FOOD EXPORT ASSOCIATION - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Accounting / HR Coordinator
Anna joined Food Export-Northeast in March 2013. Prior to joining Food Export, she worked as a Fiscal Assistant in the Accounting departments of two different organizations in the Human Services field. Anna brings over 20 years of non-profit experience to Food Export. She enjoys spending time with her family.
Job Titles:
- International Marketing Program Manager
Ben Cortese joined Food Export-Northeast in August 2016 as a Liaison. Ben comes to Food Export with a diverse background, having spent time in both the Apparel and Real Estate industries. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Fordham University in New York City.
Ben has travelled extensively throughout Europe and has completed both the Camino de Santiago and Tour du Mont Blanc hikes. He enjoys photography and has had the privilege to document all of his travels.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Executive Director
A Saint Paul, Minnesota native, Brendan has worked for the Food Export Association of the Midwest USA since 2013.
Brendan received his BA in International Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is an accredited Project Management Professional (PMP) and Certified Global Business Professional (CGBP). He is currently enrolled in the University of Notre Dame's MBA program.
Brendan worked in Moscow, Russia prior to moving to Chicago. In his free time, you can find him on a riverboat giving tours as a volunteer docent at the Chicago Architecture Center.
Deborah joined Food Export-Northeast as a Liaison in August 2017 following an extensive career as a Marketing and Events Coordinator with a local Trade Association, working with every segment of the Maritime Industry within the Ports of Philadelphia and Wilmington.
Her career in Maritime began in sales and marketing with a major Steamship Line, eventually transitioning to outside sales within the Philadelphia area.
Deborah is a Jersey girl born-and-raised and holds a B.A. from Penn State University. She is a huge baseball fan (Philadelphia Phillies), loves the South Jersey shore, and is active in the Township and County where she resides in New Jersey.
Job Titles:
- Branded Program Associate
Eoin joined Food Export - Northeast as a Branded Program Associate in December of 2022. A native of the Boston area, he graduated from the University of Massachusetts - Amherst in May 2021 where he studied History and Spanish. Prior to joining Food Export, Eoin gained experience working in sales and customer relations. He also studied abroad in Sevilla, Spain.
In his free time, Eoin enjoys being in the outdoors, discovering new restaurants, and playing golf, as well as spending time with his friends, family, and pets.
Job Titles:
- Marketing & Communications Manager
Gina Donio has been working at Food Export since June 2023. Gina received her bachelor's degree in finance from Villanova University. A native of New York, she now resides in southern New Jersey. Gina spent more than 20 years working as the editor of a newspaper in the region, where she also held the title of Director of Communications and Marketing for the business. She has won several awards for her writing and editing.
A passionate advocate for downtown revitalization, education and civic engagement, Gina has served on the board of several nonprofit organizations. She is also in the Atlantic County Women's Hall of Fame. Gina spends her free time writing, volunteering, watching her beloved New York Mets (in season), scouting potential real estate projects, and reading.
Howard joined Food Export-Northeast in September of 2011 as a Liaison. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Marketing with a focus in Aviation Management from Jacksonville University. Before working for Food Export-Northeast, Howard worked for a major airline for 12 years in airport customer service. Additionally, Howard has worked in state government in the department of finance.
A native of Delaware, Howard enjoys traveling, swimming, and volunteering.
Job Titles:
- Branded Program Coordinator
John joined Food Export-Northeast in October 2019 as a Branded Program Associate. Living in Philadelphia his entire life, he graduated from Jefferson University (formerly Philadelphia University) in May 2019 with a Bachelor's Degree in International Business and a minor in Marketing. John has experience working in structured finance, the restaurant industry, as well as retail.
Since studying abroad in Japan during the fall of 2017, John has kept up with his Japanese language studies. He enjoys all types of Japanese cuisine and media and hopes to become fluent one day.
Job Titles:
- Communications Coordinator - Publications
Laura was born and raised in the Chicago area and joined Food Export-Midwest as the Administrative Assistant in March of 2011. She joined the International Marketing Program in 2013 and became the Communications Coordinator - Publications in March 2015 for both Food Export-Midwest and Food Export-Northeast. Prior to her employment at Food Export, she has worked supporting corporate executives at electronics and advertising firms.
In her spare time, Laura enjoys scrapbooking and watching her two sons play baseball.
Job Titles:
- Chief Communications Officer and Deputy Director of Food Export - Northeast
Laura England is the Chief Communications Officer of Food Export-Northeast and Food Export-Midwest and Deputy Director of Food Export-Northeast. Laura joined Food Export-Northeast as Deputy Director in March 2022. In June of 2023, the responsibilities of Chief Communications Officer were added to her role. As CCO for Food Export-Northeast and Food Export-Midwest, she strategically focuses on meetings, marketing, communications, stakeholder engagement/membership, and public/media relations.
After graduating in May of 2022 from Drake University with a B.S.B.A. in International Business and Marketing along with a minor in Spanish, Logan moved to Philadelphia to join Food Export-Northeast as a Liaison.
Logan has had previous experience as a Food Export Intern for the Food Export-Midwest member state of Iowa and has had many travel experiences, most recently throughout Europe and to Costa Rica. In his free time, he enjoys exploring the city, watching sporting events, and traveling to new places.
Lourdes joined Food Export-Northeast and Food-Export Midwest as a Communications Associate in September 2022. She has a B.A. in Russian Studies and an M.A. in Art History. Before joining Food Export Association, she worked as a researcher and writer for several arts organizations. Most recently she worked in marketing and communications for a theatre company in New York City.
Lourdes was born and raised in San Salvador, El Salvador. She is an avid TV watcher and feels fortunate to be living in the Golden Age of Television.
Matt joined Food Export-Midwest and Food Export-Northeast in April 2018. He received his A.A.S in Cyber Security in December 2017. Matt had interned at JJC for 2 semesters, one with the Networking Department and one with the Help Desk Department. While in school Matt was able to participate in 2 National Cyber League competitions where he placed 26th out of 2077 competitors and 69th out of 2423 competitors.
Matt was born and raised in the southwest suburbs of Chicago were he still lives. In his free time Matt enjoys playing video games, disc golfing, bowling, and of course sleeping.
Job Titles:
- Chief of Operations and Deputy Director of Food Export - Midwest
- Chief Operating Officer of Food Export - Midwest
Michelle Rogowski is Chief Operating Officer of Food Export-Midwest and Food Export-Northeast and Deputy Director of Food Export-Midwest. Michelle has been working at Food Export-Midwest since August 1997. Michelle has held a variety of positions during her time with the organization. As Chief Operating Officer of Food Export-Midwest and Food Export-Northeast, she focuses on critical organizational deliverables and business processes, information technology, Human Resources, legal, procurement, facilities, and special projects. As Deputy Director, Michelle works closely with the Executive Director on office operations to ensure that the organization's overall mission remains the top priority.
A Chicago, Illinois native, Michelle holds a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from DePaul University.
Job Titles:
- IT Manager
- IT Administrator for Food Export - Midwest
Mike became the IT Administrator for Food Export-Midwest and Food Export-Northeast in October 2010. He is originally from the suburbs north of Chicago. He spent the past 12 years in southern Illinois, where he received his Bachelor's Degree in Information Systems Technologies and Master's Degree in Geographic Information Systems from Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC).
Prior to returning to the Chicago area, Mike worked at SIUC at the Center for Rural Health and Social Service Development on the Rural Medical Transportation Network Project, providing GIS expertise to the project and serving as LAN Administrator for the department.
Job Titles:
- International Marketing Program Associate
Rahdia joined Food Export - Northeast in 2021 as an intern for the International Marketing Program. She joined the team as an associate in June 2022 after she graduated from Temple University's Fox School of Business with a B.B.A. in Marketing.
Rahdia enjoys going out with friends, attending music festivals, and traveling. She also enjoys going out to restaurants and trying new foods.
Rob joined Food Export Association in August of 2002, after working the previous 10 years in various managerial accounting capacities. His most recent prior experience was as the Vice President of Finance for Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights, a Midwest-based social services organization.
In June 2023, Rob was named Chief Financial Officer for Food Export-Midwest and Food Export-Northeast. His strategic focus for both organizations is accounting, finance, risk, and compliance management.
Teresa has been working at Food Export-Midwest since August 1997. She has held a variety of positions during her time with the organization including managing the Communications Program Area, Manager of Food Export-Midwest's International Marketing Program, and as the Strategic Partnerships Manager. As Chief Program Officer of Food Export-Midwest and Food Export-Northeast, she focuses the design, planning, and execution of the programs and services of both organizations.
Teresa Miller grew up in Mexico City, but she discovered the Midwest as an exchange student during her sophomore year in high school in Shawano, Wisconsin. Preferring the snow and cold over sunny Mexico, she returned to the Midwest for graduate school at the University of Wisconsin. Prior to joining Food Export Association, Teresa worked in Mexico with an organization with a similar mission as Food Export Association's.
Tia joined Food Export-Northeast in August 2020 as a Communications Associate. She graduated in May 2020 and received her Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in Marketing from Temple University's Fox School of Business. Tia has had multiple internship experiences, all in marketing, prior to her graduation from Temple - including an international marketing internship right here at Food Export.
In her free time, Tia enjoys spending time outside running and hiking, discovering new restaurants in the city, and spending time with friends and family.
Job Titles:
- Senior Administrative Specialist
Prior to joining Food Export-Northeast, she provided customer service to small companies in the Food Distribution Center that corresponded with the seafood industry. Keyna, as she is affectionately known as, recently obtained her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting in March of 2013. She enjoys shopping, singing, writing spoken word poetry, spending time with her family, watching football (Dallas Cowboys) and has found a new love for traveling now that she has finished her degree.