Amanda Karls, J.D. (she/her) provides nationwide public policy consulting services as Principal of Foodvocate LLC. She is also licensed to practice law in Minnesota. Amanda has lent her expertise to a range of clients, partners, and project funders, including nonprofit organizations, policy coalitions, academic think tanks, and government teams. Her advice is often leveraged by organizations working to evaluate, develop, and improve laws, regulations and other policies that affect food and nutrition security and related food systems goals.

Within her consulting practice, Amanda also leads legal research and analysis for the Healthy Food Policy Project’s food policy library and has contributed to numerous other resources for that project, which is a USDA-funded initiative based at the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems. She has been invited by the University of Vermont Law and Graduate School to teach their Federal Regulation of Food and Agriculture course this fall. Prior to launching Foodvocate LLC, she most recently worked as an attorney at the Public Health Law Center based at Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota.

In addition to law and food policy, Amanda has experience in industry affairs, food entrepreneurship, and food marketing. Her favorite food is a perfectly ripe, garden-grown tomato.