Department Head Biographies >>

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Robert L.E. Egger
President

Robert Egger is the Founder and President of the DC Central Kitchen, where unemployed men and women learn marketable culinary skills while foods donated by restaurants, hotels and caterers are converted into balanced meals. Since opening in 1989, the Kitchen has distributed 17.4 million meals and helped over 605 men and women gain full-time employment.   

Currently, Robert is the Co-Convener of the first ever Nonprofit Congress and the founder of the V3 Campaign (www.v3campaign.org), which is working to get the voice, value and votes of the nonprofit sector recognized in every election in America.  Robert is also the Chairperson of the DC Mayor’s Commission on Nutrition and serves on the Boards of TimeBanks USA and the Food Systems Leadership Institute.

Robert was included in the Non Profit Times list of the “50 Most Powerful and Influential Nonprofit Leaders” in 2006 and 2007. He was the recipient of the 2005 Volunteers of America Community Service award and the 2004 James Beard Foundation Humanitarian of the Year award. He has also been named an Oprah Angel, a Washingtonian of the Year, a Point of Light and one of the Ten Most Caring People in America, by the Caring Institute. He is also a 14-gallon blood donor to the American Red Cross.

Robert’s book on the non-profit sector, Begging for Change: The Dollars and Sense of Making Nonprofits Responsive, Efficient and Rewarding For All, which was released in 2004 by HarperCollins, received the 2005 McAdam Prize for “Best Nonprofit Management Book” by the Alliance for Nonprofit Management. 

Robert speaks throughout the country and writes blogs and editorials to share his ideas about the nonprofit sector and the future of America.   To check out Robert’s most recent speaking schedule, blogs, and editorials, please visit www.robertegger.org

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Mike Curtin
Chief Executive Officer

Mike comes to DCCK after a 20 year career in the hospitality business, most of which has been spent in Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia. An expert in organizational design and training, he has focused on redefining DCCK departments and creating new positions that have allowed DCCK run more efficiently.  After graduating from Williams College with a BA in Religion, Mike lived and worked in Osaka, Japan for three years. It was then that Mike decided he wanted to open a restaurant back in the States. After returning to the Washington area, he worked at the Hay-Adams Hotel, the Dixie Grill and McCormick and Schmick’s on K Street before opening his own restaurant, The Broad Street Grill, in Falls Church, VA.

Currently, Mike is working on developing The DCCK Consortium, an innovative initiative that partners DCCK with restaurants and food purveyors to not only save DCCK money but redefine the way the community will look at corporate philanthropy. Mike loves working at DCCK because he loves "the fact that you can see change every day and knowing that every day what you do affects thousands of people in a positive way." Mike lives in Falls Church with his wife, Maureen, and their three children, Maeve, Michael III and Ciara.

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Marianne Ali
Culinary Job Training Program Manager

Marianne Ali recently developed & implemented our revamped Culinary Job Training Curriculum. As Chef Instructor, Marianne works closely with trainees in the special skills classes specific to the new curriculum. This enables trainees to participate in classes on theory linked with hands on skills in a kitchen-classroom setting. She coordinates training activities, including the participation of guest chefs on a weekly basis. Marianne also maintains dialogue with the Director of Job Training & Social Services relevant to individual trainee progress and issues surrounding on the job training and eventual employment. She is responsible for coordinating special projects that involve training as well as working with local food establishments and culinary schools to establish internships for trainees.

Marianne graduated from L’Academie de Cuisine, a French Culinary Arts School in Gaithersburg, Maryland in 1996. Shortly thereafter, she came to DC Central Kitchen to work as a chef in Fresh Start Catering. Marianne was always fascinated by the Culinary Job Training Program and was later hired as a Training Chef working directly with trainees. Promoted to Director of Foodservice Training & Kitchen Operations, she was responsible for the culinary training and a kitchen brigade of approximately 15 employees. Marianne is responsible for the birth of our contract foods program, which is a revenue generating project of DC Central Kitchen as well as an employment project.

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Jerald Thomas
Kitchen Director

As a graduate of our Culinary Job Training Program and a formally trained chef, Chef Jerald has moved through the ranks in our kitchen to become the Operations Chef. Jerald not only oversees the day to day production of 4,000 meals, but he is responsible for all ordering, storage and sanitation in order to help maintain the professional standards of an industrial kitchen. Because Chef Jerald is a graduate of our program, and has gone on to become formally trained, he is a natural choice as a teacher/mentor for all students of our Culinary Job Training program. Chef Jerald recently graduated cum laude from Stratford University, while working full-time at the Kitchen.

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Brian MacNair
Chief Development Officer

Brian is responsible for public relations and communications; raising over $2 million in annual funds, and is also responsible for organizing the Capital Food Fight, an annual fundraising event. Before coming to DC Central Kitchen, initially as a Development Associate, he worked for nonprofits for more than ten years in New York City. He then changed careers to become a chef, first with his own catering business in New York, then as sous chef for various restaurants in Virginia. Brian’s favorite part of DCCK is the 12-week personal transformation that occurs for participants in DCCK’s Culinary Job Training program.

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Frances Reed
Chief Operating Officer

Frances oversees all personnel and facilities matters with an emphasis on organizational structure and efficient program design. Frances has been a member of the DCCK team since 2003 and began her relationship with the Kitchen as college intern coordinating the Summer Food Service Program. Between her time as an intern and returning to DCCK, Frances worked in New England organizing low-income residents of public housing to bring free, fresh foods into their communities. Prior to becoming General Manager, Frances headed the Partner Relations and Transportation department. Frances is a graduate of Smith College where she received a BA in Urban Studies specializing in the politics, sociology and economics of urban poverty.

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Glenda Cognevich
Chief Financial Officer

Glenda oversees the accounting and financial management for both DCCK and CKP.  Originally from New Orleans, she received her Bachelor’s degree in Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Administration from the University of New Orleans and worked in various hotels and restaurants in the French Quarter for ten years.

In 1992, Glenda joined the Peace Corps and spent two years in Uzbekistan working as a small business consultant with the Uzbek Ministry of Tourism, the Women’s Business Association and a local restaurant.    She relocated to Washington, DC in 1998 and began a new career in non-profit financial management. Before joining DCCK, she held the positions of controller and CFO for 2 international non-profit organizations, and earned an MBA from George Washington University in 2005.  One of the things she enjoys most about working for the Kitchen is the ability to combine her hospitality background with her non-profit experience. 

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