The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“IN HONOR OF MARILYN BRIGGS UPON HER RETIREMENT” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1985-E1986 on Nov. 12, 2002.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
IN HONOR OF MARILYN BRIGGS UPON HER RETIREMENT
______
HON. GEORGE MILLER
of california
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, November 12, 2002
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commend the lifelong achievements of Marilyn Briggs, who is retiring after 33 years of dedicated service to school children and their nutritional development. Marilyn Briggs, R.D., M.S., S.F.N.S., is the Assistant Superintendent of Public Instruction, Director of the Nutrition Services Division, for the California Department of Education. She is responsible for child nutrition, commodity food distribution and nutrition education programs statewide, where over four million meals are served daily to California's children. In her thirty-three years of work in diverse food and nutrition programs, over twenty of which have been directly involved with child nutrition and nutrition education, Marilyn has effected numerous changes that have advanced good nutrition for children, adults and families not only in California, but also across the nation. As a result of her commitment, leadership, and hard work, she leaves a legacy upon her retirement of many nutrition and nutrition education programs that will continue to be utilized by Child Nutrition Programs in California and other states.
Marilyn's accomplishments are too many to list, however the following are some of the most noteworthy:
She created the concept of the nationally acclaimed 5 A Day program as part of the development of the California Daily Food Guide. This well-known program, aimed at improving the nation's health through increased fruit and vegetable consumption, has received over $1 billion in contributions from the food industry and public and private organizations, and is now used in markets and schools across the country.
She coordinated the Shaping Healthy Choices Initiative including the establishment of statewide SHAPE (Shaping Health As Partners in Education) model programs, which serve as catalysts to improve the quality of comprehensive nutrition programs in California.
She initiated and developed national standards for the Healthy School Meals Initiative, which are now part of the Coordinated Review Effort audit for every National School Lunch Program in the United States.
She reviewed and rewrote the 5-a-Day Adventures CD-Rom for elementary school students, which is now used in over 2 million classrooms.
She developed the conceptual model for the Team Nutrition Schools network based on California's SHAPE program, and mapped out the plan for all materials to be used in the program.
Along with two other Nutrition Education and Training staff, she developed the comprehensive school health initiative, ``Healthy Kids, Healthy California'', which is now used by the Center for Disease Control as the model program to be implemented nationwide.
She coordinated the development, field-testing, evaluation, and publication of a state nutrition education curriculum series, ``Choose Well, Be Well'', for students, preschool age through grade twelve.
She coordinated Nutrition, Education and Training Section Publications such as The California Daily Food Guide, Better Breakfast Better Learning, Eat Well Learn Well, and Strategies for Success.
She has provided expert testimony and analysis to both State and Federal Legislators, and answered inquiries from Congress regarding USDA Nutrition Programs.
She has served as a consultant to the USDA in developing regulations for implementation of the National School Lunch Act, such as the highly complex issue of competitive food sales.
Throughout her career, Marilyn Briggs has participated in numerous nutrition and nutrition education professional organizations and councils, where she donates extraordinary amounts of volunteer time and expertise to further child and other nutrition programs. Most recently she has completed a one year term as President of the National Society for Nutrition Education, where she had previously held other Board positions, led their strategic planning process, and founded and chaired the Division of Specialists in Nutrition Education for Children. She has also been President of the National Association of State NET (Nutrition Education and Training) Program Coordinators, where she led a Nutrition Education and Training strategic planning process which resulted in the publication by USDA in 1994 of
``Promoting Healthy Eating Habits for Our Children: The Strategic Plan for Nutrition Education'' that is still used today as the framework for the national NET Program. As President of the California Nutrition Council, she coordinated a multi-disciplinary process to make policy recommendations in the areas of Food Safety and Quality, Food Security and Delivery, Food Supply and Agriculture, Nutrition Education and Marketing, Nutrition and Health, and Nutrition Research and Professional Development. The Council then used these policy recommendations to establish a statewide food, nutrition, and health policy that prioritized and addressed the nutrition needs of California, to be introduced as legislation during the 1996-1997 California legislative session. Marilyn has clearly been a leader in promoting lifelong nutrition and health for children and their families.
Marilyn has also served on several Boards and Committees, including the Research and Education Advisory Board to the National Food Service Management Institute, the Nutrition Section of the American Public Health Association, the Legislative Committee of the California Dietetic Association, the School Nutrition Practice Group of the American Dietetic Association, the 5 A Day Steering Committee, and the Credentialing and Certification Council, Foundation Board, and Youth Advisory Committee of the American School Food Service Association. She has chaired the American School Food Service Association Nutrition Committee, the American Dietetic Association Public Relations Committee and Education Section of the School Nutrition Practice Group, and the California School Food Service Association Education and Training Committee, Nutrition Standards Committee, and Youth Advisory Councils. She has acted as the California Department of Education liaison to the California School Food Service Association for more than ten years. In addition, Marilyn has authored and acted as an expert reviewer for numerous nutrition publications, and presented keynote speeches on nutrition related topics across the country.
In recognition of her exceptional contributions in the field of child nutrition, Marilyn Briggs has received several awards. They include the
``Friends of Agriculture'' outstanding public service award by the California Farm Bureau and the California Agriculture in the Classroom Program, the California Department of Education Unit Award, a graduate student fellowship from the University of California at Berkeley, and the ``Moscone Commitment to Nutrition and Nutrition Education Award'', which has been given to her twice by the California School Food Service Association.
In addition to working as the Assistant Superintendent of Public Instruction, Marilyn has held several positions within the Nutrition Services Division of the California Department of Education since 1981. They include Nutrition Education and Training Specialist, Child Nutrition Consultant, Administrator of Nutrition Education and Training, and Assistant Nutrition Services Division Director. She has also worked in a temporary Intergovernmental Personnel Assignment as a Special Assistant to the Associate Administrator of Food and Consumer Service, United States Department of Agriculture, in Washington, D.C. during 1994 and 1995. In each of these positions, Marilyn has not only demonstrated her passion for child nutrition and nutrition education, but she has worked tirelessly to lead collaborative efforts to develop nutrition programs and curriculum and ensure their implementation.
Marilyn was born Marilyn Mae Briggs on June 6, 1946 in Washington, D.C. to Eleanor Reese Briggs and George McSpadden Briggs, Jr. She attended Bethesda Elementary School in Bethesda, Maryland, where she earned straight A's all seven years, and excelled in music and performing in school plays. She graduated from Leland Junior High School in Bethesda, Maryland, and Acalanes High School in Lafayette, California, where she continued to excel in academics, music, and drama. In 1968, she received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Dietetics and Nutrition from the University of California at Berkeley, where her father was the Chair of the Nutritional Sciences Department. She completed her Dietetic Internship at the United States Public Health Service Hospital in Staten Island, New York, and became a Registered Dietitian in 1969. After working a few years, Marilyn earned her Master of Science Degree in Nutritional Sciences, again from the University of California at Berkeley, and she became Credentialed as a School Foodservice and Nutrition Specialist (S.F.N.S.) through the American School Food Service Association in 2000. Marilyn has three children, Nancy, Catherine, and Robert, two grand daughters, Emma and Samantha, and two sisters, Nancy Louise Briggs and Catherine Briggs Hanafi, in addition to her mother, Eleanor, and her father, the late George Briggs.
Marilyn Briggs's career has been one of continually giving above and beyond what has been required of her. As Assistant Superintendent of Public Instruction, Director of the Nutrition Services Division, for the California Department of Education, she has been responsible for the administration of the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program, Summer Food Service Program, Food Distribution Program, Special Milk Program, and State Meal Mandate in California. While managing these programs with perfection, Marilyn has continually sought development and implementation of new concepts and programs to advance good nutrition and nutrition education in California and beyond. Many of her dreams and ideas have become national models and standards, yet Marilyn seeks no personal credit. She is humble in her success, a strong but gentle leader, and highly respected by everyone with whom she has ever worked. She accomplishes what she sets out to do, finds ways around roadblocks, and is a master of communication, with the ability to bring consensus among dissenting groups when necessary to focus on the common goal of good nutrition. The vision of the Nutrition Services Division,
``Working with our partners, we will lead the nation in providing exemplary nutrition programs and services,'' has definitely been achieved under Marilyn's direction. She is truly a great friend and advocate to all who value nutrition and nutrition education.
____________________
