Takreed hopes to contribute to international humanitarian nutrition efforts that promote food sustainability and reduce malnutrition in low-resource settings.

Takreed Ali is earning her master’s degree in nutritional science from the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health. Previously, Takreed earned her bachelor’s degree with high honors from Eastern Michigan University, where she studied on a pre-dietetics track. A passionate advocate for equitable access to nutrition, Takreed draws from a rich blend of academic, professional, and personal experiences that shape her work. She is a bilingual Arabic and English speaker, which helps her build strong connections within Michigan’s immigrant and refugee communities. With these skills, Takreed envisions offering culturally informed health education to help clients navigate public health systems with dignity and trust.

Before graduate school, Takreed served as a health educator at the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services in Dearborn. There, she connected immigrant, refugee, and underserved clients with critical medical and mental health resources while remaining attentive to their cultural backgrounds. She also worked as a biology tutor at Henry Ford College, where she earned recognition for her innovative anatomy teaching tools.

In her master’s program, she has helped develop culturally relevant nutrition resources during her public health rotations. Recently, she developed a handout for the WIC program designed to help staff and other professionals better understand traditional foods discussed by their clients. She is also conducting a special topic research project with Dr. Dave Bridges, associate professor of nutritional sciences, exploring the connections between scientific nutritional studies and the facts presented in the Quran. Takreed’s future goal is to become a registered dietitian working at the intersection of clinical and community care. She aims to develop early childhood nutrition programs, combat food insecurity, and create culturally responsive health education tools. In the long term, she hopes to contribute to international humanitarian nutrition efforts that promote food sustainability and reduce malnutrition in low-resource settings.

CEW+ honors Takreed’s dedication to making nutrition more inclusive and names her an Irma M. Wyman Scholar.