Sam Kass Biography
Sam Kass is a political advisor, chef, and news presenter who previously worked as President Barack Obama’s Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition Policy, as the executive director of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! program, and as an assistant chef in the White House.
How old is Sam Kass? – Age
He is 43 years old as of 2023. He was born in 1980 inChicago, Illinois, United States. His real name is Samuel David Kass.
Sam Kass Family
Kass was raised in the Hyde Park neighborhood by a Jewish family. His father, Robert, was a fifth-grade teacher at the private, co-ed University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, where he taught President Obama’s daughter Malia Obama. Valentine (née Hertz), Kass’s mother, is a scientific educator at the National scientific Foundation and was previously the director of Omnimax productions at the Museum of Science and Industry. Helen Valentine, his maternal great-grandmother, created Seventeen magazine.
Sam Kass Education
Kass graduated in 1998 from the Lab Schools, where he was a member of the varsity baseball team. He attended Kansas City Kansas Community College on a baseball scholarship and eventually transferred to Triton College. He earned an AB in history from the University of Chicago in 2004, where he also played NCAA Division III baseball as a right fielder with a career.366 batting average, which ranks among the highest in program history.
Kass interned at 312 Chicago under chef Dean Zanella during his junior year of college. Kass completed his senior year of college in 2003 while studying under chef Christian Domschitz in Vienna, Austria. He continued his education while touring the world, including New Zealand, Italy, and Mexico, before returning to Chicago in 2006 to work under executive chef Paul Kahan at Avec.
Sam Kass Wife
Kass married MSNBC television anchor Alex Wagner in September 2013. Kass and Wagner were married on August 30, 2014, at the restaurant Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, New York. The wedding was attended by the President, First Lady, and their daughters. Wagner gave birth to their son, Cy, in 2017. Rafael, their second child, was born on April 16, 2019.
Sam Kass Net Worth
Kass has an estimated net worth of $10 million.
Sam Kass White House
Kass joined the Food Initiative team at the White House Office in 2009 with First Lady Michelle Obama. He later became Let’s Move!’s Executive Director. and Senior Nutrition Policy Policy Advisor. Kass was instrumental in the establishment of the White House’s first major vegetable garden without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides. Additionally, he assisted Obama in the fight against childhood obesity and healthy eating.
Kass was the central modeler of the How about we Move! campaign with the goal of lowering childhood obesity by 5% by 2030. For his work on Let’s Move!, he was ranked 11th on Fast Company magazine’s 2011 list of the 100 Most Creative People. especially in light of Walmart’s commitment to a partnership for five years. Kass criticizes modern agricultural producers, fertilizer and pesticide companies, and promotes sustainable farming and locally grown organic foods. Additionally, he has criticized the national lunch program for its excessive fat, preservatives, and high fructose corn syrup content.
In 2012, Kass was selected to be a member of the inaugural class of chefs in the American Chef Corps, a partnership between the James Beard Foundation and the US Department of State that aims to promote international diplomacy through culinary initiatives. Let’s Move! was promoted by Kass during his 2014 trip to Korea. celebrated Independence Day, learned to cook Bulgogi, met with culinary students, and promoted culinary tourism to the United States.
Kass made a request to speak at the Boston convention of the School Nutrition Association in 2014, but he was turned down due to his advisory role at the White House and tensions between the association and the first lady. The White House acknowledged Kass’s “tenure of dedicated service” and made the announcement of his departure on December 8, 2014. On Friday, December 19, 2014, he left the White House as an official guest.
Sam Kass TED Talk
Kass gave a TED Talk in Manhattan in November 2015 titled “Want Kids to Learn Well? “Feed them properly.” According to TED Talks Live, Kass “discusses the role schools can play in nourishing students’ bodies in addition to their minds” in this session.
Sam Kass Career
Kass established TROVE, an investment, strategy, and communications consulting firm, in January 2016 as a food technology company with the mission to “work with corporations both large and small who are serious about transforming our health, climate, and planet through food.” One of the honorees of the annual Woman’s Day magazine Red Dress Awards, which recognize outstanding achievement in promoting health and fitness, was Kass in February 2016. “for his work toward nationwide food-policy initiatives that focus on sustainable and nutritious ingredients, and efforts to raise awareness of childhood obesity, hunger, and nutrition issues,” the James Beard Foundation presented Kass with its 2015 Leadership Award in October 2015.
Kass established TROVE, an investment, strategy, and communications consulting firm, in January 2016 as a food technology company with the mission to “work with corporations both large and small who are serious about transforming our health, climate, and planet through food.” One of the honorees of the annual Woman’s Day magazine Red Dress Awards, which recognize outstanding achievement in promoting health and fitness, was Kass in February 2016. Innit, Inc., a food technology company based in California, announced Kass’s appointment as Chief Consumer Experience Officer in April 2016.
Acre Venture Partners is a $125 million venture capital fund that Kass joined in May 2016 as a partner. The goal of the fund is to encourage “collaborative disruption” through projects that focus on “transparency, health, and sustainability” in the global “food system.” The only limited partner in the fund that is not affiliated with the packaged food company is Campbell Soup. Kass was included in the World Economic Forum (WEF)’s 2017 Class of Young Global Leaders in March 2017. The WEF selects individuals under the age of 40 it believes are “pushing boundaries and rethinking the world around them.”