Feeding America announces new Board of Directors members

Feeding America's food bank network helps keep millions of Americans fed

Feeding America, the US’ largest domestic hunger-relief organisation, has announced the election of new members to the Feeding America National Board of Directors. They are Anne Alonzo, Former Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer of Corteva Agriscience; Eric Cooper, President and CEO of the San Antonio Food Bank; Lisa Mensah, President and CEO of Opportunity Finance Network; and Toni Stanger-McLaughlin, CEO of the Native America Agriculture Fund. Their terms will begin on 1 July, the beginning of Feeding America’s 2023 fiscal year.

“As we deepen our efforts to reduce food insecurity and address disparities by race and place, their unique insights are sure to prove invaluable to our work. Anne, Eric, Lisa, and Toni are truly dedicated leaders in their communities and bring more representative voices to this table,” said Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America.

“As we move into the future, I look forward to the opportunity of partnering with each of them to continue to keep people facing hunger at the centre of all that we do to advance our mission and to serve our neighbours in need.”

Anne Alonzo has held executive leadership roles at three Fortune 500 companies — Amoco, Kraft Foods Inc., and Corteva. She has served at four US federal agencies, including the US Department of Agriculture, US Department of State, US Department of Commerce and US Environmental Protection Agency. Alonzo has also served as CEO of the American Egg Board and as Senior Vice President of the National Foreign Trade Council.

As President and CEO of the San Antonio Food Bank, Eric Cooper implemented some innovative partnerships, including urban farming and on-site food pantries operated by people in the transitional housing where they are located.

Lisa Mensah is President and CEO of Opportunity Finance Network (OFN), the nation’s leading network of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). Under her leadership, OFN helps CDFIs leverage public funding and private investment to bring affordable, responsible capital to rural, urban, and Native communities underserved by mainstream finance.

Lastly, Toni Stanger-McLaughlin is a citizen of the Colville Confederated Tribes and serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Native American Agriculture Fund (NAAF). Before being named the CEO of NAAF, she served as the first NAAF Director of Programs, where she assisted the development and delivery of millions of dollars of NAAF philanthropic investment in Tribal food systems.