13:09 – Chapter Events & Launch Party
• 14:39 – Who Can Get Involved
• 15:37 – Sustainable Gastronomy Week Results
• 18:02 – Current Projects & Proud Moments
• 19:23 – How Many WFF Chapters Exist
• 22:22 – Is the Food System Working?
• 25:10 – The Power of Language
• 26:48 – Making Agri-Food Feel Accessible
• 28:19 – Moving From Caring to Acting
• 30:11 – Empowering Youth Involvement
• 33:02 – Different Levels of Involvement
• 34:41 – Final Advice: Start Small