Jody Tick joined Sunflower in August 2021 as Executive Director. Jody leads the organization to operationalize its mission of using food as a tool to close the employment gap for young adults with learning differences through workforce development training in Pastry Arts Hospitality and Culinary Arts. Jody is focused on Sunflower Bakery’s long-standing partnerships; growth of Sunflower’s work to reach more students; and innovating to provide more marketable training opportunities.

Prior to Sunflower Bakery, Jody’s experience included management of food system-related programs and projects for DC-based nonprofits. Her work has focused on international and domestic hunger and poverty alleviation; the regulation of biotechnology; local food systems; domestic food safety; and the promotion of healthy food access to underserved communities.

Most recently, Jody had a fifteen-year career at the Capital Area Food Bank where she served as the Chief Operating Officer from 2015-2021. As COO, Jody was responsible for the daily management of the CAFB’s operational work including providing direction and oversight of the acquisition and distribution of 30 million meals annually to approximately 700 food assistance partners and programs, strategic work addressing root causes of food insecurity, and using data and metrics to inform resource allocation decisions.

Favorite SFS Memory: I studied Wildlife Management and Ecology in the Athi Kapiti Plains of Kenya. My favorite memories are of how seamlessly our classes integrated with the surrounding ecosystem. Learning felt immediate—one moment, we’d be in a lecture, and the next, a giraffe would stroll by, reminding us of the incredible environment we were part of. We’d pause, marvel, and dive into real-time learning about what we were witnessing. It was truly amazing to be enveloped in a setting where learning can be applied real time.