Our Team
Michelle Suazo, Co Founder and Vice President of UEmpower of Maryland and Executive Director The Food Project / UEMD Resource Hub
Chef Manny Robinson, Culinary Director at The Food Project / UEMD Resource Hub; leads Community-Based Education and ServSafe certification
Sheena Watkins, Intake Coordinator /Service Navigator at the UEMD Resource HUB
Stacy Beahm, Kitchen Manager at The Food Project
Tyree Johnson, Meal Production Manager at The Food Project
Judson “Pops” Davenport, Facilities Manager at the UEMD Resource HUB
Lisa Johnson, Office Manager at the UEMD Resource HUB.
Alfonso Austin, Security Officer at the UEMD Resource HUB and Youth Mentor at The Food Project
Gilbert Dodd, Social Enterprise Food Production Manager
Darnell Turner, Delivery Driver at The Food Project / UEMD Resource Hub
Ronneka Dodd, Staff Development Coach and Document Coordinator at UEMD Resource Hub
T.J. Bell, Staff Development Coach at UEMD Resource Hub
Board of Directors
Kosmas "Tommie" Koukoulis
UEmpower of Maryland,
Co-founder and President
Seasoned Baltimore-area restaurateur and chef
Owner of Café Mezzanotte (Severna Park) — upscale Italian focused on seasonal, locally sourced dining
Opened multiple ventures, including Uncle’s Hawaiian Grindz (Fallston) plus restaurants, food trucks, and catering
Peter Suazo
Board Member & Treasurer — UEmpower of Maryland, Inc.; provides financial oversight and strategic support
30+ years in capital markets (investment banking; sales & trading)
Currently at Colliers Securities, Inc.; previously KBW, BB&T Capital Markets (Truist), Lehman Brothers, Stifel Nicolaus
BS — University of Maryland; MS — MIT Sloan School of Management
Chef Catina Smith
Baltimore native with 18+ years across cafes, hotels, universities, catering, and fine dining
Degrees from Baltimore International College: Professional Cooking; A.S. Hotel & Restaurant Management; B.S. Organizational Management
U.S. Air Force veteran; leadership-focused kitchen and team builder
Founder, Just Call Me Chef — national mentorship/sisterhood for Black women chefs
Co-founder, Our Time Kitchen
Recognitions include Baltimore Sun “Women to Watch” (2020), Baltimore Magazine “Best Chef in Baltimore”, and Women Leading Baltimore (2023)
Dr. Lorena de Leon
Senior Director, Population Health & SDOH — Maryland Physicians Care
Expertise in strategy, health equity/social care, and digital health
Former leader at UnitedHealthcare, Optum, Johns Hopkins
BS, MBA, DPA (Univ. of Baltimore; published work on social equity disparities)
Value-Based Care certificate (Univ. of Houston); Leadership Maryland Executive graduate
Dr. Kimberly Pfeifer
Director, Knowledge for Impact Hub, Oxfam America
Political scientist (Univ. of Florida); dissertation research in Zanzibar (Univ. of Dar es Salaam Fellow)
Led impact tracking/training with Aga Khan Foundation
Supported AFL-CIO campaigns through corporate/industry research
Pat Tedesco
Executive Vice President — DonorSearch
18+ years nonprofit-sector leadership
Drives growth, builds teams, and leads go-to-market strategy for fundraising tech
Expertise in prospect research, donor analytics, and AI/ML solutions