Board President

Dr. Jessica Lautz is the Deputy Chief Economist and Vice President of Research at the National Association of REALTORS®. She has been with NAR since 2007.

The core of her research focuses on analyzing trends for both NAR members and housing consumers. She is in demand as a speaker and by major media outlets to provide commentary on the real estate market. She has testified before Congress on behalf of NAR.

She also volunteers at Nottingham Trent University as an industry fellow mentoring real estate graduate students, is a committee chair at the National Association of Business Economics, and bakes birthday cakes for underserved youth with Cake4Kids.

Dr. Lautz has been recognized by Housing Wire's Women of Influence and RISMedia's Newsmaker award.

Jessica received her Doctorate of Real Estate from Nottingham Trent University in the United Kingdom. She also holds a Master's in Public Policy from American University and undergraduate degrees in Political Science and Law and Justice from Central Washington University.

Vice President

Bill McConagha (He/Him) is a partner in the FDA/Healthcare practice at Latham & Watkins. He is a nationally-recognized lawyer in Food and Drug law who has a unique combination of experience with regulatory, enforcement, and legislative matters. He worked for more than 17 years at the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in a variety of capacities including as an Assistant Commissioner, a Senior Attorney in the Office of Chief Counsel, and a Health Policy Advisor to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP). While at HELP, Bill helped negotiate the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011 (FSMA), which modernized federal regulation of the nation’s food supply. Before joining FDA, Bill worked as a criminal defense attorney at the Office of the Public Defender for the State of Maryland. He is a graduate of Carleton College and the Georgetown University Law Center.

Treasurer

Kevin Rettle (He/Him) is a proven strategic planning, marketing,
product development, and data science professional with over 25 years of leadership experience.

Currently, he heads strategic initiatives and primary supplier solutions at Amazon Business. Prior to Amazon, he worked at Sodexo across all onsite sectors, including colleges, universities, and schools, where he championed and experienced the work of Food Recovery Network first-hand. In addition to his work with FRN, he is an active member of the Loudoun County Medical Reserve Corp.

Kevin graduated from Liberty University with a degree in International Business and resides in Northern Virginia with his wife and two sons.

Board Member

Kenneth N. Ivory is a transformational hospitality thought leader, senior living executive, inspirational coach, community advocate, enthusiastic trainer, contributing author, and international speaker. His professional career spans over 35 years in the hospitality, academic, senior living, and non-profit industries. He has served in various roles from food service manager, vice-president of operations, regional food and beverage leader at Walt Disney World, executive vice president, chief operating officer, and others. He is currently the Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of Community Life for ClarkLindsey. Previously he served as Chief Strategy Officer and COO for Genuine Foods.

His credentials further include several professional certificates in the food and beverage safety sphere, as well as personality/temperament facilitation, and fostering a well-rounded workplace environment. He is a former adjunct faculty member in the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Administration at North Carolina Central University. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Society for Hospitality and Foodservice Management (SHFM). He has recently been appointed to the LeadingAge Illinois CRCC/Life Plan Community Cabinet.

He holds an Associate of Science in Home Economics from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, Bachelor of Science in Food Service Management from The University of Georgia, Postgraduate Diploma in Management Studies and Master of Business Administration in Hospitality from Oxford Brookes University in Oxford, England, and recently completed a Professional Certificate in Strategic Management from the Wharton School of Business online at the University of Pennsylvania.

Board Member

Charles is an experienced investment professional with over 17 years of experience, and he is currently a Senior Portfolio Manager at Macquarie Asset Management where he runs a Global Growth fund. During his investments career, he has spent time analyzing and traveling the globe to understand the fundamentals of companies in the public domain, with a particular passion for the Technology Sector. Prior to investing, he spent several years in Telecom and Manufacturing.

Charles has also been very passionate about mentoring and giving back to the community throughout his career. While in Kansas City, Charles spent 9 years as a mentor for at-risk youth as part of the Youth Educational Success (YES) program run by Cornerstones of Care in Kansas City. He was also a Board Member for 4 years at the Chinese School of Greater Kansas City. Since 2022, Charles is a Board Member for Friends For Youth, an organization that provides mentoring services for the at-risk youth population. He is also a volunteer at Freedom Service Dogs, an organization that transforms lives by partnering veterans, children with neurocognitive disabilities, and individuals with physical challenges with custom-trained assistance dogs. The mission of FRN to recover surplus food and feed anyone experiencing hunger in the USA is something that resonates deeply with Charles.

Charles earned a Bachelor of Engineering in mechanical engineering from the Bangalore Institute of Technology (B.I.T.) India, graduating with Honors. He earned an MBA with an emphasis in finance from the University of Missouri–Kansas City. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation. He is married with 2 wonderful children and he lives in Denver, Colorado.

Executive Chair of Student and Alumni Advisory Board | he, him

Dheeraj Bandaru, originally from Centreville, VA, is an incoming Masters student at the University of Chicago and is majoring in Computer Science. Dheeraj was an active member of Georgia Tech’s Campus Kitchens Project for the past 3 years and was the President of the organization. He has previously interned for the City of Atlanta and helped support the AgLanta program. He is excited to lead SAAB for this upcoming year and help make an impact.

Board Member

Russ Taylor is an accomplished insurance professional with nearly a decade of experience, specializing in manufacturing risks across the defense, food, beverage, and beauty industries. He has a proven track record of assisting companies with complex product liability exposures, developing innovative, founder-forward risk management practices that address real-world risks.

Currently, He is the head of insurance for SecureCPG, a specialty insurance brokerage that focuses on food, beverage, and beauty brands. Prior to SecureCPG, he worked in the consulting space advising manufacturing and engineering firms in the Mid-Atlantic.

Russ is a graduate of Virginia Tech where he was a member of the varsity tennis team. He currently resides in Baltimore with his wife and daughter.

Board Member

Christian Stanley is a Partner and Senior Financial Advisor at Greenspring Advisors, where he has been a key contributor since 2015. With nearly a decade of experience, Christian specializes in guiding investment committees of nonprofit organizations and corporate institutions to develop and execute effective workplace retirement and executive compensation plans.

Christian earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from York College of Pennsylvania and has achieved multiple professional designations, including Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist℠ (CRPS®), Non-Qualified Plan Consultant™ (NQPC™), and Accredited Investment Fiduciary® (AIF®). He is currently pursuing the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) designation to further deepen his expertise. Recognized as a leader in his field, Christian has been named to NAPA’s Top Retirement Plan Advisors Under 40 List (“NAPA’s Aces”) for both 2024 and 2025 and was also honored on PlanAdviser’s Emerging Leader List for 2024.

An active leader in the retirement planning industry, Christian serves on the Government Affairs and Political Action Committees for the National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA) and the Legislative Relations Committee for the American Retirement Association (ARA).

Christian is passionate about helping individuals and organizations achieve their financial goals and is excited to bring his expertise and energy to the Food Recovery Network's mission as a member of the Board of Directors.