Vice President Academic Affairs

Rifka Verma

Rifka Verma is the Vice President of Academic Affairs for HCSGA, 2024-2025. She is currently in the 2nd year of her MPH, in the Nutrition department. She is driven by the goal of preventing chronic disease burden (type 2 diabetes, cancer) in developing economies and marginalized communities and about advocating for the integration of social medicine into mainstream clinical practice in low resource settings. Rifka also has nine years of experience in the communications and FMCG industry, working in various roles spanning policy advocacy, marketing, communications, and innovation strategies for foods, healthcare, and cross-category brands. In her most recent roles at Nestlé and Unilever, she worked as an innovation coach with cross-functional teams on developing scientifically backed food-based solutions to solve for key NCDs in India. Additionally, she has a specialized Master’s degree from the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Food Culture, Marketing, and Sustainability of High Quality Food Products. When she’s not trying to force people to eat better, she enjoys hiking, nature, yoga and travelling across the world to meet new people and learn about new cultures!  

Fun Fact:

If I wasn’t in public health, I’d be an actor!

What would you like to do as a member of HCSGA officer this year?

I want to improve the academic experiences of our students and help them meet their learnings goals, connecting them to services and opportunities that make their academic life less stressful.