Chicago Public Schools
Chicago, Illinois
Tarrah DeClemente is Manager of Health Promotion at Chicago Public Schools (CPS) which serves over 360,000 students at 650 schools. Tarrah leads the district’s efforts to support schools in establishing healthy school environments through implementation of over 50 health and wellness policies.
Tarrah continues to work to promote and improve the school meal programs. As part of the School Food FOCUS Upper Midwest Regional Learning Lab, Tarrah developed an "Ingredients of Concern" list to be shared with food manufacturers nationwide in an effort to decrease the use of harmful ingredients in school menu items such as monosodium glutamate (MSG), artificial flavors/colors, and various binders/fillers in meat products (among others). In collaboration with the Mayor’s Office, Tarrah leads the district’s efforts to implement the Good Food Purchasing Policy (GFPP). In June 2017 Tarrah spearheaded the Board’s adoption of GFPP making CPS the fourth school district, and first outside of California, to adopt this policy.
She received her B.S. degree in Dietetics from Purdue University and completed her dietetic internship at the University of Iowa. Tarrah received her MPH in Health Policy and Administration from the University of Illinois at Chicago.