Intake Coordinator & Translator
Cheo has been a core member of our team for over five years, working as an intake coordinator as well as providing superior customer service and translation services to our clients. Cheo is on the front line every day, working to provide a warm welcome to clients and donors upon arrival, as well as providing administrative support for data entry and tracking. She also ensures that our clients meet our eligibility requirements as well as translating for clients with limited English into multiple languages like Chinese and Vietnamese.
She loves spending time with her dog and reading good books. In her free time, she takes walks and runs around White Center and loves going for a swim!
Intake specialist & Translator
Gabby has been working at the White Center Food Bank since 2011 as an intake specialist and translator. She is part of our diverse team of intake staff, working directly with clients to provide them with a warm welcome, getting them signed in, as well as providing translation services when needed. Gabby is a bilingual Mexican American immigrant and is passionate about supporting many of our immigrant clients through many of the struggles that they can face when first coming to a new country. She loves to work at the Food Bank because she gets the chance to assist her community and help those who need help.
In her free time, she loves to spend quality time with her family, exercising, swimming, and reading. She is also an avid cook and foodie!
Intake Specialist
Shandee is originally from Chicago. Working at the food bank is her happy place. It also gives her the chance to give back to the community. Shandee like many things: sports, video games, music, to name a few. Right now she’s looking to learn how to play pickleball.
Shandee is a great member of our the intake team during distribution hours to assist with checking customers in. Shandee got her start with our organization as a part-time volunteer through the AARP Foundation last October!
Intake, Mobile food Bank Specialist, & translator
Abbas has worked at White Center Food Bank since 2012 offering superior services during the intake process, providing Arabic translation when needed, as well as helping our Mobile Food Bank distributions for seniors at Arrowhead Gardens, St. Joseph House, and Nia Apartments. Abbas also is responsible for tracking our Healthy Foods Gift Certificate program.
Abbas likes to spend his free time with his friends and family, shopping and watching sports! Go Hawks!
INTAKE SPECIALIST
Tracey is one of our amazing Intake Staff Coordinators at the White Center Food Bank. She enjoys community involvement and has dedicated her career to direct service. From owning several businesses working in hospitals and home care, she considers our food bank as one of the places that make her feel at home.
She hopes to continue making an impact in the community and make a legacy for herself. During her free time, she enjoys spending time with her kids and enjoy’s relaxing.
Intake Specialist, & translator
Megan has been with the White Center Food Bank since 2018, rocking her role as an Intake Translator and Specialist. A California native raised by a Mexican immigrant in the vibrant White Center/South Park area, Megan is dedicated to empowering her community.
She is passionate about connecting young mothers, low-income families, and homeless/battered women with essential resources.
With cooking as her love language and an interest in nail art, Megan and her kids dive into thrilling adventures, from exploring parks to enjoying pool days.
operations Manager
John started out his journey at the White Center Food Bank as a Volunteer. What he likes about the foodbank is he can you have different people coming in every day, and different people every month. He also like meeting customers, some of them are his neighbors and loves being a part of the community.
The organization has also helped John see how generous the community is, the donations from companies have helped us branch out and work on catering to the diverse dietary needs of this area, focusing more on the needs of minorities and individuals.
John spends a good amount of his time analyzing films, volk sporting, and eating manicotti. He doesn’t believe in UFO’s but is fascinated by the culture.
volunteer Manager
Heather joined our team in January 2021. She comes to White Center Food Bank with a long career in volunteer engagement in food security and environmental work. Most recently, she was the volunteer manager for a cooking and nutrition program that engaged volunteer chefs and nutritionists to teach families how to cook healthy food on a budget. Before that, she spent 9 years working with the volunteers at the Denver Zoo. There’s nowhere else she’d rather spend her career than working with and supporting volunteers to accomplish incredible things for the community!
Her favorite food is from her home in Colorado, Palisade Peaches. She also enjoys cherries, blueberries, and Thai food. She loves exploring, baking and bouldering.
Heather’s free time is spent reading and watching movies. As a lifetime member of Girl Scouts of the USA since the 2nd grade, Heather learned how to train and volunteer.
office and finance manager
Pam has been with the White Center Food Bank since December 2015, working part-time as the Administrative Specialist. She helps to keep all of the essential functions of our food bank - from reporting to donor thank-you's - running smoothly. She comes to the White Center Food Bank with 10 years of experience working with nonprofits. Pam has lived in the White Center area for 37 years.
Pam has played softball and volleyball for over 40 years, since she was a baby. Some hobbies of hers include hiking, biking, camping, painting and knitting. Her favorite foods are strawberries and blueberries.
operations coordinator
Joey spent his childhood in the Washington DC area but became obsessed with food when he moved to Minnesota as a young adult. He worked around food and drinks for the entirety of his adult life and has been involved in the local food scene ever since he moved to Seattle in 2018. Working around people energizes him and being a part of the White Center Food Bank allows him to live out his values in the truest sense. When he’s not at the food bank, Joey can be found at nearby bars on karaoke nights making a fool of himself while singing music from the 90s. He loves being goofy and making people smile, whether it be through telling jokes, cooking food, or playing old Nintendo games together.
DEVELOPMENT & EVENT COORDINATOR
Robert is originally from California but has been living in the Seattle area for 20 years. With family in West Seattle, White Center and Burien, this region has quickly become his home. Through his father’s political activism and community outreach he learned at a young age that this place we all call home is very much connected and we all have an opportunity to make an impact. He is excited to provide his own impact on this community by harnessing years of experience gained through work interacting with people face to face in and around Seattle.
Looking for new music both live and recorded is a hobby of his and he is always open to new suggestions. When not working Robert can often be found exploring new places to take photos and working on his digital art projects.
MARKETING & COMMUNITY outreach COORDINATOR
Randy is one of the first in his family to pursue higher education and graduated from the University of Washington. In 2021, he dedicated his efforts to the work of food security/justice to give back to the community and advocate for those in need. He wants to inspire others to impact their community, small or big. In his spare time, he loves spending time with his four dogs and exploring a town in search of the next best coffee shop. As a creative and to keep himself busy, he does fashion editorial styling, and film photography, and finds himself always playing Lofi music in every scenario of the day.
Development & Communications Director
Jefferson comes to White Center Food Bank after career in social service. Starting in community health and later moving into food security programs and public transportation, his career spans many areas of community engagement and outreach. He was part of the initial rollout of Medicaid expansion (aka Obamacare) and led enrollment efforts in western Washington for Basic Food/Food Stamps. In his most recent role, he provided leadership to two teams for Sound Transit’s light rail expansion in South King County and Tacoma. Prior to joining staff, he also served 6 months on the White Center Food Bank board.
Operations Director
Mike has moved to Seattle from Michigan about 10 years ago and have resided in the Delridge area for the last three. My background has been split between geophysics and supply chain management (one of which is a little more useful than the other). I spent a number of years volunteering at the Cherry Street foodbank and it sparked a passion for what we do here. I am extremely grateful to be joining this amazing community and feel fortunate to have landed in such welcoming arms. I’m looking forward to our new space, and building something special in White Center.
Mike is a fan of any type of noodle, as well as watermelon. In his free time, he tinkers in his garage and enjoys gardening. Interestingly, he has worked in 11 different countries across 5 different continents.
executive Director
Carmen joined us in February 2017. She comes to us with a robust background in food equity. From her experience working with international hunger relief organizations to grassroots nonprofits in food justice, she knows that relationships are the most vital part of any organization. As the Executive Director, she brings this understanding to nurture invaluable partnerships for the White Center Food Bank. Carmen has her MPA from the Maxwell School.