Marlene B. Schwartz is the current director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health at the University of Connecticut.
Schwartz grew up in Columbia, Maryland.[1] She received her bachelor's degree from Haverford College in 1988.[2] She then attended Yale University, where she received her master's degree in 1992, her M.Phil. in 1993, and her Ph.D. in 1996.[3]
From 1996 to 2006, Schwartz was the co-director of the Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders.[3] She then served as the associate director of the Rudd Center prior to July 2013, when she was announced as the next director of the center, replacing Kelly D. Brownell.[4] In 2014, Schwartz received the Sarah Samuels Award from the American Public Health Association.[5]
Dr. Schwartz's current research focuses on how nutrition and wellness policies implemented in schools, food banks, and local communities can improve food security, diet equity, and health outcomes.[6]
Schwartz is married to Jeff Babbin, with whom she has three daughters—Anna, Molly, and Charlotte. As of 2017, Schwartz and her family live in Guilford, Connecticut.[2]