Board of Directors
A Place at the Table is run by our incredibly dedicated Board.
Thanks Stacey Sprenz Photography for the great photos!
Alicia Barfield
Alicia joined Duke Raleigh Hospital in Jan 2016 as the Director of Community Affairs. She has over 17 years of experience in health care administration with a background in strategic planning, business planning, development, and community relations. Prior to joining Duke Raleigh, Alicia was a Business Development Manager for UNC Physicians Network. She has been fortunate to volunteer with the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, Habitat for Humanity of Wake County, and Urban Ministries of Wake County prior to joining Duke Raleigh in a community-facing role.
Nathan Powers
Nathan is a Human Resources Manager for the Raleigh based engineering firm S&ME, Inc. Nathan works in regulatory compliance, corporate business processes and employee development. Nathan's passion is helping those in need, specifically in need of food. At Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, Nathan works with several different groups, cooks for fundraising dinners and provides an annual meal for the homeless that is served by the congregation. Nathan received a Bachelor’s of Arts in Religion and Philosophy from Belmont University and a Master’s of Divinity from Baptist Theological Seminary in Richmond. He is married to Libby Stephens, Minister with Children and their Families at Pullen. They have one son, Henry. The family enjoys traveling, working in the garden and cooking.
Tosheria Brown
Tosheria is the Program Coordinator of the Oak City Outreach Center in Downtown Raleigh and is employed by Catholic Charities. As a Business Management undergraduate of NC State University, she has called Raleigh her home for many years. She is originally from Rockingham, NC and spent 7 years living in San Diego, CA where she was employed by Enterprise Rent-A-Car before relocating back to Wake County. At the Oak City Outreach Center, Tosheria schedules all of the volunteers and community partners that serve at the Center each weekend to provide the meals and events which support our friends experiencing homelessness and/or hunger in Downtown Raleigh. Under her leadership and compassion, over 50 service partners and 120 host volunteers are currently connected to the effort of building community through active engagement and hospitality. She brings experience and a wealth of knowledge working directly with our friends experiencing homelessness so that we better understand how to serve this population.
Marina Carreker
Marina Carreker leads strategic initiatives on behalf of CEO, David Morken. For the past four years, Marina has served as Deputy General Counsel for Bandwidth, where she was responsible for a broad range of Bandwidth’s legal portfolio, including the negotiation of key strategic commercial agreements, oversight of litigation and government investigations, and management of all data privacy issues. Marina and her family found APATT during COVID and immediately embraced the mission. In her words, “It’s impossible to miss the joy and authenticity and love that is guiding APATT, and I’d very much like to contribute to that however I can.”
Marina graduated from the University of North Carolina, where she was a Morehead Scholar. She earned her law degree from the University of Virginia.
Shana Overdorf
Shana is the Director of the Raleigh/Wake Partnership to End and Prevent Homelessness. The Partnership works collaboratively with the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to build state and local capacity, leading to stronger programs and policies that help communities achieve their goal of ending homelessness.
Maggie Kane
Maggie Kane first and foremost has a passion for loving people. 8 years ago, Maggie founded A Place at the Table, Raleigh’s, NC’s pay-what-you-can nonprofit cafe, which has fed thousands of humans some incredible food, and an even better community. She believes strongly in the power of unconventional communities and showing everyone she meets that they have a place at the table.
She is a proud member of the Downtown Raleigh Alliance board, Band Together Advisory Board, Healing Transitions Advisory Board, and Feed the Pack Food Pantry Advisory Board at NCSU.
She lives in Raleigh, loves to jump rope, and eats a large amount of peanut butter. She loves hiking in the mountains and hour-long tattoo appointments. You’ll find her watching movies at the theaters in those big comfy chairs, skydiving, or breaking away for a quick 2-day weekend trip.
Tom Robinson
Tom is a licensed CPA and CFP with over 35 years experience in business. He works primarily with small businesses, nonprofits and individuals. For 14 years he was Executive Director of The Ministry Incubator, a shared workspace environment for nonprofits and ministries that operated in downtown Raleigh. Tom and his wife Linda have two adult sons.
Danny Rosin
Danny is a tireless connector, community leader and entrepreneur. He helps people and brands realize higher aspirations that will have positive and sustainable impact on both for profit and not for profit organizations.
He is the Co-Founder and Co-President of Brand Fuel a free-spirited, full-service promotional products agency that sits at the top 1% of the $26 billion industry. He is the active Co-Founder of Band Together, a volunteer-driven nonprofit that uses live music as a platform for social change that has donated $10 million to Triangle community efforts. He serves on the boards of PromoCares, Arc Benders, Promotional Products Assoc. International, PromoKitchen, Reciprocity Road, American Marketing Association (Triangle Chapter) and most importantly, A Place at The Table.
Danny likes to start organizations and do the hard work of doing things that matter. He is married with two teenage daughters and has come to grips with the idea that well-behaved women rarely make history.
LISA HUMPHREYS
Lisa Humphreys serves as the Chief Strategy Officer with the YMCA of the Triangle. She has dedicated the last 30 years of her career to the YMCA, leading initiatives, developing partnerships and building community collaborations that create positive outcomes for the community. Lisa is a seasoned non-profit executive energized by transforming bold ideas into action that satisfy community needs and support ambitious missions for non-profit organizations. She is passionate finding equitable and inclusion solutions and is thrilled to join the APATT Board of Directors.
A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Lisa lives in Raleigh with her husband Rob, their two children, Mac (23) and Cate (18). As an emerging empty nester, Lisa enjoys spending quality time with her family, live music, travel, connecting with dear friends and lots and lots of Pilates.
Cliff Britt
Cliff Britt is an Executive in Enterprise Independent Testing at Bank of America. He leads the Enterprise Testing Utility Onboarding organization that has responsibility for integrating Front Line Unit testing resources across the Enterprise.
In his 25 years with the bank, Cliff has served in a number of leadership roles including, most recently, as Chief Testing Officer for the Consumer Bank. Prior to this, he served as the Consumer Market Executive in the Triangle Market of Central North Carolina and prior to that in the Hampton Roads Market of Southeastern Virginia. His prior Bank experience was in Quality & Productivity and Technology & Operations/Project Management. He served on the NationsBank/Boatmen’s Transition in St. Louis, MO. He is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt.
Cliff is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he was an active member of the Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity. He also serves on the Board of “A Place at the Table”, a non-profit focused on creating community among people across diverse economic situations by alleviating food insecurity. He is an Elder at White Memorial Presbyterian Church in Raleigh and is a Director of the Theological Seminary of Poland in Wroclaw, Poland.
Cliff, his wife, Diane, and their two daughters (Elizabeth, 18 & Caroline, 14) reside in Raleigh, North Carolina. Away from work, Cliff enjoys cheering on his beloved Tar Heels, traveling with his family, live music, snow skiing, and boating.
Jennifer Sundstrom
Jennifer is the Director of Development at Teach For America – Eastern North Carolina. She moved to Raleigh in 2013 from Nashville, TN where she worked as the Director of Administrative Services at the YWCA. Jennifer has a bachelors in Industrial and Management Systems Engineering from West Virginia University but has spent the majority of her career in nonprofit administration and fundraising. Jennifer is passionate about building thriving and equitable communities, and coffee. She is a proud mama of two children, Graham and Cora, who can often be found sipping on hot chocolate at one of our community tables.
Sean Maroney
As the former main anchor at CBS-17, Sean Maroney is a familiar face in the Triangle. During his five years at the station, he won numerous awards including an Emmy and was named "Anchor of the Year" out of both North and South Carolina by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas. Prior to that, he was a bureau chief and correspondent for the Voice of America with bylines that included Afghanistan, the United Nations, the Pentagon, and Capitol Hill. After 15 years in journalism, Sean switched careers to become Habitat for Humanity of Wake County's first-ever Major Gifts Officer, doubling down on his passion for community work. He is now Habitat Wake's Interim Director of Resource Development. Sean serves on several non-profit and community advisory boards, and he is the founder and instructor of a free guitar lesson program at the Salvation Army's Boys and Girls Club of Durham.
Sean grew up in the area and graduated with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he now mentors students through the school's Media and Journalism Alumni Association. As a first-time homeowner, Sean loves to spend his free time doing house and yard projects with his wife Kate, volunteering with their neighborhood's association and exploring the outdoors with their dog Gatsby.
William Halvorsen
My goal has always been to do better, help people and to grow community awareness of kindness and volunteering. I have worked for over 30 years in the telecommunication industry, always growing myself and my teams. I have always had a passion and ability to be a strong and effective leader. I started as a United States Marine as a Ground Radio Repairmen in 1989, then joined Cisco, 1998, in the Technical Assistance Center and moved up through their Advanced and Consulting Services teams. Eventually, raising to the level of a Solution Architect and Technical Leader in the Automation and Assurance team. Most recently I have been a Customer Engineer for Nokia, 2019, with a primary focus on expanding the gigabit economy to rural and underserved areas of the country.
I have raised 3 daughters, the oldest is a bull ride, the middle is a firefighter and the youngest is a redhead. All 3 are fierce, strong and independent. I would like to think I bring those rearing skills to any team I am on. I have mentored youth and young adults, sharing my knowledge and listening to theirs.
I am also passionate about the people that work around us and live near us. In my own experience of volunteering I have learned how to not judge. In the past I would have written a check for charities and then judge people for panhandling. After, volunteering in and around the community, I learned to appreciate the layers people bring with them, what good that they can bring with them. I try not to judge, and I really see the power of a smile and the kindness of a hello. I have been on the board of ActivateGood.org since 2018. They work with over 507 nonprofits connecting them with over 20,000 volunteers annually in the triangle. I routinely lead a team of volunteers at “A Place at the Table”, a pay what you can afford café.
Dr. Terrance Ruth
Dr. Ruth is NC State University Professor in the Department of Social Work. He also spearheaded the launch of a Social Justice Foundation called the Justice Love Foundation. Dr. Ruth is one of the newest research fellows for the NCSU African American Center.
Dr. Ruth is the former Executive Director of the NAACP of North Carolina. Dr. Terrance Ruth is a former Administrator for Wake County Public Schools. Dr. Ruth specialize in student populations of predominately Special Education services. Dr. Ruth is an education consultant for low performing schools through Phase III. Dr. Ruth is also an author (articles and academic journals) and he specialize in the areas of student achievement, motivation, and process learning.
Dr. Ruth was a Research Associate and an Education Policy Communications Specialist at the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation at North Carolina State University. He earned his PhD from the University of Central Florida in the college of Public Affairs. His research interest includes the theoretical fields of Globality and Structuration with a focus on future projections in cultural perceptions. He acquired his Masters in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University. After receiving his MA, he entered education administration professionally as an alternative education Principal for 6 years under AMIkids. He earned his BA in History and briefly taught high school history and science. Terrance's entire administrative and teaching career served the under-performing, misrepresented, adjudicated youth.
Dr. Ruth was engaged in the Race to the Top Initiative and the MSP project for the NCSU Friday Institute. Also, he is actively working on integrating concepts of space and time distinctions, as it relates to future perceptions of race. Dr. Ruth seek to contribute to future discussions of a post-racial Western culture. Dr. Ruth has published in academic journals, research reports, magazines, and is currently working on his first book.
Dr. Terrance Ruth is happily married to Mrs. Kiara Ruth and they have a son name Miles. Ideally, he foresees his research will impact the discussions that his son will have with his children. Observing the current paradigms that mobilizes networks, relationships and partnerships, it appears that there is a long journey ahead, when it comes to Westernized race perceptions. Dr. Ruth hopes to contribute to that journey.
Sophia Woo
Sophia graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a minor in biology and extensive classes in chemistry in 2010, and a Masters of Accounting from the Kenan Flagler Business School in 2011. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa and received both undergraduate and graduate scholarships awards during her studies.
Sophia began her journey into food after deciding that her background in business and accounting wasn’t where she wanted to build a career. She started cooking for friends and hosting dinner parties first as stress relief and then as R&D and eventually convinced her high school friend, Sunny Lin, into starting a food truck together.
After building the truck themselves, with the help of a Kickstarter, Sunny and Sophia ran the truck full time in the RTP area starting the Spring of 2014. After a difficult but exhilarating first year, the pair was cold-called by Food Network to compete on Season 6 of The Great Food Truck Race with Tyler Florence.
After 6 weeks of competition, Sunny and Sophia (and their high school friend and teammate Becca Plumlee), were the first and only all-female team to ever win the show. Sunny and Sophia then decided to put the winnings of the show towards a brick and mortar restaurant.
MOFU Shoppe, a 135 seat, full-service Asian inspired restaurant opened in Summer of 2017 in Downtown Raleigh, in the City Market district. Sophia took over as the sole General Manager in the summer of 2018 after Sunny decided to pursue other interests.
Under Sophia’s direction the restaurant focuses first and foremost on being a warm and inclusive environment to dine and work, and on being a positive part of the downtown and greater Raleigh Community. The restaurant is active with a philosophy of impact through local giving and has worked with a number of local non-profits including Stop Hunger Now/Rise Against Hunger, Stop Soldier Suicide, NAMI Wake County, Read and Feed, Neighbor 2 Neighbor, A Place at the Table, Haven House, Interfaith Food Counsel, and more.
MOFU Shoppe was awarded the Downtown Rising Star Award by Downtown Raleigh Alliances’ Annual State of Downtown in September of 2019 and has received numerous other accolades from local and national publications.
Sophia is passionate about hospitality, connecting people who should know each other, and mentoring youth and the next general of problem solvers. She has also been a public speaker at a number of events including Creative Mornings, the Kenan Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina and the upcoming Chasing the Brightside Conference at Peace College. When she is not focused on the restaurant or speaking events, she enjoys spending time dreaming up her next hospitality idea with her husband, Nathan, and traveling.
Johnny Hackett, Jr.
Johnny migrated to Raleigh, NC in 1998, attending Broughton High School where Community Service was instilled upon arrival; Broughton required 25 hours of community service each of the four years in order to graduate, which ended up having a huge impact on Johnny. From there, Johnny attended North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, returning to Raleigh in 2005 where he began his career with Xerox as a Six Sigma Black Belt. Johnny started his own non-profit organization to help educate teenage youth in 2009 and has been active on the “front line” of the community and corporate environments ever since – enjoying a great I.T. career at IBM, BCBSNC and Unity Digital Agency, while also leading multiple entrepreneurship ventures where he supports other non-profits and small businesses. Currently, Johnny operates a Black-Owned Business directory for the state of North Carolina and is an alliance member for online businesses with the City of Raleigh’s Office of Economic Development and Innovation, helping to take care of the needs of small business owners in the area.
Johnny specializes in design and marketing, having a unique ability to turn ideas and visions into tangible pieces of work that can be shared with the masses, either through executive presentations or public marketing materials. Great mentors in the I.T. industry have helped cultivate Johnny’s talent in these areas, learning from key executives about capturing the voice of your audience during material development. The early influence around community service from Broughton, along with the motivation to serve as a positive example to family members and friends is what drives Johnny to use those teachings and skills in a way to improve his business community. Through networking and building positive relationships, Johnny is now striving to become an even bigger example to those around him looking to pave their own way in the community to make a positive impact. Education, providing opportunities to others, and accurate communication are key community and business “ideals” most important to Johnny.
Johnny currently resides in Raleigh and is an active member with his fraternal organization Widow’s Son Lodge #4, where he spends his time working with the youth and implementing multiple community programs, such as their annual Health Fair and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast, which now serves over 200 community members annually since Johnny’s organization of the event began in 2015.
Zinith Barbee
Zinith Barbee still feels that he is the beneficiary of other people’s vision and mission. His passions are roads and rocks from his careers as a civil engineer and hydrogeologist. A decade has passed since the medical trauma that redefined him. Today, instead of "redefined" he feels more "refined.” He credits this to healing from exemplary care from the Raleigh Mennonite Church to which he belongs, caring neighbors in his community, compassionate citizens in the city, and what he calls the “therapeutic environment” in APATT. He is a Core Volunteer and member of the Community Advisory Board. Zinith retains the panoramic, forward-looking, and detail-oriented outlook practiced in his careers and maintains the discipline and ethic learned in earlier jobs in a factory, school, hospital, and restaurant. Not forgotten is his experience of homelessness and stint as a “short order cook.” These memories gave Zinith a sense of “coming full circle" when joining APATT in 2015. Now, instead of a circle, he feels that his path has really been a spiral as APATT put what he learned about humanity, hope, and hospitality on new trajectory.