WELCOME TO
SWIPE OUT HUNGER
Swipe Out Hunger is the national nonprofit powering the movement to end college student hunger.
We collaborate with colleges, legislators, and the greater community to address student food insecurity by championing hunger solutions, building an active network of campuses and partners, and evolving the narrative around today’s college students. Since 2010, Swipe Out Hunger has enabled 12.3 million meals across more than 800 campuses throughout North America.
OUR TEAM
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Christopher Liang-Massey
Christopher Liang-Massey is the Director of Talent and Administration at Swipe Out Hunger. With over 17 years of combined leadership experience in talent acquisition, higher education and nonprofit management, Christopher has driven data-driven recruitment models and career enrichment programs across various industries and sectors. While Christopher currently resides in Edinburg Texas, the past 20 years of his professional experience was shaped in New York City. His passion for inclusive hiring and diversity recruiting is shaped by his own experience, and has recently been doing volunteer food insecurity work in various food banks in Mexico. Christopher is an Ohio native graduated from Youngstown State University and recently is a published thought leader on employment, labor, and DEIA topics in CRAIN’s New York.
Courtney Pate
Courtney (she/her) is the Grants Manager at Swipe Out Hunger, supporting the organization’s fundraising efforts and working directly with foundations, corporate partners, and individual donors. She has over 18 years of experience working in all areas of our food systems: farms, gardens, grocery, restaurants, co-ops, education, and of course, grant writing and fundraising for nonprofits in the sector. Born and raised in Florida, Courtney attended college in San Diego where she received a B.A. in Managerial & Organizational Communication. She now lives in New Orleans where you can find her enjoying the swampy nature and cuddling her cat.
Jaime Hansen
Jaime Hansen is the Executive Director at Swipe Out Hunger. With over 20 years in the community benefit sector, Jaime has worked with national, state, and multi-county agencies to achieve stability and mission-driven success. Jaime currently resides in Boise, Idaho — a state with a strong agricultural community but large barriers to food and nutrition access. Her passion for justice and equity for basic needs is shaped by her childhood. With nomadic parents, she was offered an opportunity to live in different states across the country. Jaime has a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychological Sciences as well as a Master’s Degree in Public Administration and returns to school every fall to teach Nonprofit Management at Boise State University. You can often find Jaime in the vast wilderness of Idaho on a raft or in snowshoes. She loves all things food and regularly experiments in cooking with her partner Xanti, a 5-year-old with dance fever, and their two dogs.
Janelle Raymundo
Janelle (she/her) is the Director of Communications at Swipe Out Hunger, leading the organization’s communications strategy and branding. She received her B.A. in Social Work from Rutgers University, where she first engaged in addressing food insecurity, sustainability, and food justice through Alternative Breaks and serving the local community. Janelle then earned her M.Ed. in Higher Education & Student Affairs Administration from the University of Vermont and worked closely with students while developing digital marketing and design assets for offices across campus. Prior to joining Swipe Out Hunger, she worked in marketing and communications at Rutgers University with a focus on social media and student outreach. Janelle lives in Seattle, WA and enjoys taking care of her plants, exploring the city, and cooking.
Jay Lyon
Jay is the Advocacy Organizer in the Midwest Region for the Hunger Free Campus movement. He received his B.A. in Political Theory and Social Policy from Michigan State University before beginning his role at Swipe Out Hunger. At Michigan State, Jay was engaged in projects and classes centered around basic needs, college access, and social inequality and was a board member of the Spartan Food Security Council. Before becoming a full-time team member, Jay served as the advocacy intern at Swipe Out Hunger and was one of the lead student advocates for the Hunger Free Campus movement in Michigan. Jay has continued to reside in Lansing, MI after college, and enjoys spending time with friends, playing video games, and listening to podcasts.
Jazmin Lopez
Jazmin (she/ella) is the Communications Coordinator at Swipe out Hunger, supporting the organization’s communications strategy and utilizing storytelling to further community building. She earned her B.A. at Yale University where she focused on health equity and media studies, while building community with other first-generation, low-income students. With experience across the non-profit and public health sectors, she has developed skills in copywriting and content management along with a foundation in data science. From collaborating with the Sudan Ministry of Health to transform local university research to filming a documentary about the HIV epidemic in eSwatini with the CDC, Jazmin’s experiences have solidified her passion for intersectional storytelling. Her approach to solving food insecurity is also informed by her personal experiences, which encourage her to prioritize empathy and asset-based framing. When Jazmin is not running with her dogs around Houston, you can find her knitting, eating pozole, or explaining why Paddington should be added to the Criterion Collection.
Kandace Davis
Kandace is the Network Engagement Manager at Swipe Out Hunger, where she focuses on supporting our network partners in engaging with program resources, events, and each other. With over a decade of experience in community leadership and operations management, she brings a wealth of expertise in fostering partnerships, nurturing relationships, and driving collaborative initiatives. Before joining Swipe, Kandace contributed to food insecurity programming through community agriculture and food banking. Originally from the Mountain West, she enjoys exploring new cities, learning about local food systems, and cheering at live sports events – especially college football.
Maddie Mosley
Maddie Mosley (she/her) is a Social Media Intern for the Communications department at Swipe Out Hunger. She is a junior at Temple University pursuing a major in Communication and Social Influence, with a minor in Journalism. Maddie first discovered her passion for addressing food insecurity during her volunteer work at The Barnett and Irvine Cherry Pantry. In addition to her role at Swipe Out Hunger, Maddie manages social media accounts and creates content for the Communication and Social Influence Department and Temple’s chapter of Planned Parenthood Generation Action. She is very passionate about using her social media and writing skills to create positive social change. Maddie lives in Philadelphia, PA and enjoys going to concerts, thrifting, junk journaling, and exploring the city.
Mariela Barraza
Mariela is the Resource Impact Manager at Swipe Out Hunger where she helps strengthen the engagement of campuses and anti-hunger nonprofit partners. Mariela holds a B.A. in Sociology from The University of California, Santa Barbara, where she found her passion for reliable access to nutritious food for all. Prior to joining Swipe Out Hunger, Mariela was a CalFresh, Food Security, and Basic Needs advocate at Basic Needs UCSB where she had the unique experience of helping connect students to resources as an undergraduate student herself. Mariela strongly values an intersectional lens in food justice work to best support underrepresented students and students of all backgrounds. She enjoys coming together with friends and family through food and traveling.
Renee Houle Catanzano
Renee Houle Catanzano is the Director of Philanthropic Partnerships at Swipe Out Hunger, leading the organization’s fundraising efforts and opportunities. With more than 10 years of nonprofit fundraising experience in human services and academic settings, Renee has a unique perspective on creating financial pathways to meet organizational milestones and long-term goals. Prior to joining Swipe Out Hunger, Renee served as Capital Campaign Manager at U.S.VETS, managing the fundraising program for the development of veteran supportive housing across the country. Before U.S.VETS, she was the Capital Campaign Manager and Director of Individual Giving at Cradles to Crayons, a non-profit focused on providing everyday essentials to children in homeless and low-income situations. Renee’s passion lies in addressing barriers to basic needs, and she strives to engage others in improving our individual and collective well-being. Originally from Boston, MA, Renee holds a Master of Public Administration degree from Northeastern University and a Bachelor of Science in Business Management degree from Bentley University. You can find Renee living in Los Angeles with her husband and rescue kitten Wednesday, drinking coffee, and playing her music way too loud.
Robb Friedlander
Robb is the Director of Advocacy at Swipe Out Hunger, where he drives forward national and local advocacy campaigns focused on ending student hunger through campus, regional, and national solutions as part of the Research & Development Lab. Robb’s passion for organizing students for change began more than a decade ago and has extended into many different movements. From organizing disenfranchised communities for candidate campaigns, immigrant families for comprehensive immigration reform, or students for climate justice, he continues to believe in the power of grassroots movements to change our country. Before coming to Swipe Out Hunger, Robb served as the Advocacy Manager at Feeding America, where he organized and grew the advocacy power of our nation’s more than 200 food banks. Robb is fired up and ready to go, to keep building the movement he knows will one-day end hunger in America. Robb is originally from Kansas City (Go Chiefs!) and graduated from Hofstra University on Long Island, NY. You can find Robb in Brooklyn, NY living with his wife, adorable dog KayCee, and all the craft beer he can drink.
Sage McCoy
Sage is the Student Engagement Manager at Swipe Out Hunger. She found her passion for working against food insecurity through her passion for college student development. Sage holds a B.A. in Psychology and an M.Ed. in Higher Education and Student Affairs from the University of Arkansas. She fell in love with the University of Arkansas’ Jane B. Gearhart Full Circle Food Pantry while volunteering, and in 2019 she was excited to be hired as the staff advisor for Full Circle Food Pantry and Razorback Food Recovery programs. For 3 years, Sage worked for the Center for Community Engagement at the UofA, advising and developing the young leaders that led and operated these service-focused food programs. She brings student and leadership development skills, a lens of compassion, and a fiery determination to empower student leaders to step up, ask hard questions, and do good work for their communities. Sage lives in Northwest Arkansas where she loves bothering her 3 adorably misbehaved cats and taking off into nature to sleep in her Subaru.
Sydnie Monegan
Sydnie is the Director of Programs at Swipe Out Hunger. While working in community development for the past 15 years, Sydnie has come face to face with food insecurity at every point of her career. It became apparent to Sydnie that access to food was undeniably the most essential social determinant of health. Whether it was organizing the 30+ pantries servicing one of Chicago’s most under resourced communities, Englewood, to establishing the University Food Pantry at Chicago State University, Sydnie is committed to Food Justice. Sydnie holds a B.A. in Political Science and an M.PA in Public Administration. For years, Sydnie has been empowering, advising and developing young leaders to lead and operate service-focused food programs. She brings leadership and community development skills, a lens of empathy, and a determination to address the inequities in food accessibility.
Zoe Duffield
Zoe is the National Field Manager at Swipe Out Hunger. She holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Connecticut, where her passion of advocacy grew while experiencing the multitude of social change issues college students face everyday. Prior to joining Swipe Out Hunger, Zoe was a Campus Organizer with MASSPIRg Students, where she trained and developed the next generation of student activists on campaigns ranging from climate change to food insecurity. Originally from the Bay Area, Zoe now resides in Western MA, where she enjoys hiking and cooking in her free time.
OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Ashray Reddy
Ashray Reddy is passionate about driving innovation and positive change in the food and beverage industry. His expertise is in food and beverage brand and product strategy. He currently serves as the Senior Brand Manager at Hatcheri Foods, leading the brand strategy for Sukhi’s Gourmet Indian Foods. Previously, Ashray held similar roles with brands such as Finless Foods, Starbucks, Nestle, and Chameleon Cold Brew. He also co-founded MeaningFull Meals, a nonprofit aimed at fighting food insecurity. Ashray holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Boston University. He lives in San Francisco with his wife, Maya.
Connor Blankenship
Connor Blankenship is a senior clean energy professional with over 10 years of experience in project finance and mergers and acquisitions at several major renewables developers in North America. Currently, he is a Senior Manager in the Energy Origination & Development team at TC Energy, where he is responsible for originating and financing low carbon opportunities. Prior to TC Energy, Blankenship held comparable roles at GE Capital, Exelon, ENGIE, and Harrison Street Capital. Blankenship graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in finance and has a master’s in business administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. During his time at Booth, he co-founded and acted as Treasurer for MeaningFull Meals, a nonprofit focused on fighting food insecurity. He lives in Chicago with his wife, Elizabeth, and dog, Bonkers.
Cyekeia Lee
Cyekeia Lee is the Executive Director of the Detroit College Access Network (DCAN), overseeing college access support for over 50 high schools in Detroit. In this role, she brings together school districts, community-based organizations, and workforce partners to make postsecondary pathways a reality for all students. Previously, Lee was the Director of Community Collaboration at The Kalamazoo Promise and the Director of Higher Education Initiatives with the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth. Lee holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from Eastern Michigan University and a master’s degree in counseling education from Wayne State University.
David Croom
David has expertise in higher education including federal policy, student engagement, adult learner populations and related pathways. He recently joined JP Morgan Chase & Co. in their Jobs & Skills program, which is responsible for setting the firm’s goals and approach to expanding economic opportunity and career pathways, and making national-level philanthropic investments to execute that approach. Prior, David was the director for postsecondary success for parents with Ascend at the Aspen Institute, where he led the Postsecondary Success for Parents (PSP) Initiative. David has also held various roles including HBCU Lead and Higher Education Designer at Education Design Lab, strategy officer in Lumina Foundation’s Washington, D.C. office, as well as a policy analyst focused on federal postsecondary education in ACT’s office of strategic initiatives. His first foray into federal policy was as congressional aide to Congresswoman Maxine Waters, tasked with the member’s education portfolio with a specific emphasis on regulation of for-profit higher education. In addition to his service at Swipe Out Hunger, David also serves on the board of Raise the Barr. Originally from South Florida, but now a resident of Washington, DC, David holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy and a bachelor’s degree from MIT’s Sloan School of Management with a minor in political science.
Dr. Christopher J. Nellum
Dr. Christopher Nellum (he/him/his) is the Executive Director of The Education Trust–West, a nonprofit education equity organization focused on educational justice and closing achievement and opportunity gaps for students of color and students from lower-income communities from preschool through college. Nellum co-led the creation of a three-year strategic plan and deepened the organization’s expertise in early childhood education, K-12, and higher education. He has led successful advocacy efforts to ensure equity in the K-12 accountability system, create a statewide cradle-to-career data system, address food insecurity for college students, and ensure that every high school senior completes a financial aid application before they graduate. In addition, Nellum was the founding co-chair of the California Higher Education Equity Coalition. Nellum has worked with the National Center for Institutional Diversity, Young Invincibles, and the American Council on Education. Nellum completed his undergraduate degree at UC Santa Barbara, master’s degree at CSU Long Beach, and Ph.D. at the University of Michigan. He mentors young Black and Latinx students through his volunteer work with college access programs like Berkeley Community Scholars. Nellum is serving in the biggest role of his lifetime as a father of a baby girl. He is married to Dr. Alexis Jackson, an Oakland native and marine conservation scientist and ocean policy advocate.
Dr. Rashida Crutchfield
Dr. Rashida Crutchfield is an associate professor in the School of Social Work at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) and Director of the Center for Equitable Higher Education, which is a research center dedicated to studying and promoting economic, food, and housing justice. She is also an advocate committed to amplifying the voices of marginalized communities through research and service. Prior to her work at CSULB, she served on the staff of Covenant House California, a shelter for 18-to-24-year-olds experiencing homelessness. This experience blossomed a passion to support this student population. Dr. Crutchfield was a Principal Investigator for the California State University Office of the Chancellor study on food and housing security. Her work has been instrumental in the development of programs and services for students experiencing housing and food insecurity at all 23 CSU campuses. Her continued research and advocacy on basic needs for students has garnered statewide and national attention. She has provided input on state policy and provides consultation and support to agencies, and higher education staff, faculty, and administrators across the nation. Dr. Crutchfield has authored or co-authored many articles, including “The starving student narrative: How normalizing deprivation reinforces basic need insecurity in higher education”. Co-authored with Drs. Ronald Hallett and Jennifer Maguire, her text Addressing Homelessness and Housing Insecurity in Higher Education: Strategies for Educational Leaders is used as a manual for developing programs and services to support student basic needs throughout the country.
Eben Shapiro
Eben Shapiro is a veteran media executive with three decades of experience overseeing award-winning digital and print content at TIME, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), The New York Times, and Newsweek. He currently is the Executive Editor at Sellerseaston Media. As Deputy Editor at TIME, he oversaw daily operations and launched the highly successful Leadership Brief CEO interview series. While at WSJ, Shapiro served as the top editor of sections including Personal Journal, Review and Arena; the Global Arts Editor; and the Editor of the WSJ’s Personal Journal, a consumer section he co-launched in 2002. In addition, Shapiro was the Business Editor of Newsweek magazine and a Business Reporter for The New York Times. He is known for successful startup launches and building cohesive, energetic reporting teams.
Michael Block
Michael Block is an entrepreneur and philanthropist. He began his career at Hasbro and continues in the toy and game industry with over 20 year’s experience in international sales and marketing. In addition, he has been in the health and wellness industry for the past 10 years owning greenmonkey® yoga and currently is a private investor in several initiatives. He currently sits on the Boards of Voices for Children, Feeding South Florida, Swipe Out Hunger, and the Block Family Foundation. Block earned his bachelor of arts degree from American University.
Miki Rettig
Miki Rettig is an Executive Assistant at Ares Management, a global alternative investment management company operating in the credit, private equity, and real estate markets. Through her own college experience and later as owner of a specialty food store catering to women, infants, and children, Rettig has seen first-hand the impact food has on the growth, development, self-esteem and confidence of young people. Rettig is committed to using her experiences to address the universal need for food and eliminate hunger for the young and the young at heart. Previous to her role at Ares Management, Rettig worked as an Accountant and Controller at an Orange County, CA hospital as well as at Blue Cross of California, Medi-Cal Programs and Health Net, Inc. where she continued her dedication to the improvement of health for families and communities. Rettig received a bachelor of science in business administration from University of California, Riverside and a master of science in health services administration with an emphasis in community health education and health promotion from California State University, San Bernardino.
Ruth Suzman
Ruth Suzman is a dedicated volunteer, philanthropist, and non-profit advisor. Having earned degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and Yale University, today Suzman works with organizations that help advance social justice and organizations that help strengthen the Jewish community. She is currently serving as global board chair for BBYO, the leading pluralistic Jewish youth movement. Nationally, Suzman is a board member of the Vanderbilt University Hillel (Nashville), she serves on the advisory council of the College of Liberal Arts at University of Texas at Austin and on the board of directors of the MB and Edna Zale Foundation (Dallas). In her local work, Suzman is Chair Emerita of the Board of the Westchester Community College Foundation, and a member of the advisory council to the Westchester Community Foundation (local division of the New York Community Trust). Additionally, Suzman serves as a member of the Visiting Committee to the Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York CIty. She is proud to be a part of the movement to end hunger on college campuses.
Sean Tierney
Sean Tierney is a Director of Research and Policy at the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP).
Prior to joining IHEP, Sean was an Associate Commissioner at the Indiana Commission for Higher Education where he oversaw the postsecondary portion of Indiana’s state longitudinal data system, managed a research portfolio focused on student access and outcomes, and helped create, implement, and assess statewide policies and programs. Previously, Sean held roles at Lumina Foundation, the Maryland Higher Education Commission, and the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.
Sean earned a B.A. with majors in economics, English, and sociology and an M.P.P. with a higher education concentration, both from Vanderbilt University. Sean is motivated by the belief that higher education is one of the best ways to advance our nation’s promise of opportunity – but that greater transparency, high-quality research, and policy reforms are needed to ensure those opportunities are available to all. In his spare time, Sean enjoys running, hiking, and home renovation projects.
BOARD EMERITUS
Libby Jacobson
Libby Jacobson is a business development and strategy consultant for nascent impact enterprises in the greater Los Angeles area. Jacobson’s background includes 13 years of Wall Street experience in institutional equity research and sales. While raising her four children, she spent many years volunteering. It was then that she realized the need to create sustainable solutions for issues affecting her local and global communities. Addressing homelessness has been her passion and priority. Jacobson is a Chartered Financial Analyst and earned an master’s in business administration from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas in Austin and a master’s of science in social entrepreneurship from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. She serves on the Advisory Board for the Brittingham Social Enterprise Lab at USC, the Social Enterprise committee for Downtown Women’s Center, and is Chair Emeritus of the Board of Directors for Swipe Out Hunger. Currently, she is also involved with outreach to homeless young adults at Safe Place for Youth where she is helping to build out their social enterprise, and is an advisor to RxLA, an affordable housing developer in South Los Angeles. Jacobson seeks to bring innovation to the nonprofit community by tapping into her empathy for those she serves and combining it with firm business acumen. She has a deep commitment to ensuring that every organization she works with fully represents the communities they serve.
Ben Woo
Ben Woo is the Founder and Managing Director of QC Strategy, a research-based consultancy that lives in the gap between ad agencies and strategy consulting firms. Having worked for both in the past (TBWA\Chiat\Day and Monitor Group, respectively), he draws on his marketing strategy and growth strategy experience in a breadth of industries including consumers goods, healthcare, technology and not-for-profit. Woo served as the Secretary & Audit Chair for the Board of Directors at Swipe Out Hunger. Woo holds a B.A. from Northwestern University in Economics and Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences, and spends his free time cooking, surfing, golfing, volunteering, and going to concerts.
OUR STUDENT LEADERSHIP AND ADVISORY COUNCIL
OUR FOUNDING STORY
Founded by Rachel Sumekh and her friends at the University of California Los Angeles in 2010, Swipe Out Hunger is now the leading national nonprofit working to end college student hunger. Its original model is the Swipe Drive, which enables students to donate their extra meals to their peers facing food insecurity on campus. From there, Rachel and her growing team scaled this program to other campuses, centering student voices and action in the national conversation to end college hunger.
Rachel grew from a shy college student into a national leader and an expert on college hunger and basic needs. Her work with Swipe Out Hunger has been recognized by The Obama White House as a “Champion of Change,” and the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. Under her leadership, Swipe Out Hunger has evolved from one student-led organization to the systems-changing nonprofit we are today.