Marjorie Freedman, MS, PhD, is a Professor at San Jose State University. She received her degrees from UC Davis, and has worked in the field of nutrition for over 30 years. Prior to coming to SJSU, Dr. Freedman had experience working in the food industry, for a non-profit educational company, as a nutrition consultant for private organizations and individuals.

As Manager, Scientific Affairs, for The NutraSweet Company, Freedman traveled throughout the US and abroad educating health care professionals about the safety and benefits of the high-intensity sweetener NutraSweet (aspartame). As the VP of Education for INR, a non-profit scientific organization dedicated to education in the fields of health and nutrition, she prepared curriculum on a wide variety of topics, including weight loss, obesity, diabetes, performance nutrition, memory and cognition, cardiovascular health, alternative medicine, mental health, and women's health. Freedman presented over 650 seminars to health care professionals throughout the United States and Canada on these and other topics. As a nutrition consultant, Freedman provided expertise to Shape Up America!, The Kellogg Company, The McDonalds Corp., Murdoch books, and the USDA. She authored the reviewPopular Diets: A Scientific Review" and was on the faculty of the American Dietetic Association's Weight Management Certification Program.

As a parent volunteer, Freedman spearheaded the effort to remove junk food from her daughter's middle school in San Jose, prior to California legislation requiring such removal (click here for the article in the Mercury News). She served on the San Jose Unified School District's SHAPE committee, the Santa Clara County Office of Education's Fit for LearningTask Force (which is currently The Coordinated School Health Program) and was on the Steering Committee for Healthy Silicon Valley. She also served as a Health Commissioner for Santa Clara County. She served on the Board of Three Squares and is currently on the Board of 18Reasons whose mission is to "empower our community with the creativity and confidence needed to buy, cook, and eat good food every day."

Freedman has been an outspoken advocate for environmental and policy changes that impact wellness. She worked with councilmember Ken Yeager on 100% healthy vending machine policies in city of San Jose libraries and 50% healthy vending policies in the city of San Jose. She testified in favor of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors ordinance banning toys with unhealthy meals. She worked with Most Holy Trinity Church on developing and passing a healthy food and beverage policy. Her work was funded by a Communities Putting Prevention to Work Grant, and is highlighted in this video, honored by Michelle Obama's Let's Move! Faith and Communities Video Challenge. Let's Move Video! Dr. Freedman received a Guardians of Health Award from the California Center for Public Health Advocacy in 2013.

Dr. Freedman conducts research in the area of nutrition education, environmental correlates of obesity, and sustainability. She started the “Spartan Smart Cart," a mobile produce cart on the SJSU campus, which aims to increase access to fresh produce among faculty, staff and students. She started and continues to coordinate the CSA program on the SJSU campus and in the community.