Marissa Duswalt Epstein

Director UT Nutrition Institute

Marissa is the Director of the UT Nutrition Institute, where she leads programs to bring evidence-based nutritional science into everyday life. She also teaches courses in nutrition entrepreneurship for the McCombs School of Business and College of Natural Sciences. Drawing from her experience in nutrition communication, public-private partnerships, and social entrepreneurship, her curriculum aims to unlock the potential of business and medical school students to benefit society through entrepreneurial innovation in health, nutrition, and food.

Marissa served in The White House as Associate Director of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative to inspire a healthier generation of American families. She was responsible for overseeing the Let’s Move! nutrition initiatives, providing evidence-based thought leadership in nutrition policy, and building the campaign’s portfolio of public-private partnerships with Fortune 500 companies and startups. She led efforts to implement major legislation including the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. She worked with stakeholders across all sectors to launch novel initiatives for social impact in nutrition such as MyPlate, The White House Kids’ State Dinner, the DrinkUp water campaign, and The White House Kitchen Garden.