Board
Feeding Kentucky is guided by a Board of Directors made up of representatives from each of our seven member food banks. Together, they bring over three decades of combined experience in leadership, food distribution, program management, fiscal oversight, fundraising, and advocacy. The Board meets quarterly to review financial and program reports and to assess progress toward our strategic goals.
Michael Halligan (Chair), CEO of God’s Pantry Food Bank
2201 Innovation Drive
Lexington, KY 40511
Vincent James (Vice-Chair), Executive Director of Dare to Care Food Bank
5803 Fern Valley Road
Louisville, KY 40228
Glenn Roberts, Executive Director of Tri-State Food Bank
2504 Lynch Road
Evansville, IN 47711
Charles Dennis (Treasurer), Executive Director of Feeding America, Kentucky’s Heartland
313 Peterson Drive
Elizabethtown, KY 42701
Cynthia Kirkhart, Executive Director of Facing Hunger Foodbank
1327 7th Avenue
Huntington, WV 25701
Kurt Reiber, President & CEO of Freestore Foodbank
3401 Rosenthal Way
Cincinnati, OH 45202
Angela Jewell (Secretary), Food Bank Coordinator, Purchase Area Development District
1002 Medical Drive
Mayfield, KY 42066
Staff
Melissa McDonald
Executive Director
melissa@feedingky.org
Melissa comes to Feeding Kentucky with two decades of working in the public health and human services sector. Her career embodies a commitment to advocating and improving health and wellness for all people. She most recently led all fundraising efforts for Brighter Bites, a national non-profit providing children and families with nutrition education and fresh fruits and vegetables. Melissa also worked for many years with The Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a national nonprofit working with schools, youth-serving organizations, businesses, and communities to empower kids to develop lifelong healthy habits, including serving as the Kentucky program lead providing technical assistance to school nutrition leaders, physical educators, and community organizations.
Adrianne Gleeson
Director of Finance and Administration
adrianne@feedingky.org
Adrianne joined the Feeding Kentucky team in 2022 as an Accountant. Adrianne has full scope accounting and human resources experience in both government and the private sector. She is a former CPA, and Professional in Human Resources; and is currently a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach. Adrianne lives in Lexington, KY.
Kristin Ingwell-Goode
Development Director
kristin@feedingky.org
Kristin, a native of Indianapolis, has lived in Central Kentucky since 1996. She brings more than 25 years of experience in journalism and fundraising to Feeding Kentucky, combined with a personal interest in health and local food systems. While on staff at God’s Pantry Food Bank, Kristin managed the Farms to Food Banks program in its infancy. Kristin lives in Versailles, Ky., with her husband and two children.
Sarah Vaughn
Programs Director
sarah@feedingky.org
Sarah has been an employee of Feeding Kentucky since fall 2015 and currently serves as director of Feeding Kentucky’s food sourcing programs. She is an active member of Kentucky Women in Agriculture, where she currently serves as Board Secretary. Sarah is a 2014 graduate of Berea College, where she majored in Child and Family Studies and minored in Agriculture and Natural Resources. Sarah lives in Berea, KY.
John H. Cain, MSPAS, PA-C
Kentucky Kids Eat Program Director
john@feedingky.org
John brings to Feeding Kentucky a passion for improving health equity for all. Over his two-decade career in health sciences, he has practiced clinically as an endocrine PA, monitored communities for infectious diseases as an epidemiologist, coordinated research related to chronic disease risk factors, and mobilized a network of volunteers as a volunteer himself in making schools healthier places to learn. Through his volunteer efforts with Action for Healthy Kids, John was named a National Healthy School Hero in 2010. A native of Appalachia KY who still calls Buckhorn home, John received a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Centre College. He completed graduate education in public health with a concentration in epidemiology from the University of Kentucky College of Public Health followed by earning a Master of Science degree in physician assistant studies from the UK’s College of Health Sciences.
Jordan Ojile
Advocacy Coordinator
jordan@feedingky.org
Jordan moved from Kansas to the Bluegrass State three years ago for the Masters in Public Health program at the University of Louisville. While in graduate school, he worked full-time in various silos of public health, plugging in at the Health Equity Innovation Hub, Kentucky Youth Advocates, and the Legal Aid Society. He is a fervent champion of children’s policy and food security and combines this passion with his expertise in his role as Advocacy Coordinator.
Maddie Pierce
Programs Coordinator
maddie@feedingky.org
Maddie, a native of the Louisville Metropolitan Area, moved to Berea, KY in 2020 for college. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Berea College in May 2024, becoming one of the first two graduates to complete Berea’s Community and Civic Engagement minor. While at Berea, Maddie discovered that food security was one of the key issues she wanted to focus her time on after completing an internship with FoodChain in Lexington, KY in the summer of 2023, inspiring her to write her senior thesis on state-level policy efforts to improve food security in Kentucky. Maddie is extremely excited to support Feeding Kentucky’s food sourcing programs.
Chelsey Brock
Outreach Manager
chelsey@feedingky.org
Chelsey hails from Cincinnati, OH but has lived in Kentucky on and off since 2006. She brings more than 6 years of food banking and SNAP outreach experience. She has a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a minor in Sociology from Eastern Kentucky University and a Master of Social Work from University of Kentucky. While on staff at God’s Pantry Food Bank, she led the first Kentucky-based SNAP outreach program from its very first application. She lives in Richmond, KY with her husband.
