Our Team
Our team culture is the not-so-secret ingredient to our winning team. We’re really proud of how we prioritize it and the people we work with. We believe that being explicit about our culture ensures that we can all steward it.
What this looks like:
1. Our mission is at the center of everything we do
2. We are all educators and honor that role
3. We take every opportunity to prioritize communication and connection
Learn more about our culture.
Who We Are
Executive Leadership
Kerry Brodie (she/her)
Founder and Executive Director
Alix Haber (she/her)
DC Area Director & Chief Operating Officer
Chef Alexander Harris (he/him)
Executive Culinary Director
Dr. Kira O’Brien, LSW (she/her)
New York Director & Chief of Human Resource Operations
New York City Team
Morgan Aye
Teaching Chef
Ashley Fils-Aime (she/they)
Brooklyn Public Library Café Sous Chef
Amanda Garcia-Harris
Carrol Gardens Restaurant Manager
Jayven Gutierrez
Brooklyn Public Library Café Manager
Emma Hofman (she/her)
Program Manager
Celina Rella (she/her)
Operations Director
Jesse Licen
Barista
Sadhbh Byrne Ryan (she/her)
Alumni Engagement Manager
Natalie Manukian
Program Specialist
Jontae Zapata
Teaching Chef
Sierra Murray (she/her)
Program Director
Washington, DC Team
Justin Edwards
Teaching Chef
April Hayes
Front of House Manager
Vialana Vazquez
Program Associate
Briana White
Culinary Instructor
Riley Janeway
Development Associate
Bridgit Nicholson
Program Director
Board of Directors
Melissa Glass — Chair, Retired Investment Banker & Philanthropist
Michelle Jewett — Treasurer, Partner, Mayer Brown LLP
Sarah Rosen — Secretary, Associate General Counsel, Away
Julie Chang — Finance Chair, Vice President, Blackstone
Richard Fields — Member, Managing Director, Allen & Co.
Saara Hafeez — Member, Product Lead, Shopify
Irene Hamburger — Member, Food Systems and Hospitality Consultant
Dino Lavorini — Member, Regional VP of Operations with Jose Andres Group
Abe Monzon — Member, Head of Talent for Union Square Hospitality Group
Michael Stillman — Member, CEO and Founder, Quality Branded
Becca Parrish — Member, Founder + CEO, Becca
Akshay Belani — Member, Partner, Troutman Pepper
Junior Board
Ari Fishman — Member, Assistant Director of Communications Campaigns & Strategy, American Civil Liberties Union
Haneiro Perez — Member, Software Engineer, STEM Tutor, Team TLC NYC, Aid for Life
Emily Burniston — Member, Communications Manager, Toast
Angela Maliakal — Member, Analyst, Blackstone
Patrick Lim — Member, Associate, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
Erin Palisin — Member, Senior Director of Talent & Openings, Quality Branded
Heather Evans — Member, VP, JPMorgan Chase & Co, and Schwarzman Scholar
Maryam Khalid, DrPH, MPH — Member, Manager in Government and Public Services, Deloitte
Rebecca Gladstone — Member, HR Associate Consultant, Empowered Hospitality
Sarah Rudolph — Member, Program Manager, Embedded Finance, Toast
Simran Mirchandani — Member, Senior Manager, Physician Engagement, Healthfirst
Tara Shirazi — Member, Credit Analyst, SMBC