Mara Russel has been working in the fields of food aid and food security for over 25 years. She's been with Land O'Lakes International Development for 10 years and currently serves as the company's practice manager for gender, food security and livelihoods, providing technical leadership to projects that address vulnerability and food insecurity, and ensuring that gender considerations are integrated into all division projects. Russel facilitated the development of her division’s gender policy.