Owens Crossroads, Alabama, United States
I build things that work. Systems, programs, communications — and I do it from scratch, in lean environments, with limited resources and unlimited commitment to the mission. For the past two years I have served as the Agency Relations Coordinator at the Food Bank of North Alabama, supporting 200+ agency partners across 11 counties within the Feeding America network. My work sits at the intersection of operations, compliance, data, and human connection — and I believe those things are inseparable when you're trying to end hunger. Within my first month I built our agency partner newsletter from nothing. No template, no precedent, just a belief that how you communicate your mission is part of the mission itself. That newsletter was recognized by Feeding America for inclusion in the FANO Learning Library as a model for partner communications across the network. I also build data systems. Survey tools, capacity reports, weighted allocation models, demographic reporting infrastructure — including a form adopted by the Alabama State Department of Education for statewide use across Alabama food banks. My background spans 13+ years across food service operations, early childhood education leadership, and nonprofit network management. Everywhere I have gone I have found gaps, built solutions, developed people, and left things better than I found them. I am currently pursuing my Google Data Analytics certification and am passionate about bringing systems thinking, creative communication, and human centered leadership to a national stage in the hunger relief space. I am always interested in connecting with others who believe that creativity, systems thinking, and human connection all belong in the fight against hunger.
Joined as Agency Services Assistant and was reclassified and promoted to Agency Relations Coordinator in October 2024 after independently expanding the scope of work beyond the original job description within the first year — requiring the organization to formally redefine the position to reflect actual responsibilities. Lead operational coordination, compliance oversight, and partner communications for a 215+ agency partner network across 11 counties within the Feeding America system. Serve as the primary escalation point for agency partner issues related to distribution, reporting, compliance, transportation coordination, and order processing. Conceptualized and produced a monthly agency partner newsletter from scratch within the first month of hire — including themed visual design, full content development, and coordinated Agency Zone website imagery. This was recognized by Feeding America for inclusion in the FANO Learning Library as a model for network partner communications. Developed survey and data collection systems exceeding 7,000 data points, creating visualizations and capacity reports used in organizational decision making and strategic planning. Designed electronic demographic reporting forms adopted by the Alabama State Department of Education TEFAP representatives for statewide use across Alabama food banks. Develop and monitor KPIs including reporting accuracy, compliance performance, and distribution volume. Build and maintain capacity scoring and weighted allocation models to inform product purchasing and equitable distribution strategy. Coordinate Hunger Summit planning and execution for 200+ agency partner organizations. Support the Partner Advisory Council and administer annual Civil Rights Training and Food Safety certification programs across the partner network. Conduct 150+ site visits annually to onboard new agency partners, assess performance, implement corrective actions, and coach agency partners on operational improvements.
Began as a substitute teacher before moving into a dedicated classroom for two-year-olds. An ability to connect with and support children across a range of developmental needs gradually expanded the classroom to include students up to age four requiring additional attention — and ultimately led to being named Director of the full program. In that role, led full operations including staffing, budgeting, compliance, vendor coordination, parent communications, and daily scheduling. Supervised and developed teaching staff, conducted performance evaluations, and created internal growth pathways for team members. Built trusted relationships with families navigating developmental concerns, serving as a consistent advocate through early intervention conversations, IEP evaluations, and resource coordination — showing up with both professionalism and genuine care through difficult moments. Designed immersive monthly themed experiences for students including a cardboard pirate ship playground, a full chalk road course with working traffic signals for bike safety education, and a firefighter training obstacle course complete with a Power Wheels fire truck. Programming was intentional, hands-on, and built around the belief that children learn best when the environment fully commits to the experience.
Promoted from Assistant Manager to General Manager based on demonstrated operational performance. Led full restaurant operations including staffing, inventory management, financial oversight, food safety compliance, and high-volume daily service. Built a catering program from scratch in the absence of a dedicated coordinator — establishing relationships with surrounding businesses and developing a sustainable pipeline of repeating corporate orders. Supported 7 new store openings through cross-functional coordination and operational consistency across locations. Invested in developing working knowledge of employees' primary language to strengthen communication, team cohesion, and daily operational effectiveness.
Managed a high-volume residential dining facility with direct responsibility for 100+ employees across all operational functions. Served as the primary liaison between food service operations and the student community, conducting ongoing needs assessments and implementing program changes based on direct feedback. Part of the team that launched and executed a late-night dining expansion, building out the operational infrastructure to meet identified student need. Designed themed dining events and programming to strengthen community engagement and enhance the overall dining experience. Coordinated across culinary, finance, and operations teams to align service delivery with budget and strategic goals. Regularly worked alongside staff in daily operations — cooking, washing dishes, whatever the team needed — because strong relationships are built through shared work, not just oversight.