Gabrielle Wimer

2016 MCN Conference | Undergraduate University: The University of Chicago, BA | Place of Origin: USA

My MCN Story:

Student Leadership:

"The whole experience of starting MealFlour in Guatemala has pushed me outside of my comfort zone as a student leader- or simply leader. I’ve had to move to a new country, teach classes on mealworm farming in Spanish, and work to establish connections with the government and other NGOs. It has been incredibly challenging at times, but it has showed me the importance of surrounding myself with colleagues who have the same mission and drive. It is because of my co-founders’ support and our ability to work through problems together that we have been able to persevere and continue working towards making our goal a reality.

Glimpse of "mealworm powder"

In my opinion, the most important characteristic for a young leader to have is drive. Social impact work can be draining and there are often setbacks. But if you have a clear idea on why you're doing the things that you're doing, you will be able to persevere through it all."

Today:

Cooking with mealworm flour

"I’m currently working in Guatemala on my social enterprise MealFlour with my two co-founders, including fellow MCN alumna Elizabeth Frank. Our mission is to empower communities to prevent the serious health problems associated with protein deficiency while acknowledging the interconnected issues of low income and environmental impact. We do this by teaching people how to build and maintain environmentally sustainable mealworm farms and turn the mealworms into a protein-rich powder that’s easy to incorporate into a variety of foods and that can be sold as an additional source of income. We were inspired to create MealFlour because of our shared desire to design and implement holistic global health solutions that include communities in designing solutions that address the multi-faceted problem of malnutrition."