[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 145 (Tuesday, November 12, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1985-E1986]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


             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

[[Page E1986]]

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.

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