Building an alt protein community at Brown University and beyond
Reflections from a graduating leader on what it means to create lasting change as a student and an alumni
Every year, May and June mark a period of transition for GFI’s Alt Protein Project (APP). It’s a period full of graduations and student leaders moving on to new opportunities.
While it’s always somewhat bittersweet to say goodbye to our community members, each graduating student leader leaves the Alt Protein Project stronger than they found it. Since its inception in 2020, the APP has amassed more than 350 alumni, many of whom are still actively engaged in the alternative protein industry, research, and community building.
The Brown APP’s outgoing president, Julia Krausz, is a prime example of the lasting impact students can have on their groups, universities, and the APP community worldwide. I had the opportunity to reflect with Julia on her journey to Brown University, her time leading Brown APP, and her plans to pursue protein innovation beyond graduation.
From Brazil to the United States
Julia’s journey to Brown University began when she was twelve years old. In seventh grade, she traveled from her home in São Paulo, Brazil to Providence, Rhode Island, where she spent six months living with her grandmother, a visiting political science professor at Brown. It was during that time that Julia decided attending Brown University was her “big dream.”
Five years and plenty of hard work later, she arrived on campus with a passion for animal welfare and academic interests in chemistry and sustainability. Eager to find community, she immediately sought out two groups: a Brazilian student organization and BARC, the Brown Animal Rights Coalition. It was through the latter that an upperclassman first introduced her to alternative proteins. Discovering the field felt like “the very culmination of everything that [she] was hoping to find” and the perfect overlap between her personal passions and academic interests.
Growing a movement at Brown University
Julia quickly became a key member of Brown APP’s leadership team, bringing infectious enthusiasm and energy to the group. Alongside then-president Eric Sorge and faculty champion Dr. Dan Harris, she helped organize a wide range of events—from “Plant Jam,” an outdoor picnic featuring local vegan restaurants and collaborations with student gardening and cooking clubs, to tours of Boston College’s cultivated meat lab.
However, Julia credits Brown APP’s six-week alternative protein fellowship as the catalyst that grew the chapter from just two members into the thriving community it is today. The fellowship provided an approachable entry point into the world of alternative proteins through weekly student-led discussions on the science, policy, and industry surrounding the field.
These discussions provided a sense of community and the opportunity to explore the alternative protein landscape, which inspired several members of Brown APP’s executive team to step into leadership roles, including Julia’s 2024–25 co-president Luke Rossi and current co-presidents Teah Simon and Zach Quitkin.
The fellowship is also a prime example of how the Brown APP maximizes impact by doubling down on success. They used the fellowship as the foundation of a one-semester, for-credit, GISP (group independent student project) in 2025. The GISP was Brown University’s first-ever for-credit course on alternative proteins.
The fellowship also broadened the Brown APP’s impact by bringing in new leaders, expanding the team from only two group leaders to dozens of members across several sub-teams: research and development, policy, education, media, and events. These sub-teams can now tackle simultaneous initiatives like their fellowship (now with separate science and policy tracks), a research accelerator program, career workshops, and more, all at a capacity and pace that would have been unthinkable just two years ago.
Leaving an alt protein legacy
When I asked Julia to reflect on Brown APP’s growth and success, she credited passion as the key to growing both community and impact.
“It has to be authentic. And it has to be from your heart. If it is, people will see… and they’ll be inspired.”
Julia carries this passion and authenticity beyond the Brown APP. She helped shape the Food4Thought festival, an annual student-run festival focused on bringing together students, academics, and professionals who care about sustainable food systems, and completed an internship on Redefine Meat’s research and development team last summer.
A decade after her 12-year-old self first dreamt of attending Brown University, Julia feels incredibly grateful to “close a chapter” there. Her time on campus and with the APP allowed her to find her place in the world and discover how she could meaningfully contribute—an experience she describes as how “most people dream of college.”
Julia says the APP gave her the “belief that if you have a dedicated group of people, you can create change.”
What’s next?
I’m grateful that this is not a goodbye for Julia and the Alt Protein Project. She will remain connected to the APP as a regional mentor for several chapters, supporting incoming student leaders with the knowledge and experience she retains as an APP alumna.
Julia will also continue pursuing alternative protein research and innovation at the Technion, where she will soon join the master’s program in food engineering in the university’s Novel Foods and Bioprocessing Lab. After graduate school, she hopes to enter the alternative protein industry, specifically in “product design and food processing,” to help “create better, more delicious, and more accessible alternative proteins.”
The Alt Protein Project is incredibly fortunate to have passionate students like Julia driving alternative protein community, awareness, education, research, and innovation on their campuses around the world. Learn more on our impact page and get connected here.