Announcing Three New Giving Kitchen Board Members
Giving Kitchen is pleased to announce the appointment of three new board members: Sharon Robinson, Geoff Cottrill, and Dan Gertsacov.
“Our Board of Directors is a dedicated team of community leaders committed to providing stability to food service workers in crisis,” said Bryan Schroeder, Executive Director of Giving Kitchen. “We are excited to channel Sharon, Geoff, and Dan’s talent, expertise and energy into furthering our mission.”
“We are also honored to share our gratitude to Nancy Oswald as she steps down from her board service. Not only is Nancy a founding board member and integral to the growth of Giving Kitchen, she is a brilliant businessperson and a generous friend to all she encounters. Her mentorship to the development of the organization will have a lasting impression on how GK expands it services over the next 5 years.”
Sharon Robinson is the Senior Manager at Home Depot Homer Fund, one of the largest and most successful employee assistance programs in the United States. With over a million dollars of financial assistance per month and 1,000 requests for help a month, Homer Fund has provided more than $200 million to more than 150,000 associates in need of shelter, food, clothing and funeral expenses since 1999. Sharon was one of the first people to sit down with Jen and Ryan Hidinger to discuss the formation of GK’s emergency financial assistance program, offering guidance based on her 18 years of experience with the Homer Fund.
Geoff Cottrill is a founding partner of Marvin Magazine & Media, LLC. Marvin is a publication focused on storytelling centered around today’s emerging voices in fashion, art, and music. Prior to co-founding Marvin, Cottrill was SVP Marketing at The Coca-Cola Company in North America, where he led all advertising, media, digital, social media, experiential, regional marketing, sports and entertainment properties, college & university relationships for all brands in its portfolio. He has also served as the General Manager & Chief Marketing Officer for Converse (Nike, Inc) during an unprecedented period of growth. During his tenure at Converse, he was recognized as BrandWeek’s Marketer of the Year, as well as won multiple other industry awards such as Gold Effie, Cannes Gold Lion, and an MTVu Woodie Award. Cottrill’s career also included leadership roles at Starbucks (Hear Music), Procter & Gamble, and the global advertising agency MullenLowe. He has also served on the Board of the Center for Consumer Insights at Yale.
Dan Gertsacov has spent the last 20 years helping organizations and teams grow through adversity and is currently helping grow the portfolio and seek out new acquisitions for Forrestal Capital, a leading investment fund. Prior, he was responsible for growing the top-line revenue and led the digital turnaround as Chief Commercial Officer/Global CMO of Focus Brands.
Gertsacov was the Chief Marketing and Digital Officer at Arcos Dorados, the largest franchisee in the world of McDonald’s, operating 2,400 restaurants in 20 countries. As a Senior Executive at Google, he opened and led new offices in Latin America and helped launch Google’s foray into traditional television advertising in the US. He has also been the Regional CEO of LenddoEFL, a venture-backed FinTech startup, and was the founding Executive Director of an international non-profit organization, Forum Empresa.
Nancy E. Oswald co-owns and operates Sizzling Steak Concepts, the world’s largest Ruth’s Chris Steak House franchisee, and serves as its Chief Marketing Officer. The company currently operates ten Ruth’s Chris restaurants in Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina as well as a unique rooftop bar/restaurant concept in Greenville, SC, UP on the Roof.
A leader within Ruth’s Hospitality Group, Oswald has served on the parent company’s national advertising council as well as on the Franchise Council. She was awarded a Doctorate of Foodservice (DFS) from the North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers in 2013 and named to the ATLANTA BUSINESS CHRONICLE’s list of “100 Most Influential Atlantans.” Together with her business partner and husband, Mark D. Oswald, she was saluted by the Georgia Restaurant Association in 2010, receiving the GRACE Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2018, the Oswalds were recognized as “Restaurateurs of the Year” by the South Carolina Restaurant & Lodging Association as well as honored by the ATLANTA BUSINESS CHRONICLE as two of Atlanta’s “Most Admired CEOs.”
Nancy is a founding board member of The Giving Kitchen, and her previous board positions have included Atlanta’s Schenck School and the Georgia Restaurant Association, which she chaired in 2006.
The current Giving Kitchen board of directors are:
Board Chair — Bill Brewster, partner at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP; Board Vice Chair Chris Pomar, Head of School at Swift School
Board Secretary — Amanda Windsor-White, Former Senior Sports Marketing Manager at The Coca-Cola Company
Board Treasurer — Maggie Morris, Senior Director, Finance and Administration for Georgia Legal Services Program
Past Board Chair — Ryan Turner, Founding Partner at Unsukay Concept Inco.
Katie Bishop, Co-Founder of Yalla PR in Columbus, GA
Geoff Cottrill, founding partner of Marvin Magazine & Media, LLC and former SVP of Strategic Marketing at The Coca-Cola Company (retired)
Mike Gallagher, Partner of Brick Store Pub, LEON’s Full Service, and Good Word Brewing & Public House
Dan Gertsacov, Senior Advisor Forrester Capital
Andre Gomez, Chef Owner of Porch Light Latin Kitchen
Chris Hall, Founding Partner of Unsukay Concepts, Inc.
Sean Hyslop, Region President of Sysco Atlanta
John Keller, Vice President of Global Sales Compensation at VBG Verizon
Jeff Lewis, Executive Director and Global Investment Specialist at JP Morgan’s Private Bank
Edwin Merrick, Partner at Stillman Welch, LLC
Adam Noyes, President of Proof of the Pudding
Bill Ray, Area President at US Foods
Sharon Robinson, Senior Manager of The Home Depot Homer Fund
Alison Remillard, Senior Director, Marketing & Communications of Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation
Kevin Slater, Founder and CEO of Slater Hospitality
Michele Stumpe, Partner at Taylor English Law Firm