Kamaljeet (Kamal) Singh-Khaira has been named director of the University of California CalFresh Nutrition Education Program (UC CalFresh). Singh-Khaira will begin her new role in June, succeeding David Ginsburg, who has successfully led UC CalFresh since 2008. 

“We are very fortunate to have another strong leader to direct the UC CalFresh program,” said Helene Dillard, Dean of the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences where CalFresh is based. “Under David Ginsburg’s leadership, our program has grown substantially and become a widely emulated model across the nation. With more than 20 years of experience developing and implementing health and active-living initiatives, Kamal Singh-Khaira is ideally positioned to lead the program into the future.”

Singh-Khaira is currently an independent consultant, and she has previously held leadership positions with the Network for a Healthy California and the American Heart Association. She has a master’s degree in community development from UC Davis and is the 2012 recipient of that program’s Ted Bradshaw Award, which honors an alum of the program who exemplifies the passion, humanity and devotion for community empowerment.  

In 2015 Singh-Khaira received a U.S. Department of Agriculture Western Region Food and Nutrition Service Recognition Award honoring her professional contributions and leadership in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program education efforts. 

The goal of UC CalFresh is to improve diet and nutrition-related skills. CalFresh’s adult, family-centered and youth programs are implemented in partnership with more than 30 UC Cooperative Extension county offices throughout California. The program operates through a joint agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service, the California Department of Social Services (CalFresh and Nutrition Branch) and the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources.