Amassing five decades of professional experience, Judy Canahuati is a celebrated retired nutrition and maternal child health advisor whose practice has been defined as compassionate and dedicated. Most recently serving as a senior nutrition adviser with USAID Food for Peace in Washington, D.C., from 2009 until her retirement in 2016, she previously served as a material child health, nutrition and HIV advisor for the agency from 2004 to 2009. Prior to these appointments, she was a senior nutrition adviser with CARE in Atlanta, Georgia, from 2001 to 2003; a community outreach adviser with Wellstart International, Inc., from 1991 to 1996; and a project director with La Leche League International in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, from 1989 to 1991. She commenced her career as a community organizer with Planned Parenthood in New York City from 1966 to 1967.

Equally passionate about her community, Ms. Canahuati has been a member of the action committee with La Leche League International since 2016 and on the board of directors of Sundays at Three in Columbia, Maryland, since 2008. She was a former member of the board of directors of Escuela Internacional Sampedrana in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, from 1980 to 1985, as well as on the board of Society Pro-Musica from 1975 to 1976. She has additionally been an affiliate of Project Hope in Managua, Nicaragua, in 1996; World Relief in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, in 1994; UNICEF in New York City in 1989; and the Educational Development Center in Boston in 1985.

A contributor of many articles to professional journals, Ms. Canahuati is the co-author of “Community-based Breastfeeding Support: A Planning Manual” (1996) and co-producer of “Investing in the Future: Women, Work and Breastfeeding” (1995). Among her notable achievements, she is proud of being the namesake of the Judy Canahuati Breastfeeding Room at CARE Headquarters in Atlanta.

As such, in recognition of her exceptional contributions to health care, Ms. Canahuati was honored with the Dory Storms Child Survival Recognition Award in 2017. She was additionally named a Global Health Fellow by the Public Health Institute (2006-2009), a Health and Child Survival Fellow by Johns Hopkins and USAID Food for Peace (2004- 2006), and a Fellow of the National Institute of Mental Health (1968-1969).

Married to Harry S. Glass since 2015, Ms. Canahuati is the proud mother of three children and three grandchildren. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, writing, cooking and practicing aerobic exercises. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Philosophy in an thropology from Columbia University.

Contact Ms. Canahuati: