Our team of culinary and nutrition professionals is comprised of staff members of our Kids Cafe and Healthy Habits program. All members of our culinary team are Certified Food Safety Managers.
Flannery Sullivan is the Community Nutrition Manager at the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. She moved to Rhode Island from Maryland in 2016, following her love of feeding and taking care of others to study Culinary Nutrition at Johnson & Wales University. Flannery also received a Master of Science in Nutrition Education from American University in August of 2022. Flannery completed her nutrition internship with the Food Bank in the summer of 2019 where she realized how much she loved working, cooking and learning together with the different communities in Rhode Island. Shortly after graduating with her Bachelor of Science degree from JWU, became a full-time member of the nutrition education team at the Food Bank, taking on the role of manager in the summer of 2022.
Yesenia Barnier is the Kids Nutrition Manager at the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. Yesenia started at the Food Bank as an intern for the Healthy Habits program and then became a full-time member of the team. She now serves in a newly created role where she manages our Kids Cafe program, our kitchen team and nutrition programming for youth. She is bilingual and teaches classes in English and Spanish, making her a fundamental part of the team. She comes to us from Rhode Island College with a background in community health and wellness with a concentration in public health. Her degree integrates the fields of education, wellness, and public health.
Theresa Beeley is a Community Nutrition Coordinator at the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. She was born and raised in Rhode Island, and graduated Johnson & Wales University in May of 2021 with a Bachelor’s in culinary nutrition. While at JWU, Theresa also got her degree in Baking and Pastry Arts, and has been working in the food industry since she was 16. Theresa did her senior internship in the Nutrition department at Miriam Hospital, and loves to work with people and their individualized nutrition needs.
Ronald LewisRonald Lewis is a Production Chef at the Rhode Island Community Food Bank’s Kids Cafe program. Ron was born and lived in Colorado Springs, Colorado until he joined the Navy and was stationed on the USS Wasp out of Quonset Point, Rhode Island. After his time in the Navy, Ron trained and worked as a chef in local restaurants in Wakefield and West Warwick. Ron joined the Food Bank in 2002, as a Chef Instructor for our former culinary job training program, Community Kitchen. Chef Ron is proud to share that some of his Community Kitchen graduates went on to open their own restaurants! Now, along with Chef Nahami, Chef Ron brings his years of culinary experience and passion for food to the Kids Cafe program, helping to feed hundreds of kids nutritious and tasty after-school meals every day.
Nahami King is a Production Chef at the Rhode Island Community Food Bank’s Kids Cafe program. Nahami is an alumnus of our former culinary job training program, Community Kitchen. From there, she worked with Aramark where she mastered the art of cooking by providing daily meals for over 700 children in Cranston’s public elementary school system. In 2021, Nahami was hired by the Food Bank to create and produce meals for the children of our partner Kids Cafe sites. She shares her knowledge of spices and flavors from East Africa and is bilingual in Kiswahili. Nahami’s ability to transform any ingredient into a delicious and healthy meal is inspiring!
