Bipartisan Policy Center Welcomes Bruce Knight and Robin Schepper as Senior Advisors to its Nutrition Initiative

The Nutrition Initiative is led by former Secretaries of Agriculture Dan Glickman and Ann M. Veneman and former Secretaries of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt and Donna E. Shalala

WASHINGTON, June 3, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Bipartisan Policy Center is pleased to announce that Bruce Knight and Robin Schepper have joined its new Nutrition and Physical Activity Initiative as Senior Advisors. The Initiative was launched in March and is led by former Secretaries of Agriculture Dan Glickman and Ann M. Veneman and former Secretaries of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt and Donna E. Shalala.

"We are pleased to welcome Bruce and Robin to our team," said BPC president Jason Grumet. "Their many years of combined experience will complement our bipartisan team of former Cabinet Secretaries, specifically Bruce's noteworthy agricultural background and Robin's expertise in physical activity and nutrition."

Knight was the Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture from 2006 to 2009 and served as Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service from 2002 to 2006. He is the founder of Strategic Conservation Solutions, a third-generation farmer and rancher and is a nationally recognized expert on agriculture, conservation and the environment.

Schepper comes to the BPC from First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! campaign, where she served as Executive Director. In that role, she was committed to improving the nutrition and physical activity of children. Previously, Schepper worked on various public health and safety campaigns including increasing childhood immunization rates, the national seat belt campaign and most recently Safe Routes to School, where she helped her son's school win the National Safe Routes to School Oberstar Award in 2009.

Over the course of the next year, the Initiative will bring together key experts, policymakers and stakeholders to identify opportunities for bipartisan collaboration on food, health and fitness issues. The year-long effort will culminate in the release of a set of policy recommendations for the administration, Congress and the private sector to consider. At the outset, the Initiative will focus on four key issue areas: improving nutrition education; developing mechanisms to promote access to healthy food choices; the role of institutional players and opportunities for partnerships between the public and private sectors; and removing obstacles to increased physical activity.

"We are delighted that Bruce and Robin have decided to join the Bipartisan Policy Center as the Nutrition and Physical Activity Initiative works to produce specific, actionable recommendations for improving the health of all Americans and, as a result, cut costs," said Grumet. "Given the nation's current fiscal environment and attention on our growing deficits, efforts like this are needed now more than ever."

About the Bipartisan Policy Center:

In 2007, former U.S. Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole, and George Mitchell formed the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) to develop and promote solutions that can attract the public support and political momentum to achieve real progress. Currently, the BPC focuses on issues including health care, energy, national and homeland security, transportation and economic policy. For more information, please visit our website: http://www.bipartisanpolicy.org/.

SOURCE Bipartisan Policy Center

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