(Kansas City, Mo.)\u2014The Board of Directors of Harvesters\u2014The Community Food Network is pleased to announce it has selected Debbie Espinosa as the organization\u2019s new President and CEO. Espinosa becomes the sixth person to lead Harvesters and will assume her new role officially at the end of August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Espinosa joins Harvesters from FIND Regional Food Bank, a fellow Feeding America network food bank serving California’s Greater Palm Springs desert region. There she has served as President and CEO since 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A seasoned nonprofit leader with more than 30 years of experience, Espinosa has dedicated her career to strengthening communities through service in the nonprofit sector. Her work has spanned local, regional, national, and international organizations, giving her a broad perspective on addressing complex community challenges through collaboration and innovation. She earned a Master of Professional Studies in Community and Economic Development from Penn State University, with an emphasis on rural communities and developing countries, complementing her lifelong commitment to building stronger and more resilient communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Espinosa brings extensive food banking experience within the Feeding America network. She currently serves as a member and past chair of Feeding America’s National Advisory Council, one of the network’s primary leadership bodies responsible for helping shape strategy and innovation across more than 200 member food banks nationwide. She has also served on Feeding America’s National Board of Directors, Contract Task Force, Network Strategic Framework Committee, and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Council. From 2008 to 2011, she worked for Feeding America as the Manager of Compliance and Capacity Development, supporting 37 food banks throughout the southwestern United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her broader food banking experience includes serving as a Strategic Programs and Operations Consultant for the Global Food Banking Network, where she helped support the development of the first national food banking networks in Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador in partnership with Walmart Central America and Mexico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Debbie has deep ties to the Kansas City community. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, she later attended Rockhurst University, where she earned her bachelor’s degrees in Sociology and Comparative Religion, along with a minor in Nonprofit Management through the American Humanics (now Nonprofit Leadership Alliance) program. Through the nonprofit management program, she completed an internship at Harvesters, working on leadership development under the mentorship of then-President and CEO, Karen Haren.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While in college, Espinosa also served on the national board of directors for Camp Fire Boys and Girls and completed an internship at the organization\u2019s national headquarters (based in Kansas City) focused on teen program innovation and redesign. In addition, she worked with the YMCA and YWCA of Greater Kansas City as a summer day camp site director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the past decade, Espinosa has continued to strengthen her ties to Kansas City through more than eight years of service on the national board of directors of the Kansas City-based Nonprofit Leadership Alliance, an organization founded by H. Roe Bartle in 1948 to develop the next generation of nonprofit leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00abWe believe Debbie will be just the transformational leader Harvesters needs at this time,\u00bb said Harvesters’ Board Chair, Kevin Strathman. \u00abShe brings a wealth of food banking experience and knowledge and is known for bringing innovation to every position she has held. The fact that she learned early leadership skills from some of Kansas City’s top nonprofit leaders made this decision even easier. It seems she was destined to return one day and lead one of this area’s most beloved nonprofit organizations.\u00bb<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00abI am honored to join Harvesters and return to a community that played such an important role in shaping my personal and professional journey,\u201d said Espinosa. \u201cMany of the values that have guided my career in service, collaboration, and a commitment to helping others thrive were strengthened through the mentors, colleagues, and experiences I had in Kansas City. Over the years, I have admired Harvesters’ leadership, innovation, and commitment to serving people in need with dignity and compassion. I look forward to listening, learning, and working alongside the dedicated staff, Board of Directors, volunteers, donors, and community partners who make this organization’s impact possible every day. Together, we will build on Harvesters’ strong foundation and continue to innovate food security systems to best serve our neighbors across our region.\u00bb<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"