Robin Rifkin
Profile
Ms. Rifkin has over 30 years’ experience working in nutrition, food systems, and public health as a project manager, director, and group facilitator of planning and strategic thinking processes. She has directed multiple nutrition education initiatives, directed policy development in public health, facilitated food system change, facilitated topic-system focused learning communities, helped partnerships in collaborative system change and advocacy initiatives, and has developed communications for low-literacy audiences. Her passion is getting representation from all parts of a system to work together to imagine and plan for the future.
Employment History
- Facilitator, Robin Rifkin, Consultant
- Health Promotion Council, Philadelphia, Pa,
- Nutrition Education Evaluation and Design Center, Pennsylvania State University
- Share Food Program, Philadelphia, Pa
- Heart Felt Cooking and Heart Felt Consulting, Philadelphia, PA
Competency Areas
• Collaborative Leadership Development
Collaborative leadership training, system thinking, consensus building
• Meeting Design and Facilitation
Facilitator of group meetings, annual meetings, planning retreats, partnerships, learning communities, focus groups
• Organizational Strategy
Whole systems change, organizational strategy development and planning, policy development, environmental scanning, group visioning
• Training and Development
Pennsylvania Quality Trainer/ Keystone Stars; Apprentice Trainer, Technology of Participation (ToP) Facilitation Methods. 35 years of training adults in nutrition education and behavior change.
• Project Management
30 years managing and directing and implementing projects. Large scale collaborations involving multiple stakeholders.
• Stakeholder Engagement
Community outreach, public participation and policy development, focus groups, evaluation
• Low-literacy communications
Develop materials and train others to produce written materials for low-literacy audiences.
Education
- Master’s Degree in Nutrition and Food Science – Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
- Bachelor’s Degree in Home Economics in Business, minor in nutrition – Arizona State University, Tempe, Az
- Certificate in Health Literacy, College of New England
Professional Associations
- ToP Facilitation Network
- Mid-Atlantic Facilitation Network
- Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICA)
Professional Certification and Awards
- Certified ToP Facilitator – Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICA)
- Certified Trainer, PA Keys/ Keystone Stars
- Facilitation Methodology Training
- Technology of Participation (ToP)
- Strategic Planning
- ToP Facilitation Methods
- Mastery T0P
- Environmental Scanning
- Depth and Design for Profound Social Innovation & Impact
- Luring the Tiger out of the Mountain
- Virtual Facilitation Methods
- Facilitation Graphics
- Don’t Just Do Something, Stand There– Future Search meetings facilitation
- Collaborative Leadership Training– Collaborative Leadership Project
- Appreciative Inquiry- Organization Development and Leadership, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Systems Literacy- Organization Development and Leadership, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Future Search- 2012 Strategic Planning and common ground work
- Theory U- M.I.T. U Lab
- Publications: Books and Curriculum
- Healthy Living Guidelines for Out of School Time Programs Toolkit http://issuu.com/phmc/docs/ost-hpc_toolkit_0411-8
- Nutri/system Nourish, The Revolutionary Weight-Loss Program
Recipe Author, Published March 2004, John Wiley & Sons, (still in print)
P.E.A.C.H. (People Eating and Cooking Healthy)
Farmers’ Market Curriculum 2002, for the Farmers’ Market Trust
Philadelphia, Pa
The nutri/system Flavor Set-Point Weight Loss Cookbook
Published January 1990, Little Brown Publishers. 250,000 copies sold.
Cardiac Treatment Center’s Nutrition Education Manual
Self -published by United Medical Corporation -1985
Salt, The Brand Name Guide to Sodium Workman Publishing 1983
Recipe author, with The Center for Science in the Public Interest
Publications: Journal Articles
Enhanced Evaluation Data Initiates a Collaborative Out-of-School Time Food Sponsors Work Group Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, Supplement to May/June 2015, Volume 21, Number 3, S106
Philadelphia Implements Healthy Living Guidelines for Out-of-School Time Programs through Collaborative System Change Philadelphia Social Innovations Journal, June 2014
Mealtime is Family Time: A digital program about family meals for preschool-age caregivers was well received in low-income venues in Pennsylvania
Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, Volume 44, Number 3, May/June 2012
ISSN 1-499-4046
Digital Photo Receivers Deliver Herbal Education for Low-Income Persons
Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, GEM 473, 2009; 41-438-440. Nov/Dec 2009
Digital Photo Receivers are a Viable Technology for Nutrition Education of Low-Income Persons Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, Gem 421, 2006:28-326-328.
Assessing the effectiveness of using CEIVA to promote nutrition education
July 2005 Conducted by Robin Rifkin, with assistance from PANEN, Barbara Lohse, Jessica Bagdonis, and Jodi Stotts.
Project List
- Facilitated the Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities Out-of-School Time Partnership (5- years), funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, to create policy and implement system change for Philadelphia out-of-school time programs.
- Facilitated an Appreciative Inquiry with food sponsors and a yearlong workgroup with CACFP Philadelphia food sponsors serving meals in Philadelphia. ,
- Facilitated food systems assessment and planning with stakeholders across Philadelphia for 2 years in a WK Kellogg-funded Food and Fitness Initiative.
- Member of Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission Food System Planning.
- Facilitated a Mid-Atlantic planning process for Cornell University on nutrition policy, food systems and environmental change.
- Facilitated a 6-month planning and evaluation process for the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger.
- Facilitated a yearlong planning process with grass root and organizational hunger-fighters in the Philadelphia region in conjunction with Pope Francis’s visit to Philadelphia.
- Facilitated a strategic plan for a dance company in Pennsylvania.
- Facilitates a 4-year community-based advocacy project on Pennsylvania food policy in conjunction with community members and Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services.
- Facilitates a Peer Learning Circle for food pantries in Montgomery County, Pa.
- Facilitates a Workforce Practitioner Learning Community in Philadelphia Pa.
- Facilitated assessments and planning for an international refugee resettlement organization.
- Facilitated a Future Search strategic planning process for a CSA farm in the Hudson Valley, NY.
- Facilitated strategic planning for a food pantry in Pennsylvania.
- Facilitated a re-visioning with Montgomery County, Pa anti-hunger groups to think differently about their work in the future.
- Facilitated strategic planning for an anti-hunger network in Pennsylvania.
- Facilitated strategic planning for a CSA Farm in Pennsylvania.
- Facilitated strategic planning for a non-profit related to child abuse.
- Facilitated strategic planning for a nutrition research and evaluation initiative at Penn State University.
- Developed low-literacy educational materials designed for SNAP-Ed audiences for 10 years through Penn State University.
- Facilitation training for the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
- Facilitation training for the Environmental Defense Fund
- Transition planning for an architecture firm
Client List
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Local, State and Federal Government
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Foundations
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Education Related Institutions
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Consulting Organizations
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Non-Profit organizations
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Business
Publishers
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