Our Team
Staff
Our team comes from a wide variety of backgrounds, bringing a diverse blend of expertise and experience in food business strategy and sustainability, finance, data analytics, culinary arts, research, agricultural development, and communications. Meet the people who make our work possible.
Dana Gunders
Executive Director
Dana Gunders serves as ReFED’s Executive Director. Dana is a national expert on food waste and one of the first to bring to light just how much food is lost throughout the food system. For almost a decade, she was a Senior Scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council; she then launched Next Course, LLC to strategically advise on food waste. Some of her career highlights include authoring the landmark Wasted report and Waste-Free Kitchen Handbook, launching the "Save the Food" campaign with the Ad Council, testifying in Congress, consulting to Google, being named "the woman who started the waste-free movement" by Consumer Reports, and serving as a founding Board Member of ReFED.
Asch Harwood
Vice President of Data & Insights
Asch Harwood serves as ReFED’s Vice President of Data & Insights, leading the development and delivery of information and accompanying technical products – including the ReFED Insights Engine – that will lead the industry to act on food waste reduction. Asch is the founder of Red Hook Media Lab, a content and research studio that draws on best practices from entertainment education, behavioral science, design thinking, and data science to promote positive social progress. He has spent over a decade working at the intersection of social change, data, design, and technology, spanning industries and continents at organizations like the Council on Foreign Relations and UNICEF. Some of his proudest professional accomplishments include establishing the Council on Foreign Relations' Nigeria Security Tracker, an interactive data platform for tracking political violence; creating Nigeria's first "mobile-first" pro-vaccine entertainment-education series; conducting field research into the state of Kenyan media; and developing a media literacy entertainment-education series, "Anomaly," which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Michael Johnsey
Technical Lead
Michael Johnsey serves as the Technical Lead at ReFED, with a decade of experience in software engineering and product management across sectors like telecommunications, healthcare, and political research. Before his role at ReFED, Michael contributed to Change Research, Ookla, and RevSpring. At Change Research, he was the Lead Engineer for the 2022 federal mid-term elections, supporting more than 550 polls that surveyed over a million Americans. Michael's expertise lies in building global software systems and launching new technology product lines. He graduated from the University of Mississippi with a degree in History and Computer Science.
Jeffrey Zurita
Software Engineer
Jeffrey Zurita serves as ReFED’s Data & Insights Software Engineer, supporting the development of ReFED's Insights Engine in an effort to create a more robust data platform with which to combat national food loss and waste. Jeffrey brings his engineering and research experience from Boston Children's Hospital where he was published on multiple Immunology papers, and from the world of oncology drug research where he contributed to the success of taking multiple drugs to clinical trials. Jeffrey holds a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Boston University.
Selena Mao
Data & Insights Research Analyst
Selena Mao serves as ReFED’s Data & Insights Research Analyst, developing information and accompanying technical products to help galvanize national efforts to reduce food loss and waste. Previously, Selena supported the Chief Sustainability Office for Los Angeles County to assess how the L.A. regional food economy was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Selena has authored policy and academic research on opportunities to localize food economies and build urban climate resilience. Selena holds a M.A. in Urban Planning from UCLA and a B.S. in Engineering from Stanford University.
Minnie Ringland
Climate Analyst
Minnie Ringland serves as ReFED’s Climate Analyst, studying the greenhouse gas emissions factors used to link food waste to climate change, translating these findings to support ReFED's partners and solution providers, and generally working to improve our understanding of food waste's impacts. She also supports key Data & Insights work, including Insights Engine updates and food business initiatives. Minnie has followed an interest in food systems since college, where she led the Food Action student club, working on food waste and nutrition issues, and helped organize the annual Yale Food Systems Symposium in 2015. She holds a master’s degree from the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, where her capstone project investigated emissions and carbon sequestration associated with Santa Barbara County's agricultural lands.
Alexandria Coari
Vice President of Capital, Innovation, & Engagement
Alexandria (Alex) serves as ReFED’s Vice President of Capital, Innovation, & Engagement, working to catalyze the more than $140 billion of public, private, and philanthropic capital needed to scale innovation and accelerate the adoption of solutions to food waste by 2030. She brings 12 years of investment banking, sustainable food supply chain, and innovation acceleration experience with startups, for-profits, and nonprofits in the U.S. and Latin America, including time at JP Morgan, Fair Trade USA, OLLY, and Agora Partnerships. She is passionate about helping mission-driven companies grow their impact and believes in the power of market-based approaches to solving today's biggest challenges.
Jackie Suggitt
Capital, Innovation, & Engagement Director
Jackie serves as ReFED’s Capital, Innovation, & Engagement Director. In her position, she builds ReFED’s diverse multi-sector network, manages external partnerships, and leads planning for our annual Food Waste Solutions Summit. Before joining ReFED, Jackie worked as Senior Manager of Sustainability at Walmart, where she led a number of sustainable food and nutrition programs for Walmart’s global and private brand business.
Caroline Vance
Capital, Innovation, & Engagement Director
Caroline serves as ReFED's Capital, Innovation, & Engagement Director, working on initiatives that drive more investment into solutions to food waste. Prior to joining ReFED, she spent 12 years in the impact investing unit of Deutsche Bank and its asset management firm, DWS, where she managed portfolios of investments in microfinance institutions and social enterprises operating in the developing world. She currently serves on the Board of Upaya Social Ventures, a non-profit organization that makes seed-stage investments in companies that provide dignified employment to the lowest-income members of society in India, and she is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
David Ly
Senior Manager of Business Initiatives
David serves as ReFED’s Senior Manager of Business Initiatives, working with businesses on a range of initiatives in support of their efforts to reduce food waste. Holding a B.S. in Supply Chain Management from the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management, he began his career in management consulting. David later transitioned to the Consumer Packaged Goods sector, where he spent five years at General Mills and Hormel Foods, gaining experience in innovation, brand management, and consumer insights. Returning to the Carlson School for an MBA as a Social Venture Fellow, David launched a consulting practice dedicated to democratizing technology for small businesses. In addition to his role at ReFED, David teaches Sustainable Development as Adjunct Faculty at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design
Alejandro Enamorado
Capital, Innovation, & Engagement Senior Manager
Alejandro serves as ReFED’s Capital, Innovation, & Engagement Senior Manager, working to spur investment in the food waste sector. In his position, he works to contribute to the Insights Engine and build relationships with solution providers. He brings six years of technology investment banking, equity research and sales, and trading experience, including time at TD Securities, CI Investments, and RBC Capital Markets.
Angel Veza
Capital, Innovation, & Engagement, Senior Manager
Angel Veza serves as ReFED's Capital, Innovation, & Engagement Senior Manager, working to catalyze adoption of top food waste solutions. She originally worked in the education field teaching underserved communities. After working with students for seven years, Angel received her Grade Diplome at the French Culinary Institute and worked through New York City’s top restaurants, including Morimoto and two-Michelin starred Atera, and with foodservice companies like Compass Group. During that time, she witnessed the significant amount of food being wasted in the hospitality industry and decided to work with the Food Waste team at World Wildlife Fund. As an expansion of that, she worked in supply chain and led strategic sourcing and procurement with a focus on food waste reduction at Manahtta Restaurant, part of Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group in New York City.
Lily Herd
Capital, Innovation, & Engagement Manager
Lily Herd (she/her) serves as ReFED's Capital, Innovation, & Engagement Manager. She works closely with ReFED's extended network of stakeholders to collaborate and share insights on food waste reduction strategies and to scale impact. Before joining ReFED, she worked in the agricultural and nonprofit healthcare sectors. She is passionate about food security, climate change mitigation through regenerative agriculture, and increasing equity and inclusion within the food system. Lily holds a Master of Science in Food Security from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, as well as a Bachelor in Psychology and Anthropology from the University of Oregon.
Lisa Accardi
Events Manager
Lisa Accardi serves as ReFED’s Events Manager, overseeing the planning, management, and execution of ReFED's events, including the annual Food Waste Solutions Summit. She has more than 20 years of experience managing events, projects, and communications for both large corporations and nonprofits. Nicknamed the "Queen of Leftovers" by her family, Lisa is passionate about solving the food waste crisis, as well as other climate change initiatives. Prior to ReFED, Lisa was events and communications manager for a biomedical research institute in San Francisco, where she oversaw overall event operations and led the planning of all high-level events. When not working, Lisa likes gardening, beach cleanups, and hiking the gorgeous trails in northern California, where she lives.
Jeffrey Costantino
Communications Director
Jeffrey (Jeff) Costantino serves as Communications Director, helping ReFED connect to its key audiences with engaging and actionable content. Previously, he oversaw communications and marketing at the Western Union Foundation, which works to empower refugees and other migrants with education and workforce training. He also served as Managing Director for Marketing at Truth Initiative, a national public health nonprofit promoting tobacco-free lives. Jeff's career began in advertising, where he worked on a range of accounts at McCann-Erickson and Crispin Porter + Bogusky. He holds a Master of Business Administration from George Washington University and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the College of William and Mary.
Vanessa Mukhebi
Communications Manager
Vanessa Mukhebi serves as the Communications Manager at ReFED, supporting communications execution and strategy across the organization. Before joining ReFED, Vanessa worked in the international NGO sector, creating multimedia content and inclusive interventions to promote improved nutrition, climate-smart agriculture, gender equity, and poverty alleviation across sub-Saharan Africa. She is passionate about indigenous food systems and the cultural dimensions of food security. Vanessa holds a Master of Art in Anthropology (Food) from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor in Media and Communication, Sociology and Anthropology from the University of Sydney in Australia.
Shawn Shepherd
Development Director
Shawn Shepherd serves as ReFED’s Director of Development, working to bring philanthropic support to our mission of eliminating food waste. She has a more than 30-year career leading nonprofit organizations and advancement offices in institutional settings. She has worked in the food system space as a national staff member with the American Farmland Trust and has served on several regional boards addressing food insecurity. Recognized as a leader in environmental issues in her home states of Texas, New Mexico, and Idaho, her passion for addressing the existential crisis of our time – climate change – is what drives her work with ReFED.
Sam Buck
Senior Manager of Development
Sam Buck serves as ReFED's Senior Manager of Development, supporting fundraising efforts to eliminate food waste, address climate change, and increase food security. Previously, Sam worked in development to improve education outcomes at several institutions including Stanford, where he served as Associate Director of the Business School Fund. He holds an MBA and MS in Sustainability from the Erb Institute at the University of Michigan. While a graduate student, Sam co-founded the first student-run climate tech investment fund in the country and designed a food recovery business for Conservation Corps North Bay. He believes passionately in philanthropy's ability to convene stakeholders and catalyze coordinated action on important issues.
Katy Franklin
Operations Director
Katy Franklin serves as ReFED’s Operations Director, supporting organizational development and strategy and designing systems for effective program implementation and management. Previously, Katy managed operations at Sustainable America, where she gained a deep understanding of successful food waste reduction programs with consumers, food service providers, private firms, and at major events. She has authored industry and academic research on food waste and opportunities to solve this global challenge. Katy also helped develop Further with Food, a public-private partnership convened to address food loss and waste.
Salma Khan
Senior Operations & Administrative Manager
Salma Khan serves as ReFED's Senior Operations & Administrative Manager, supporting organizational growth, employee engagement, and human resources. Before joining ReFED, Salma worked as the Chief of Staff at Liaisons Inc., a luxury travel and event management agency based in Miami. Prior to Liaisons, she worked at EPL Nonprofit Management Consulting supporting the temporary staffing needs of various global NGOs. She founded EPL in Barcelona in 2018 after working in human resources for nearly two decades. She previously lived and worked in New York City at companies such as Boston Consulting Group, Getty Images, Moët-Hennessy, and Tapestry. Salma graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor of Science in Public Affairs Management.
Board of Directors
Our Board is comprised of leaders in the business, technology, philanthropic, and nonprofit sectors who inform the organization’s strategic initiatives, offer technical expertise, and collectively provide a holistic analysis of the challenges and opportunities for food waste reduction.
Steven Swartz
Board Treasurer, ReFED
Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer, Chief Technology Officer, The Wonderful Company
Learn MoreJeff Rhodes
Board Member, ReFED
Vice President Finance, Trane Technologies, Commercial HVAC Americas
Learn MoreYalmaz Siddiqui
Board Member, ReFED
Vice President, Environmental Sustainability, The Walt Disney Company
Learn MorePast Board & Steering Committee Members
Nicola Dixon
Director of Global Impact
General Mills
Eric Woods
Corporate Officer, VP Field Operations
Sysco
Rob Kaplan
Founder and CEO
Circulate Capital
Devon Klatell
Managing Director, Food Initiative
The Rockefeller Foundation
Advisory Council
ReFED’s strength has long rested in the power of the people who surround, advise, and contribute to our work. The Advisory Council is a group of thought leaders helping to provide expert input to ReFED’s priority programs and long-term strategy.
Louisa Burwood-Taylor
Head of Media & Research, AgFunder
Benjamin Crook
VP Dressings & Condiments NA, Unilever
Aaron Desatnik
Vice President of Corporate Development, OvaInnovations
Amy Duffuor
General Partner, Azolla Ventures
Claudia Fabiano
Sustainable Management of Food Team, EPA
Nora Goldstein
Editor/Publisher of BioCycle CONNECT ® and BioCycle.net, the Organics Recycling Authority.
Leah Lizarondo
CEO and Co-Founder, Food Rescue Hero
Clementine O’Connor
Programme Officer, Sustainable Food Systems, UNEP
Denise Osterhues
Sr. Director, Sustainability & Social Impact; President, The Kroger Co. and The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation
Dr. Brian E. Roe
Van Buren Professor in the Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics,
Ohio State University
Julia Ruedig
Principal, Amazon Fresh
Andrew Shakman
Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, LeanPath
ReFED's work is made possible with generous support from and in partnership with our funders.