Leadership | Maryland Food Bank

Leadership

CARMEN DEL GUERCIO

President & CEO

Carmen Del Guercio
Carmen Del Guercio, President & CEO, Maryland Food Bank

President & CEO Carmen Del Guercio guides the vision and leads the daily operation of the Maryland Food Bank.

The son of Italian immigrant factory workers, Carmen always had enough food on the table — but as an adult he realized that his family, like so many others, were just one event away from food insecurity. After learning how widespread hunger in Maryland is, Carmen was compelled to help fulfill the food bank’s mission. With this in mind, he joined MFB in 2016 after a successful 29-year career in the banking industry.

Today, Carmen is leading the food bank on an ambitious new movement that is not only feeding more people, but offering solutions that address the “root causes” of food insecurity. Outside of the office, you can find Carmen enjoying local sports teams, spending time with his wife and three grown daughters on Delmarva beaches, or traveling.

“I am proud to help the Maryland Food Bank do all it can do to solve hunger for good.”

Carmen Del Guercio

President & CEO, Maryland Food Bank

EMILY ALT

Vice President of Regional Programs

“I am proud to say I provide guidance, coaching, and support to an incredibly talented and passionate team that is making a real impact by developing innovative regional programs and solutions to hunger in each of the communities they serve.”

About Emily

As Vice President of Regional Programs, Emily Alt leads a regional team that uses data, develops strategy, and builds and maintains relationships to increase food access through MFB’s three main food distribution programs: Network Partners, Pantry on the Go, and School Pantries. During her time as one of the first Regional Program Directors at MFB, she helped build the food bank’s strong regional approach to distributing food by ensuring our priorities, food resources, and strategies align.

Growing up in Baltimore City, Emily was extremely aware of racial and economic inequality from a young age. Over time, she learned more about the structures and systems that led to that inequality and was motivated to do anything she could to dismantle them. MFB’s mission to address root causes of hunger, beyond just providing food, helped draw her to be a part of this work.

Since leaving a career in corporate real estate law and transitioning to the nonprofit sector in 2011, Emily has been a part of, or worked closely with, leadership teams at large and small nonprofits including The Annie E. Casey Foundation, American Communities Trust, and Maryland Legal Aid. A baseball enthusiast who has visited 22 of the 30 major league baseball parks, Emily also enjoys babysitting her granddaughter, and working out in her home gym.

KARL-DAVID “KD” CANTARELLA

Vice President of Marketing & Communications

“As a marketer, I’m excited about this opportunity to inspire people to action and make change through branding, storytelling, and creative thinking.”

About KD

Karl-David “KD” Cantarella, our Vice President of Marketing and Communications, helps connect hearts and minds to MFB’s mission through a broad network of communications channels. He believes strongly in the power of marketing, branding, storytelling, and creative thinking to connect and inspire people to end hunger in Maryland.

The son of immigrants, Karl-David has deep family connections to food. As a child visiting his mother’s family in Ireland, he helped collect periwinkles (snails) from the shore for sale at local markets. His father’s family owned olive and lemon groves and a small pasta factory in Sicily.

KD has championed strategic thinking, content development, and brand building for top brands in tech, entertainment, and lifestyle, including Booz Allen, Marriott International, AT&T, Discovery Channel, Travel Channel, and Showtime. He received his BFA in advertising and design from the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

When he’s not leading the communications and marketing teams at MFB, KD enjoys all things related to music—playing guitar, supporting his kid’s piano and voice development, and seeing live music with his wife.

TENILLE CLARK

Senior Vice President of Human Resources

“I have always wanted my job to mean something – to really have an impact. I hope to create a space where people can develop, innovate, thrive, and move the organization to the next level.”

About Tenille

Tenille Clark serves as our Senior Vice President of Human Resources, helping to facilitate the growth and potential of MFB employees. She leads the efforts to further employee engagement and foster a productive, diverse, and inclusive environment.

Prior to joining MFB, Tenille provided leadership on critical workplace issues such as employee engagement and organizational change at Access World USA LLC. With over 13 years of HR experience and an M.S. in Human Resource Development from Towson University, she finds her position at the food bank to be one of the many ways she can give back and be a part of the solution to Maryland’s hunger crisis.

Tenille is a Baltimore native who likes to travel but finds the most comfort in her own home, spending time with her family. In her free time, Tenille reads mysteries and psychological thrillers, binges her favorite TV shows, and experiments with gardening.

MEG KIMMEL

Chief Operating Officer

“I have the privilege of making sure our people, our programs, and our plan continue to evolve and work together to provide innovative solutions and bring about more positive outcomes for food-insecure Marylanders.”

About Meg

Over the past 12 years, Meg Kimmel has served in a broad range of capacities at the Maryland Food Bank, and was named Chief Operating Officer in October 2023. In this role, she is responsible for ensuring MFB delivers high-impact results and outcomes as the leader of the Marketing, Strategy, Operations, Programs, and HR teams.

Meg’s current role builds on her previous experience in building impactful programs, messaging, and advertising in both the corporate and nonprofit sectors. A key component of Meg’s leadership relies on her ability to mentor and support great teams and to help organizations navigate changing environments, ensuring that they stay in the moment, and effectively use their voice—and their programs and products—to catalyze collaborative change.

While Meg has deep experience working in the corporate sector, she is happiest when working to drive change around critical issues including women’s rights, the environment, and food insecurity.

In her free time, you can find Meg hiking, doing Zumba, or traveling to her favorite places with her family.

ELISE KRIKAU

Chief Philanthropy Officer

“I love connecting people’s philanthropic motivations with a nonprofit’s mission. Being able to take someone’s desire to help or give and aligning them with what we do at the food bank is extremely rewarding.”

About Elise

Elise Krikau, Chief Philanthropy Officer, focuses the food bank’s fundraising efforts to maximize its impact on the lives of hungry Marylanders. Elise’s first experience with philanthropy came in college (which ultimately became her vocation) when she began her fundraising career in 2007. During her 20 years of professional experience, she has worked in healthcare, higher education, nonprofit consulting, and human services.

Elise has a graduate certificate in Nonprofit Management from North Park University and a master’s degree in administration from Central Michigan University. She is currently a board member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals Maryland Chapter, and a Certified Leadership Coach. When not raising funds for the food bank, Elise enjoys running and exploring new places with her husband and stepchildren.

MICHAEL SCHULZ

Vice President of Warehousing & Transportation

“Best-in-class warehouse, logistics, and transportation are the critical components to ending hunger in Maryland. I’m doubly blessed that I have a team that always strives to improve these processes, and as they are part of the communities we serve, they educate us in what is needed so we in turn can support them and their families, neighbors, and community.”

About Michael

As MFB’s Vice President of Warehousing and Transportation, Michael Schulz keeps the food bank’s complex inventory and shipping processes running smoothly and efficiently. He manages the Baltimore, Salisbury, and Hagerstown operations teams, striving for inventory accuracy and optimal partner experiences through best-in-class deliveries across the state.

Michael has many years of food distribution and production experience, most recently with HMSHost in their commercial operations and supply chain group. During his time there, he managed optimization projects across the organization, including fleet and logistics, warehouse management and buildouts, fresh produce and food programs, food safety, and process improvement.

Coming from a large family, Michael learned early on not to waste food. After working with several different urban farm programs and seeing the extent of food insecurity in the US through a corporate partnership with Feeding America, he volunteered at his local food pantry before bringing his expertise to MFB.

Michael is a native Baltimorean and enjoys spending time with his family and his wife, Glenda (a local nonprofit housing counselor), traveling as much as he can, reading and watching sci-fi, and is—and always will be—an Orioles fan.

JENNIFER SMALL

Vice President of Partner Logistics & Programs

“Joining MFB more than 13 years ago was a decision that brought me full circle, working for a mission built upon supporting individuals and families one unexpected life event, one uncontrolled circumstance, away from needing help. That is a mission I am truly passionate about.”

About Jennifer

As Vice President of Partner Logistics & Programs, Jennifer Small leads teams at the intersection of our program strategy with the operational components associated with partner logistics and food distribution, while also managing MFB’s statewide TEFAP and Mobile Market Programs.

Jennifer has brought decades of experience in managerial business, retail grocery, and nonprofit to her MFB work, maximizing her impact on food-insecure Marylanders during her 13-year tenure as Branch Manager, then Managing Director, then Regional Program Director for the Eastern Shore.

And, because of her own personal experience suffering an unexpected loss more than 15 years ago sent her into a world of food insecurity, underemployment, and financial distress, Jennifer never loses sight of the struggles she faced at the time to make sure her son had food on the table. More recently, her proudest accomplishment came when her son shared an assignment recognizing Jennifer as “My hero,” because her job at the food bank helped to make sure people didn’t go hungry.

Jennifer is a graduate of Salisbury State University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology and a minor in Sociology. She enjoys spending her free time with her husband and two children taking spontaneous road trips looking for new adventures, playing board games, doing crafts, and enjoying movie time with dinner.

DANIEL STURM

Vice President for Learning, Measurement & Evaluation

“I have a personal connection to our efforts to provide fresh produce to Marylanders, having spent summers on my family’s 300-year-old farm in the Black Forest in Germany, and working in co-op community gardens since I moved to the U.S.”

About Daniel

Daniel Sturm serves as our Vice President for Learning, Measurement and Evaluation, and drives the organization’s efforts to improve outcomes for food-insecure Marylanders through a data-driven lens.

Prior to joining the Maryland Food Bank, Daniel worked as Director of Research and Impact Analysis at the United Way of Central Maryland, where he specialized on Return-on-Investment studies and evaluating the socioeconomic impact of COVID-19. From 2010-19, he served as a Research and Evaluation Manager at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Migration and Refugee Services, where he evaluated refugee program outcomes.

Daniel likes to read, run, hike and travel with his wife and daughter in and around his home in the Hamilton area of Baltimore, where he takes care of a flock of backyard chickens.

SUE ZAVOYNA

Chief Financial Officer

“Joining the Maryland Food Bank fulfills my dream of working for an organization that is strategically making a difference in the lives of the people it serves and employs.”

About Sue

Sue Zavoyna, Chief Financial Officer, is the energetic force that leads the food bank’s finance team and IT department. A Towson University graduate, Sue’s background in public accounting, combined with serving as the CFO for social service and food service organizations, makes her the perfect steward to ensure our financial support has maximum impact on food-insecure Marylanders. Joining MFB fulfills her dream of working for an organization that is strategically making a difference in the lives of the people it serves and employs.

When not at the food bank, Sue enjoys the outdoors, live music, and rescuing animals. She is also a HUGE Ravens fan.

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Board of Directors

BOARD CHAIR

Terry Squyres
Principal
GWWO Architects

VICE CHAIR

Mary Frances Isakov
Group Manager
M&T Bank

SECRETARY

Jennifer Reilly

TREASURER

Tom Albero
President & CEO
Alliance Material Handling, Inc.

DIRECTORS

Mike Blair
Executive Vice President
Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson, Inc.

Derrick Dickens
SVP & Chief Operating Officer
BGE

Mary Kate Federico
Partner, Assurance
Ernst & Young

Dyani Hanrahan
Vice President, Marketing
Giant Food

Delegate Shaneka Henson
Maryland State Delegate

Alia Kemet
Chief Marketing Officer
Shipt

Rachel O’Neill
Vice President, Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer, Group General Counsel
Travelers Insurance

Melanie Perreault
Provost, EVP, Academic & Student Affairs
Towson University

Dawn M. Rhodes, DBA
Chief Business & Finance Officer & Senior Vice President
University of Maryland, Baltimore

Lori Amos Robinson
Chief Communications Officer
McCormick & Company, Inc.

Robert Thomas

Bob Waldman
Partner
Venable

Teresa Woodard
Head of Trading Analytics
T. Rowe Price Associates

EX OFFICIO

Carmen Del Guercio
President & CEO
Maryland Food Bank

AUDITOR

Gross Mendelsohn
James E. Crisp

The above list of independent voting members is current as of 3/15/2023.

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