Mary D’Anza Mora is a Registered Dietitian, teacher, mom, wife, Certified Diabetes Educator, and community activist—all of which revolve around food and have led to her passion work: building Real Foods Collective Non-Profit Organization. Mary grew up in the Chicago suburbs in a family where food was the center of their world, from working in the garden to weekly Thursday night pasta dinners with extended family. Mary works in public health in a career that marries her love and training of cooking to working with patients and clients to encourage delicious meals that support their bodies. Mary began working with a community-driven coalition called Proviso Partners for Health (PP4H), which focuses on food access and community health and wellness in Maywood, IL. Her role as Food Justice Co-Lead sparked and incubated an entrepreneurial spirit to support local food business entrepreneurs and farmers, in support of a more just, sustainable, local food system. Mary is also part-time faculty in the Dietetic Internship Program at Loyola University Chicago in the Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health.