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FIND Food Bank Welcomes New CEO

Please help us welcome Debbie Espinosa, FIND’s new President & CEO!
“Our Board of Directors is very excited to have a new CEO on board,” said FIND Board Chair Deborah McGarrey. “Her experience with Feeding America and familiarity with food banking will build on our solid foundation and help FIND Food Bank continue to grow in serving the community.”
For over 20 years, Ms. Espinosa has served as a professional in the nonprofit sector, with seven of those years dedicated to ending hunger locally, nationally, and internationally. Her work in food banking includes serving as the Feeding America Compliance and Capacity Development Manager for the Southwest Sector of the United States. While there, she provided strategic growth and development consulting to the 32 food banks in that region, including FIND Food Bank. She has also served as the Global Foodbanking Network’s Strategic Programs and Operations consultant to the first national food banking networks in Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador in partnership with Walmart Centro America y Mexico.
Ms. Espinosa comes to the Coachella Valley from the San Francisco Bay Area where she most recently served as the Associate Executive Director for the Downtown Oakland YMCA, one of the largest YMCA branches in northern California.
Ms. Espinosa is a National Board Member for the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance, and is the immediate Past President of the National Association of Certified Nonprofit Professionals. For the past four years, she has served as a mentor and instructor at the Alliance Nonprofit Management Institute for higher education students working toward their Certified Nonprofit Professional (CNP) credential. She also regularly presents nonprofit management seminars at colleges and universities. Ms. Espinosa’s work on IRS Tax Code law pertaining to food banks, and food bank operations and innovations, received Feeding America National Office recognition. In 2015, she was featured in the Baylor University School of Business’ journal for her operational expertise spanning both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. She was nominated for the 2017 Independent Sector/American Express NGen award. And, in January 2018, she was recognized with a national award from the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance for her leadership in the sector.
Ms. Espinosa is an International Baccalaureate program graduate from Foss High School in Tacoma, WA. She has her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and Comparative Religion with a minor in Human Service from Rockhurst University in Kansas City, MO; and she holds a Masters’ Degree in Community and Economic Development, with an emphasis in rural economies and developing countries, from Penn State University, World Campus Program. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Debbie has spent the past 20 years as a resident of California, living in both the northern and southern parts of the state. She is the proud mother of two teenage daughters, Leilani and Melia.
“I am excited to be part of such a great organization in this leadership capacity, and am looking forward to doing my part in serving those in need of food assistance by working alongside our dedicated board, staff, volunteers, and community members,” said Debbie Espinosa.
FIND Food Bank President and CEO,
Debbie S. Espinosa, MPS, CNP
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