Our Team

Melinda Wilshire

Melinda is currently the director of communications at Roof Above. In this role she oversees media education and advocacy for the non-profit. Prior to Roof Above, Melinda served as director of marketing and communications for Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont for seven years. Prior to joining Goodwill, Melinda developed her career as a PR professional working in New York City for Golin, a global PR agency, and Washington, DC at Ogilvy PR. She created media campaigns for some of the world’s largest companies such as Unilever, Energizer Personal Care, Walmart®, The J.M. Smucker Company, Hilton and DuPont™ The Science Company. She launched consumer brands and created strategic brand-building programs for brands such as MAGNUM ice cream, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!, Vaseline, Banana Boat, Bertolli Soups and Green & Black’s Organic Chocolate.

Rose B. Cummings, APR

Rose is an experienced business leader and communications strategist. She is Owner of Cummings Communications, a communications consulting business and Owner of RBC Utilities Incorporated, a utility contracting business in the Charlotte region. She has spent more than 30 years in business, public relations and marketing positions in the Carolinas. She has served on numerous boards of directors including several non-profit organizations.

Marie Fahey

Marie is Head of Marketing for Scott Automation, Americas, in Charlotte.  Throughout her career she has researched, marketed and sold leading food and food equipment brands including Knorr, Hellmann’s, Cryovac and BladeStop. Previously she led Global Marketing Communications for Sealed Air’s food division, and held numerous VP positions at Unilever’s North American food service business unit in marketing, sales and market research.  She has an MBA from Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, and a B.A. in Food, Nutrition and Consumer Studies from Ryerson University, Toronto.  Marie has always had a passion for food and is now delighted to contribute her skills to enable a help out and not a hand out, with soups that taste good and do good – and to help the homeless find their way home. 

Valerie Peck

Valerie is CEO of East Bay Group and is the co-founder of SuiteCX. She advises us on Demand Generation and long term strategic and technical transformations. Prior to East Bay and SuiteCX, Valerie was a Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers and a partner at Peppers & Rogers Group. She has a B.S. in Marketing and an MBA from the University of Southern California and is a Board Member of Friends of Montclair Rail Road Trail and of the East Bay SPCA. She is a past member of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses. 

Chef Dan Burrows

Chef Dan is the founder of 3F Consulting, LLC (Food, Flavor, & Fun) and provides expertise to us in cooking process, recipes, and managing a food organization. Prior to 3F, Chef Dan was the Senior Executive Chef at Heinz, North America. Previously he was the Executive Chef and Quaker Oats and at Unilever. He is a graduate of Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, IL and The Culinary Institute of America.

Zac Bailes

Zac is a food entrepreneur and advises us on “start-up” concerns and. Zac is a graduate of Georgetown College in Georgetown, KY with degrees in Philosophy and Religion and holds an M.Div from Wake Forest University in Theology and Public Policy. Zac is a member of the Institute for Dismantling Racism, past Board Member at Imagination Station History and Science Museum and at Hope Station in Wilson, NC.

Helene Yen

Helene advises us on Growth Strategy and Technology Strategy and Implementation. She earned a BS in Electrical Engineering and an MBA from the University of Michigan and is a former Engagement Manager at Deloitte. Presently Helene is a Retail and Strategy Consultant at IRi in Chicago. Helene is the Co-Lead of Chicago’s Chapter of Frontline Foods – part of World Central Kitchen that works to feed communities in crisis and save local restaurants.

Charlie Knight

Charlie studies Graphic Design at Savannah College of Art and Design and is a free-lance artist. After college he hopes to work as a graphic designer for interior spaces and package branding. A Charlotte native, Charlie loves working on cars and motorcycles, traveling, and walking around Savannah in one of his Spider-Man suits. Charlie's front porch graphic captured the essence of the Front Porch Foods story.