Staff Bios



John van Hengel Founder, St. Mary's Food Bank Born in 1923 in Waupun, Wisconsin, John van Hengel created the concept of food banking. In 1965, van Hengel was volunteering at St. Vincent de Paul, collecting donations for the community dining room. Van Hengel learned that grocery storesdisposed of food with damaged packaging or was near expiration. Armed with this knowledge, van Hengel met with grocery store managers across the Valley, persuading them to donate the edible but unsalable food to St. Vincent de Paul. Soon van Hengel was receiving more food than one dining room could use.He approached St. Mary's Basilica with the idea of creating a central location where social service agencies could get the food they needed to serve their clients at no cost.
The response from St. Mary's was $3,000 and an abandoned building - the world's first food bank was born. In 1976 van Hengel established America's Second Harvest, the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization and in 1986 founded Food Banking Services, a consulting firm for food bank startups. Integral in the passing of the Good Samaritan Act, van Hengel changed the way the world looks at hunger and its relief.

Terry Shannon President and Chief Executive Officer Terry Shannon began his career in the foodservice distribution industry as Territory Manager with H.F. Behrhorst in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1977. Over the years, Terry has held a series of positions of increasing responsibility including market level roles as a Major Account Manager (Pittsburgh), Sales Manager (Pittsburgh) Vice President of Sales (Pittsburgh), and Market President (Salt Lake City and Phoenix). As Vice President of Sales Support and Administration, based out of Alliant's corporate headquarters in Deerfield, Terry was responsible for process and system development to support the field sales organization with a primary focus on street segments. In 1998 he became West Division Vice President of Sales with a $1.2 billion sales responsibility.
In 2000, Terry was promoted to Vice President and General Manager of Financial Shared Services based out of Phoenix, where he oversaw the centralized functions of Accounts Payable and Receivable, Supplier Incentive System tracking and billing and Payroll for all Alliant/US Foodservice distribution centers across the country. Terry joined the Food Bank's Board of Directors in March 2003. He was selected as Executive Director in December 2003 following the retirement of the Food Bank's previous director. Terry has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business from Marquette University in Milwaukee and a Masters Degree in Business from the Executive MBA program at the University of Pittsburgh.

Rick Fresia Chief Financial Officer Rick Fresia recently moved back to the Phoenix area to join the Food Bank as its Chief Financial Officer in May 2008 after a nearly 20-year stint in the mountains of Colorado. He has 15 years experience as a CFO in companies large and small; privately held and publicly traded. After many years in the for-profit world, Rick is anxious to contribute to the continued success of the Food Bank. His desire to give back to the community has brought him to the Food Bank from the corporate world. Rick earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Bentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts and a Masters of Business Administration from Boston University. Rick and his wife Jan have three children: Matt and twins Hannah and Molly. He enjoys fitness, trap shooting and riding his Harley (including a 5,000 mile tour across the country during the summer of 2006).

Beverly Butler Damore Chief Communications Officer Beverly Butler Damore is active in the community, serving as a member of the St. Mary's Food Bank Alliance Board of Directors for six years before joining the staff as Chief Communications Officer. Damore is a founding partner of the Phoenix-based corporate communications company Option II Advisors, which specializes in public relations, Web site orchestration, management consulting, community relations, fundraising, and event coordination. Previously, Damore worked for the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and while there, was named co-Interim Chief Executive Officer while also serving as the organization's Chief Operating Officer. Damore's community involvement began as a reporter for the Tribune Newspapers, where she was responsible for covering Scottsdale and Mesa City Halls; growth and development; and urban affairs. She holds a Masters of Mass Communication degree from the Arizona State University Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Loyola Marymount University. In addition to her board involvement with St. Mary's Food Bank Alliance, she is also a founding member of the ASU Craig and Barbara Barrett Honors College Dean's Advisory Board.

Norm Gold Chief Operations Officer After working in retail for 24 years, including nine years the Store Director of an ABCO Foods Supermarket, Norm Gold decided to pursue a career with a direct impact on others lives. This led Norm to the Food Bank, where he is currently Chief Operations Officer and Director of Operations for the Arizona Gleaning Project, a program of the Association of Arizona Food Banks, which coordinates the delivery of food to food banks throughout Arizona and across the country. Born and raised in the Long Beach, Lakewood area of California, Norm has two children, Matthew and Melissa. He is also stepfather to Alexsandra, daughter of his wife, Sandy. He enjoys bicycling, stamp collecting and most importantly, spending time with his family.

Claudia Cucitro Director of Planned Gifts and Grants Claudia Cucitro joined the fund raising staff at St. Mary's Food Bank in 1995 as Annual Giving/Donor Relations Officer. She has worked her way through several changes in job responsibilities and is currently Director of Planned Giving and Grants. Claudia is a past president and member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Greater Arizona Chapter; past treasurer and member of Rotary Club of Anthem, as well as an active member of the Planned Giving Round Table of Arizona. She and husband, Frank, enjoy entertaining and sharing their rural life - clean air, wildlife and wide open spaces - with family, friends and colleagues

Sandra Jorgensen Director of Strategic Gifts Sandra Jorgensen has worked in the fundraising field for more than 15 years. She is the Director of Strategic Gifts at St. Mary's Food Bank Alliance and concurrently has been the Campaign Director for the Food Bank's $10 million 'Ending Hunger, Changing Lives' capital campaign. On an annual basis she is responsible for a fundraising goal of $2 million+. Designated as a CFRE in 2004, she has experience in all aspects of fund development including: Annual Fund, Individual Giving, Capital Campaigns, Donor Cultivation and Stewardship, Direct Mail, Grant Writing, Foundation and Corporate Relations, Special Events and Volunteer Recruitment and Management. As a native Phoenician, and having strong connections and commitment to the community, Sandra has served in leadership roles on several non-profit Boards including: the Phoenix Region of Catholic Charities, the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Arizona Clean & Beautiful, and is a member of the Ethics Committee at St. Joseph's Hospital. She volunteers with Gabriel's Angels and Hospice of the Valley as a pet therapy team with her 9-yr old Otterhound, Oscar.

Patrick Snyder Director of Human Resources Patrick Snyder relocated to Phoenix in 1985 from his hometown of Columbus, Indiana. Prior to joining the Food Bank, Patrick owned and operated a Scottsdale computer business and was HR Director for Cummins Southwest, Inc. After stints in the corporate and business ownership worlds, Snyder wanted to give something back to the community so he joined St. Mary's Food Bank in 2000. Snyder earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from DePauw University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Indiana State University. He received his PHR (Professional in Human Resources) certification in 2001 and lends over 20 years of Human Resources management experience to the Food Bank. Patrick and his wife Dee enjoy raising their teenage daughter Katie and are very active at her Veritas Preparatory Academy school. Katie is a fastpitch softball pitcher so Patrick stays busy in his spare time coaching her school and club softball teams.

Sue Kaplan Anderson Executive Assistant Sue Kaplan Anderson, Executive Assistant at St. Mary's Food Bank Alliance, brings more than 20 years of clerical and administrative experience to the organization, having worked previously for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix, the Arizona Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the University of Hawaii. She also served in the United States Navy for six years as Communications Manager. Sue is a member of the Valley West Chapter of the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP) and serves as Secretary of its Board of Directors. Sue, along with her husband, serves on their Neighborhood Community Block Watch as part of her desire to give back to the community. She enjoys supporting the food bank and its mission not only through her employment but through volunteer efforts with her husband and family.