Board Of Directors

Board Chair

Steve is a senior management executive with an extensive background in the food industry, recently retiring from his position as President & CEO of the Rhode Island Food Dealers Association, a role he held for over thirteen years. In this position, Steve led a recognized association with over a 100-year history of serving its membership in the food industry of Rhode Island. He brings extensive knowledge and experience in the retail, wholesale, marketing, and manufacturing aspects of the food industry.

His primary responsibilities included representing Rhode Island’s food industry in all aspects of state government, as well as building on the identity of the state’s food industry throughout Rhode Island and the Northeast. Steve is also very active in representing the Rhode Island food industry within several state organizations and national food associations.

Previously, Steve served as President and CEO for eight years at World Harbors Inc. and Angostura International. World Harbors is a Maine-based food manufacturer, marketer, and importer/exporter of specialty food products.

Prior to joining World Harbors, Steve was Sr. Vice President of Purchasing, Merchandising, and Marketing at Millbrook Distribution Services for nine years. Before that, he served as Sr. Vice President of Non-Perishable Sales, Merchandising, and Procurement for Almacs Supermarkets, a regional grocery chain with store locations in Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts.

Board Treasurer

Courtney is a consultant to foundations and social sector organizations, with a focus on the design and facilitation of complex strategic initiatives and the development of new grantmaking programs. She brings over twenty years of experience as a facilitative leader, strategic planning expert, and organizational and leadership development consultant to her consulting practice. She has worked in a range of roles with philanthropic organizations, nonprofits, and social change initiatives that bring together multiple stakeholders and require cross-sector partnerships.

Before launching her consulting practice, she was a Senior Program Officer at the Henry P. Kendall Foundation, where she helped create a new grantmaking program focused on food systems transformation in New England. Her previous positions include Vice President of Programs at Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, Director of Organizational Development at Conservation International, and Senior Associate at the Interaction Institute for Social Change.

Courtney holds an undergraduate degree from Brown University and a master’s degree from Union Theological Seminary. She was a member of the Leadership Rhode Island class of 2017.

Diane currently serves as a Board member of the Rhode Island Food Policy Council, a statewide network organization working to increase the environmental sustainability, equity and economic resiliency of the state’s food system, and to ensure access to healthy food for all Rhode Islanders. On the Council, she has worked on programs and advocacy to support both seafood and farm businesses, and is currently supporting bills for small and urban farms in the state.

Diane is an active member of Rhode Island’s social enterprise and food start-up communities, providing advisory services to a number of food start-ups and business service providers. At the Social Enterprise Greenhouse, Diane served as Board Chair for 4 years, was a member of the Loan Committee for 6 years, helped to develop an accelerator program for food start-ups, and assisted in developing a wide range of technical assistance and service platforms for social entrepreneurs. As the Director of Social Enterprises at Amos House in Providence, RI, she assisted in growing its portfolio of food service businesses.

Diane holds an MBA from Boston University and a BA from Brandeis University. She began her career in the food sector working for national and multi-national food processors, distributors and retailers as a consultant for Booz Allen & Hamilton. As a consultant, she worked in a wide range of functional areas, including logistics and supply chain optimization, new product development and roll-out, marketing and branding, and strategic planning. She and her family moved to Rhode Island in 2007 and now grow hay and support local pasture-raised meat farmers on their farm in South County. Diane also supports Rhode Island’s agricultural community by serving as a Commissioner on Rhode Island’s Agricultural Land Preservation Commission.

Family & Outreach Coordinator / Family & Outreach Coordinator and SNAP Outreach Assistant, Boys & Girls Clubs of Newport County

Charlene advocates for solutions that eliminate homelessness and ensure food and nutrition security. She is a collaborator, organizer, and educator addressing the inequities of underrepresented groups facing hunger and poverty. As Family & Outreach Coordinator & SNAP Outreach Assistant for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Newport (BGC), she supports elder community members, the disabled, veterans, the unhoused, students, the LGBTQ community, and rural Rhode Islanders. Charlene formed Rhode Island’s only BGC Parent Advisory Council, powers all SNAP Outreach initiatives in Newport County and Washington County, and is on the Board of Commissioners for South Kingstown Housing Authority.

Charlene holds a Master of Science degree in Human Development & Family Studies from the University of Rhode Island’s College Student Personnel Program as well as URI a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology with a minor in Elementary Education. She’s been a Teacher Assistant and Case Manager, at M.I.C.R.O. Teachers College, University of West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica, and a RI Campus compact AmeriCorps VISTA for a Hunger-Free America. As a volunteer at the Jonnycake Center of Peace Dale, she was a “Witness to Hunger” with the RI Community Food Bank and Drexel University School of Public Health, part of a movement to increase women’s participation in the national dialogue on hunger and poverty (WIC, SNAP, Childcare, and Medical Assistance programs). Charlene also holds a level one training certification in Kingian Nonviolence through Nonviolent Schools Rhode Island.

Charlene lives in Wakefield with her husband, four children and granddaughter. She is a soccer mom/volunteer for South County Youth Soccer Club, loves biking, teaches “A Taste of Africa” classes for Brown University Health, and makes sure there is quality time with loved ones.

Sankofa Program Manager, West Elmwood Housing Development Inc.

Julius manages and oversees the day-to-day operations of the Sankofa Initiative. Julius will be responsible for program activities and reporting progress. He holds a BA in Culinary Art/Food Service Management from Johnson & Wales University, and a Certificate in Social Impact Management and Leadership from The Institute of Nonprofit Practice. In 2014, Julius founded a non-profit called Food4Good, which doubled as a food truck and a mobile soup kitchen. Profits from the food truck funded the mobile soup kitchen, allowing the entire community to contribute to improving the lives of others.

Board Secretary

Dominique (she/her) currently serves as the Coalition Manager of Make Hunger History at Project Bread. Make Hunger History is a statewide coalition of policymakers, community leaders, service providers, individuals with lived experience of food insecurity and other stakeholders, who have come together to eradicate hunger in Massachusetts through a systems change approach. Previously, she served as the Associate Director of Community Infrastructure for Central Providence Unidos, a collective impact initiative aimed at addressing health and economic inequities in two zip codes of Providence, Rhode Island. In this role, she led initiatives that aimed to build and shift power to community members, including the Nine Neighborhood Fund, Rhode Island’s largest participatory budgeting process. Dominique is passionate about advancing systems change work, with a focus on building participatory practices to ensure those most impacted are centered in identifying and implementing solutions. She is a Massachusetts native but currently lives in Providence Rhode Island.