BoardWalk Consulting Assists Dare to Care Food Bank in the Recruitment of New CEO
September 8, 2021 – Executive recruitment firm BoardWalk Consulting has assisted in the recruitment of Vincent James as the new CEO of Dare to Care Food Bank in Louisville, KY. He will replace the retiring Brian Riendeau, who has led Dare to Care since 2009. John Sparrow, senior director, and Paula Nicholas, senior research associate, led the assignment. “Vincent is a thoughtful leader and knowledgeable convener who brings compassion and managerial skills to work every day,” said Greg Fischer, mayor of Louisville. “It is fitting, and much appreciated, that Vincent will continue his life of service in another vital leadership role in our community as the CEO of Dare to Care, helping countless residents live healthy lives without hunger.”
Mr. James currently serves as Louisville’s chief of community building. In this role, he oversaw several Louisville Metro Government departments, including Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods, Resilience and Community Services, Parks and Recreation, Youth Transition Services and the Louisville Zoo. Mr. James is also pastor of Elim Baptist Church in Parkland, KY, and he served as a member on Louisville mayor Greg Fischer’s senior leadership team.
“Brian Riendeau and his team have created a strong foundation of service and innovation over the past decade,” said Carly Launius, board chair at Dare to Care. “Vincent’s experience, wisdom and vision make him the right leader to build on this momentum and continue moving us toward a hunger-free Kentuckiana.”
“I’m eager to join the Food Bank’s phenomenal staff to further its vital mission ‘To lead our community to feed the hungry and conquer the cycle of need,’” Mr. James said. “I’m committed not just to feed the line but to end the line of hunger.”
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Dare to Care, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, is a leader in addressing issues related to food insecurity and one of Louisville’s most respected non-profit organizations. In 2020, the food bank distributed more than 23 million meals and over 7.7 million pounds of produce through 270 food pantries, shelters, emergency kitchens and after-school programs to serve the 171,000 food insecure people in its 13-county service area in Kentuckiana. The food bank has a full-time staff of 63 and over 3,000 volunteers.
Non-Profit Focused Recruiters
BoardWalk Consulting, based in Atlanta, is a national executive search firm that recruits CEOs and senior leadership for mission-driven non-profit organizations. Founded in 2002, the firm leads executive searches for clients from across the non-profit sector with global, national, regional, and local missions. Many of the firm’s team members have previously served as non-profit executives, grant makers and board leaders. BoardWalk Consulting is also an active partner in Panorama, the global network of independent executive search firms.
Mr. Sparrow brings over two decades of experience in non-profit administration and performing arts venue management to BoardWalk’s clients. Since joining the firm in 2013, he has worked with a diverse scope of clients including those serving education, civil and human rights, public media, public safety, childhood diseases, museums, youth empowerment, environment and the needs of institutional churches.
Ms. Nicholas has three decades of experience in executive search. Before joining BoardWalk, she was retained by a large executive search firm in a number of roles. As director of research, Ms. Nicholas hired, trained and managed staff in many of the firm’s offices and served as part of a team that developed and led training for new research associates globally. As a senior associate, she also managed client and candidate management.
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Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
