Meet the
SQUAD

What do you enjoy most about KFG: “Best Professional and Best Personal” news at the start of meetings makes me feel that someone really cares about “How I am Doing” that day!

Favorite kitchen tool or gadget: I love a quality lemon zester! I love how this tool brings out that wonderful lemony smell and the bits to make a recipe absolutely yummy!

What do you enjoy most about Kitchens for Good? What I most enjoy about Kitchens for Good is the dedication we have to growing and serving the community.

Favorite kitchen gadget: My favorite tool is a coconut opener. Before this, I would dangerously open my coconut with a butcher knife!

Favorite Part of Your Day: Getting to interact with the PB community (& their dogs!) Everyone is so kind, laid back, and supportive of our mission and what we are doing at the shop. Love the beach life vibes here! Such an amazing community to be a part of.

Most unusual food you’ve tried: Years ago while in Singapore I tried a balut flavored candy. I didn’t love it but it was interesting to try :)

Favorite part of your day: Working with the Apprentice and watching them grow and succeed is my favorite part of being a part of the KFG team.  It is an honor to show up everyday and see what impact I can bring to help our Apprentice and team members continue to offer as much support to our internal and external partners that make KFG successful.

A funny cooking memory: KFG is a training environment and it allows for a lot of opportunities to try again and again.  I have always enjoyed watching the Apprentice cook eggs 9 ways.  They had no idea how hard it is to get the perfect egg, but they learn that you stick with it and you will get to your perfect egg :) 

Favorite part of your day: The best part of my day is our morning check-ins with the KFG team and Apprentices. Some mornings are filled with laughter and some with tears, but it is such a valuable part of getting to know each other, building trust, and recognizing we are all here for the greater good.                                                      

Favorite kitchen gadget: Love my air fryer! I picked it up from the KFG Shop in Pacific Beach, and then spent the following 6 months air frying the life out of everything. Unsure what to do with boring ol chicken? Air fry it. Pancakes? Air fry it. Pickles? Air fry it. The options are endless! 

Most memorable moment at Kitchens for Good: My most memorable moment at KFG was during the early days (end of 2020 during the height of COVID), I remember the great energy at the first “Mock Cafe” (Cafe 404) at the Jacob’s Center. It was the first time KFG had tried this and one of the first times people were venturing outside of their homes. It was such a good learning experience for the Apprentices. I still remember, our Apprentice Tony’s rice bowl – they all created a special dish on the menu. It was an awesome time! 

Favorite kitchen gadget: That terracotta brown sugar keeper thing – no one likes hard brown sugar! Or a good quality Japanese-style Santoku knife.  :)

What do you enjoy most about Kitchens for Good: I love getting to be part of an inspiring and determined group of people who are willing to overcome a lot for their dreams.

Favorite kitchen gadget: A bread knife! OR a gluggle jug…if you know, you know.

Don is an award-winning journalist, a certified culinarian, and culinary educator. He is the current president of the board of directors of the Chefs de Cuisine Education Foundation, a board member of the Chefs de Cuisine Association of San Diego, and a member of the American Culinary Federation. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the Mesa College Culinary Arts Program.

The “Cooking With Chefs” series he designed and coordinates, focuses on students attending schools in underserved San Diego neighborhoods. Youngsters are provided with healthy recipes, recipe ingredients and lessons on cooking, food safety, and nutrition as part of an effort to combat the high incidence of childhood obesity and childhood diabetes in many of these communities.

Kitchens For Good is an important component of who he is and what he does. On a daily basis, the program proves that individuals can overcome mistakes and poor decision making to achieve positive, dynamic, lifechanging successes. The Kitchen For Good staff and the apprentices they serve make a major personal commitment to reach goals that transcend culinary skills and become empowered to create generational excellence for themselves and their families. The essential passion here goes beyond culinary skills training and further than job placement in the food service industry. It inspires everyone involved with the organization to reshape the way we see ourselves and the way we view and interact with the world around us.

Mike is principal of Bottle Rocket Advisors, a business consultancy focused on helping companies grow sales, improve profitability, and scale up. Over the years, he has served on ten boards of for-profit and non-profit organizations. In addition, Mike has worked as a mentor of emerging entrepreneurs for Banco Santander Global X Award, Chairmen’s RoundTable, San Diego Sport Innovators, and TrepCamp of Mexico. He was founder of a cycling products company, and served as EVP Strategy, EVP Chief Financial Officer, and VP Marketing at WD-40 Company. He also held finance, marketing, and sales roles with Eli Lilly. He is co-host of What I Wish I Knew with Mike Irwin & Simon Daw where he and his UK-based partner share life lessons from conversations with educators, entrepreneurs, and difference makers.

Kitchens For Good works at the intersection of second chances and sustainability. By providing professional training and life skills, Kitchens for Good helps their apprentices achieve meaningful careers to support themselves and their families. It’s a mission of lasting impact that becomes evident with each new class and promotion ceremony. Mike is inspired by the apprentices who go through the program and the Kitchens for Good team who make it all happen.

Jess brings a unique perspective to our board of directors from her varied career at the intersection of social enterprise, philanthropy, and politics. Jess has an advanced understanding of San Diego’s food system landscape, with past roles including Director of Strategic Initiatives for Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation, Director of Strategic Initiatives for  Price Philanthropies, and co-founder of San Diego Food Funders. She also worked closely with the City of San Diego and the San Diego Promise Zone as the Community Liaison for the Federal Government.

Prior to her work in San Diego, Jess served in the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation where she supported the creation of the Impact Economy agenda to examine how public policy can increase impact investing, scale social and hybrid enterprises, and expand corporate social responsibility. Jess has a JD from George Washington University Law School and a BA in Anthropology and Political Science from Wellesley College. She is currently at Rady Children’s Hospital Foundation. Jess originally became involved with Kitchens for Good because of its business model. With her background in impact investing, she wanted to make a local impact by helping local social enterprises succeed. She is continually inspired by Kitchens for Good’s ability to grow, through its diversified revenue streams of donations and earned income, as well as their laser-focus on apprentices and making an impact in San Diego.

Sally is a seasoned operations leader who has a passion for operational excellence ~ fascinated by processes and inspired by the people who bring it all to life.  

Over her 20+ years in operations, she has led diverse teams in dynamic, multi-unit environments in hospitality, service, and fulfillment industries. In her most recent role with Marriott International, Sally had overall responsibility for the operational excellence strategy for US + Canada locations. Her team implemented innovative process improvement initiatives affecting all areas of hotel operations, helping leaders achieve best-in-class results, while elevating customer experience and employee engagement.  

Sally holds a B.A. in Business Analysis from Texas A&M University. She is a Certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt, Kaizen Sensei, and an overall process nerd.  

Drawn to the mission of transforming lives through culinary arts, Sally joined the Kitchens for Good Board to grow connections and be an advocate of change in the industry. She is excited about the work Kitchens for Good does daily to develop sustainable solutions that positively impact our economy, our society, and our environment.  Sally is honored to be a part of the growing Kitchens for Good community, helping people facing barriers to employment gain the skills they need to launch meaningful careers.  

Howard Solomon is a hospitality industry veteran with a broad background encompassing over 40 years in restaurants and over 30 years in executive leadership roles. Howard worked his way up in the restaurant business from dishwasher to every level of management.  He held company leadership roles with Hard Rock Café, Cheesecake Factory and Wolfgang Puck Food Company. Recently, Howard served as the VP of Operations, People and Culture for Phil’s BBQ, an iconic brand in San Diego; and Chief Operating Officer for Grain + Grit Collective, the operators of several brands including Sam the Cooking Guy’s restaurant concepts.

In 1995, Howard founded a restaurant consulting company, The Solomon Group, and for the next 18 years created over 25 unique restaurant concepts, as well as set-up restaurant and financial operations. During this time, Howard was also an instructor at San Diego State University, teaching in the Hotel and Tourism Management department, Member of the Food & Beverage Association and California Restaurant Association, Vice President of Temple Adat Shalom, and board member of SBEAC (a task force committee of the Employment Development Division, State of California)

Howard has always sought out leadership roles that would impact the lives of others, which is one of the reasons why he landed with Kitchens for Good.

Currently Howard is a public speaker, business strategist, C-level mentor, and management coach. He works with hospitality companies in California and throughout the United States.

Howard is strongly aligned with the values and heartbeat of Kitchens for Good. He appreciates KFG’s values that are centered around equity and growth mindset. The apprentice-centered programs are dedicated to helping people facing barriers to employment become work ready, be placed in quality jobs. The knife skills and life skills Kitchens for Good provides allow these individuals to step forward in their lives.

Julianne is a nonprofit executive with more than 30 years of experience. Her diverse career has spanned a variety of industries–consumer packaged goods, technology, childcare, museums and journalism—and an array of functions—finance, investments, strategy, mergers & acquisitions, customer service and tech support, marketing, and operations. Currently she serves as chief operating officer for Voice of San Diego, a nonprofit local investigative news organization. She has also served as the CEO of The New Children’s Museum and the COO at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and the San Diego Museum of Art. In addition to her service on the board of Kitchens for Good, Julianne serves on the advisory board for ICA San Diego. She loves exploring new places, trying all kinds of food, cooking for friends and family, visiting museums, surfing, hiking, dancing, reading, partaking in all kinds of cultural activities, and telling silly jokes. 

Julianne is honored to serve on the board for Kitchens for Good. She joined the board because of her passion for helping others gain access to opportunities that enable them to transform their lives. Julianne also believe deeply in the power of social enterprise to promote and support social change. It is thrilling to watch our graduates build meaningful and rewarding careers and to support their journeys.