Toronto, Ontario, Canada
A desire to contribute to improving our food systems has led me to work at Real Food For Real Kids (RFRK) for over 15 years, where I'm involved in ongoing strategic problem solving and innovation to help grow the company and overcome the challenges related to large-scale, sustainable production of fresh, healthy, and delicious food. I completed an MBA while working to reinforce the lessons I learned at RFRK, and to broaden my business skill set. The ability to apply new lessons immediately at work, and to be able to tailor school projects to understand more about the food industry amplified my experience. With a desire for international experience, I took my food service, start-up, and MBA lessons to Ghana to work with Aspire Food Group to help commercialize edible insects in West Africa. I’m constantly striving to lead teams and individuals to be highly motivated to do their best work, love what they do, and be continually learning and improving. I’m happiest when given the autonomy to take charge of people and situations to both strategize and implement strategies that result in meaningful contributions to society.
● Lead Real Food for Real Kids’ client-facing functions — Client Experience, Sales, and Marketing — ensuring exceptional service, client satisfaction, and sustainable topline growth across RFRK’s child care and school catering business
● Connected strategy, operations, current and future client needs, and product and services marketing to launch new product and service offerings. ● Supported development of custom snack products with co-packers ● Standardized co-manufacturer relationship management processes ● Built custom CRM in monday.com and led the sales process
• Exploring and studying the history of the countries visited • Visiting farms and meeting with food entrepreneurs, tasting local foods, and researching local food production • Learning about indigenous foods, eating traditions, and health benefits of local herbs and spices • Comparing and contrasting foods that are considered waste in some countries while being eaten in others • Studying/experiencing the impact of pollution and climate change in various regions
Worked to develop financial systems and controls to prepare the organization for the commercialization of the locally consumed edible insect, palm weevil larvae. Responsibilities include cash management, budgeting, and strategic planning.
Aspire Food Group is a social enterprise with a focus on addressing food insecurity and promoting healthier lifestyles using insects as a sustainable, wholesome source of nutrition. They are pioneering insect farming technologies designed for industrial and residential scale insect farming.
The Long Term EWB Fellowship matches experienced professionals with innovative businesses and organizations in Sub-Saharan Africa. By providing expert consultation and support across a range of capabilities, EWB Fellows provide small and growing ventures with the essential talent required to accelerate and sustain their growth.
As part of my fellowship with Engineers Without Borders I worked with Food For All, an organization trying to create efficient and sustainable means of nutrition for vulnerable populations in Ghana through advocacy for food recovery and redistribution.