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Graduate Research

Authored, Grieve Leave, Original Research and Report: Bereavement Leave Policies in the United States – November 2025

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Publications & Media Features

📰 The Chronicle, ‘Honor that they lived’: Duke affiliates explore grief from a personal and policy angle - February 2026
✎ Authored, Executorium, When Grief Hands You a Job: Lessons from Serving as an Executor – January 2026
✎ Authored, Grieve Leave, My Experience with Bereavement Leave – August 2025
✎ Authored, Grieve Leave, Prolonged Grief Disorder – The Dichotomy of “Diagnosing” The Grieving Timeline – July 2025
✎ Authored, Grieve Leave, To “Heal” or Not To “Heal” – July 2025
✎ Authored, Grieve Leave, Honoring My Dad’s Sense of Adventure on Father’s Day – June 2025
📰 KTLA, BoxLunch Gala Honoring Feeding America®: A Night of Philanthropy and Celebration – November 2023
📰 ComicBook, BoxLunch Gala 2023 Honors Feeding America, Stranger Things’ David Harbour Donates $200k – November 2023
✎ Authored, Food Bank Advocacy Team and CAP Advocates Take D.C. – June 2023
✎ Authored, What’s on the Food Bank’s Hunger-Fighting Agenda for 2023 – April 2023
▶ City of Fairfield, In Your City, Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano – April 2023
▶ ABC10 To the Point, Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano sees increasing demand, how to help – April 2023
✎ Authored, Farm Bill 2023: Advocating to Strengthen our Safety Net – February 2023
📰 California Association of Food Banks, Food Banks Provide Comments at Tulare Farm Bill Listening Session, 2/14/23 – February 2023
📰 East Bay TImes, Share the Spirit: Bay Area food bank staffers work around the clock to keep up with massive demand – December 2022
▶ CBS Bay Area, Girls lemonade stand helps fund East Bay food bank – December 2022
▶ CBS Bay Area, Inflation, pandemic brings more people to Bay Area food banks Inflation, pandemic brings more people to Bay Area food banks – November 2022
📰 Saint Mary’s College of California, Let’s Talk About College Hunger – August 2022
✎ Authored, The State Budget is in! – August 2022
✎ Authored, California Association of Food Banks – Cassidie Carmen Bates: Why I’m Attending Food ACCESS 2022 – August 2022
▶ FOX NEWS, Food banks in America experience surging demand: ‘No sign of it slowing down any time soon’ – July 2022
📰 CNN, Skipping meals. Racking up debt. How inflation is squeezing single parents – May 2022
📰 Food Bank News, How Clients are Shaping Food Bank Advocacy – May 2022
📰 NBC, Inflation, Demand Leaves Bay Area Food Banks Struggling to Meet Needs – May 2022
▶ ABC7 San Franciso – April 2022
▶ CBS Bay Area, Rising Food Prices Straining Bay Area Food Banks When They Are Needed Most – April 2022
▶ NBC, Rising Gas Prices Affecting Bay Area Food Banks – March 2022
📰 SF Chronicle, Number of food assistance recipients skyrockets in S.F., other Bay Area counties – February 2022
📰 The Press, Holiday demands higher on food banks – December 2021
▶ KRON4, How to help Bay Area food banks this 2021 holiday season – November 2021
📰 Richmond Confidential, New campaign addresses food insecurity affecting 8 million Californians – November 2021
✎ Authored, An Active August Recess – August 2021
✎ Authored, Celebrating Wins for the Fight Against Hunger in CA State Budget! – July 2021
▶ Fox News, KTVU, Hunger Hits Home Initiative – January 2021
📰 Richmond Confidential, Urban farmers in Richmond are helping in the fight against food insecurity – November 2020
▶ United Nations Young Professionals, Featuring Cassidie Bates – October 2020
📰 SF Chronicle, Hunger rises in Bay Area as pandemic lingers – September 2020
📰 LA Times, Rotting food. Hungry masses. Chaotic supply chains. Coronavirus upends the U.S. food system – May 2020
📰 The Guardian, California’s food banks grapple with ‘tsunami of need’ as pandemic grows -April 2020
📰 SF Chronicle, ‘Unprecedented’: Bay Area food banks struggle to meet demand amid coronavirus shutdown – April 2020
📰 Daily Republic, Solano food bank feels effects of Covid-19 – April 2020
📰 Mercury News, Coronavirus: How Bay Area food banks are coping with critical volunteer shortage – March 2020
📰 Center for American Progress, Food Banks Face Shortages Of Volunteers; Many Bay Area Pantries Close As Coronavirus Spreads – March 2020
📰 Cal Matters, Food banks face shortages of volunteers; many Bay Area pantries close as coronavirus spreads – March 2020
📰 Times Herald, Coronavirus: How Bay Area food banks are coping with critical volunteer shortage – March 2020
✎ Authored, Breaking Down Proposed Changes to CalFresh/SNAP – February 2020
▶ Fox News, KTVU Trump administration food stamp cuts could impact nearly 200,000 Californians – December 2019
📰 Daily Republic, Food bank: Latest cut to CalFresh will increase hunger in Solano County, December 2019
✎ Authored, Food Bank Responds to Harmful Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWD) Rule – December 2019
✎ Authored, Get the Facts about Public Charge – August 2019

Policy Awards

★ Cassidie Bates Award & Check Presentation Acceptance Speech at Box Lunch 2023 Holiday Gala – November 2023

★Cassidie Bates named California Hunger Fighter of 2023, California Hunger Action Coalition (CHAC), 2023

★Food Bank News, 2023 Advocacy High Honor Roll, Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano

★Food Bank News, 2022 Advocacy High Honor Roll

★Feeding America’s 2021 Advocacy Hall of Fame, January 2022

★Food Bank News, 2021 Advocacy High Honor Roll

★Food Bank Enters Advocacy Hall of Fame – February 2021

Public Speaking Portfolio

▶ Conference Session, California Association of Food Banks Food Access Conference 2024, ‘Power of Community Advocates as Lived Experience Experts – Best Practices for Effective Legislative Advocacy & Trauma-Informed Care in Advocate Trainings & Engagements’ – May 2024

▶ Speaker Series 2004 Graduation, Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano – May 2024

▶ Cassidie Bates Award & Check Presentation Acceptance Speech at Box Lunch 2023 Holiday Gala – November 2023

★ Cassidie Bates Acceptance Speech for 2023 California Hunger Fighter Award – May 2023

▶ Speaker Series 2023 Graduation, Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano – May 2023

▶ Feeding America’s Best Practice Institute on Cassidie Bates, Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano – 2022

▶ Conference Session, California Association of Food Banks Food Access Conference 2022, ‘Centering Lived Experience and an Equity Lens for Effective Advocacy’ – October 2022

▶ Speaker Series 2022 Graduation, Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano – May 2022

▶ Cassidie Bates presenting Keva Dean with 2022 CHAC Award – May 2022

▶ Conference Session, Feeding America and FRAC Anti-Hunger Policy Conference, ‘Incorporating Lived Experience and Using an Equity-Lens for Effective Advocacy’ – March 2022

▶ 6th Annual Legislative Lunch, Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano – December 2021

▶ Speaker Series 2021 Graduation, Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano – May 2021

▶ Empty Bowls, Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano – January 2021

▶ 5th Annual, Legislative Lunch, Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano – January 2021

▶ Food Bank’s elected officials share importance of advancing food security during COVID, Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano – January 2021

Latest Podcast Features

EP27: Cassidie Bates: How Becoming an Executor at 25 as an Only Child Sparked a Mission for Bereavement and Executorship Advocacy

APPLE PODCASTS

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Leadership opportunities

✦ Cassidie Bates serves as Board Member at the Bleeding Disorders Foundation of North Carolina (through the Sanford Board Leadership Initiative) – 2025

✦ Cassidie Bates serves as Vice President of Duke Sanford School of Public Policy, MPP Student Council – 2024-2025

✦ DaVinci Alumni Network, 2022 DVAN Scholarship presentation by Board President Cassidie Bates

✦ Cassidie Bates serves as CAA Liaison on Prytanean Women’s Honor Society Board of Directors – 2022

✦ Cassidie Bates serves as CAA Liaison on Prytanean Women’s Honor Society Board of Directors – 2021

✦ DaVinci Alumni Network, 2020 DVAN Scholarship presentation by Board President Cassidie Bates

✦Cassidie Bates serves as CAA Liaison on Prytanean Women’s Honor Society Board of Directors – 2020

✦ Legal Studies at UC Berkeley: Alumni Stories featuring Cassidie Bates

✦ Cassidie Bates attends 2019 #SpeechMatters Conference, Washington D.C., National Center on Free Speech and Civic Engagement

✦ Cassidie Bates graduates Public Policy & International Affairs (PPIA) Junior Summer Institute – 2018

✦ Cassidie Bates elected President of Delta Sigma sorority at UC Berkeley – 2017

✦ SF Gate article feature “Is the world’s turmoil cutting the slowing flow of study abroad?” – 2016