30 Under 30-Something
Nine out of 30 employees chosen by FoodService Director to be included on their annual list of “Thirty Under Thirty-Something” are associates for Compass Group USA! The thirty individuals on this list were chosen for leading innovation and creativity within the foodservice business. Below are Compass’ nine talented associates who were chosen.
Amanda Goldie
- Director of Dining Services
- Morrison Community Living
- Village at Morrisons Cove
- Martinsburg, PA.
- Age 27
Top Accomplishment this year:
Becoming the youngest director in my region.
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome?
Age-related skepticism is a challenge that I face as a young, new director. More seasoned employees are oftentimes skeptical of youth and it can require more time to earn their respect.
What do you value most in a workplace?
Transparent and open communication. It’s important for any employee to feel valued and heard; often that means they will want to contribute more.
What’s the one thing you wish you could change about the industry?
I wish all industries and employees would be mindful of food waste. Food waste is often a big factor in our industry. However, companies have been coming up with ways to eliminate food waste.
Fernando Costa
- Director of Food & Nutrition Services
- TouchPoint
- Crittenton Hospital Medical Center
- Rochester, MI.
- Age 32
Top Accomplishment this year:
Together with my team, made a positive impact in our patients’ lives with little gestures or conversations.
What experience have you learned an important lesson from?
I am the safety champion for the state of Michigan, and I have learned a lot just by following up on injury reports. I always take a lesson from all of them, and I always try to share it within the region, so my mission is to ensure that all my associates can return home injury-free.
Do you use or view technology differently than your coworkers? If so, how?
I love technology. I’m always trying to innovate and create new tools to help the operation. I designed a menu slide for one of the accounts, and it became a best practice within the state of Michigan. Earlier this year, I also developed a sales tracker for retail sales.
What attracted you to the noncommercial foodservice segment?
Noncommercial healthcare is more human than restaurants, where you are entertaining. I feel so humbled after rounds at some of the units in the hospital.
Aileen Schuh
- General Manager, Conference Services
- Flik Hospitality at Blue Cross Blue Shield
- Richardson, Texas
- Age 32
Top Accomplishment this year:
Promoted to oversee conference centers in Chicago and Dallas.
What’s been your most rewarding moment?
Planning and executing an event for 3,200 attendees. It takes several hours of planning and working with a great team to have an event like this come together.
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome?
My biggest challenge has been being in a career where every day is different. There is always a last minute change, and I have to think quickly for a resolution. The meeting trends are constantly changing, and I need to ensure I’m aware of these changes. I enjoy this challenge because it keeps the job interesting, and there is never a dull day at work.
What experience have you learned an important lesson from?
I need to ensure I’m actively listening and giving my full attention to the person I’m speaking with. We are often trying to do too many things at one time, and we really don’t hear what the person is telling us. I need to stop what I’m doing and listen to what they have to say. By not being engaged, I may miss some really important details.
Alyse Festenstein
- Sourcing Coordinator
- Bon Appetit at Emory University
- Atlanta
- Age 26
Top Accomplishment this year:
Increasing the share of food purchases that qualify as local or sustainable by 15%.
What’s the best career advice you’ve been given?
After the first few months in my new role, Bon Appetit’s director of communications reminded me to keep fighting for what I believe. It’s helped me stay grounded and not get so easily swept up in the everyday challenges and minutiae.
What do you value most in a workplace?
I value the willingness to try something new, and maybe even fail. I am encouraged by upper management and my coworkers to constantly re-examine the way we are doing things and pursue opportunities for innovation.
What keeps you up at night?
I find that a lot of people think buying local is solely a function of price. Currently we’re on the lookout for a year-round source of a handful of local agricultural products- from turkey to bulk cheeses; however, the supply doesn’t exist yet in Georgia. As a large buyer, we have the power to support the growth of these new industries. Sometimes, I find myself daydreaming about supply chain logistics.
Christiana Castillo
- Regional Director of Wellness and Sustainability
- Eurest at Johnson & Johnson
- Multiple Locations
- Age 28
Top Accomplishment this year:
Being recognized as a “rising star” from my leadership team, which has allowed me to attend national events, create relationships with leaders in our sector and participate in decision-making meetings for my division.
What would you say you excel at over more seasoned employees?
Being a millennial, I’m able to provide insight to what the age group is interested in (in terms of food and technology), and I’d like to think I’m pretty tech-savvy.
What’s the best career advice you’ve been given?
“Never turn down a job because it’s not glamourous. Foodservice is a huge industry- the more well-rounded you are, the more successful you will be.”
What attracted you to the noncommercial foodservice segment?
I really liked the consistency- from the weekday schedules to working with the same team members to the consistent population we serve daily. As a dietitian, I’m able to work with our clients to assess employee’s health needs and alter our menus and wellness programs appropriately and actually track our progress. This industry allows me to pursue my passion for foodservice and community health and wellness together.
Jennifer Takara
- Regional Manager of Recruitment and Safety
- Bon Appetit Management CO.
- San Francisco
- Age 29
Top Accomplishment this year:
Achieving two years of injury-free opening weeks for new accounts with consistent new-hire orientations and a management habit called “safety management by walking around.”
What would you say you excel at over more seasoned employees?
I’m willing to help in any way I can, no matter how menial the task. When the tam you support sees you working as hard as they are, and they sense that you’re willing to go to any length to ensure they succeed, it changes your work relationship. All of a sudden, you’re a leader they can trust rather than a manager who reacts only to negative stats.
Do you use or view technology differently than your coworkers? If so, how?
More and more of our HR processes are automated. Less paperwork can be a good thing in many ways, from improved document retention to reduced paper waste. We need to realize the effect this has on the way we do business, and take care to inject the “human” in HR into everything you do. For example, when all new-hire onboarding is performed online, which is quickly becoming the standard, we must take extra care to spend one-on-one time developing an understanding.
What keeps you up at night?
The staffing shortage in the San Francisco Bay Area. Anecdotally, the struggle has only worsened for employees earning low wages. Employees are leaving this high-cost area.
Joshua Lufer
- Director of Food and Nutrition
- Morrison Healthcare at Sutter Alta Bates Summit Medical Center: Herrick Campus
- Berkeley, Calif.
- Age 27
Top Accomplishment this year:
Getting published by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and guiding dietetic interns with experience as a registered dietitian.
What would you say you excel at over more seasoned employees?
I’ve been building computers since I was 13 years old, and I spent three years working for IT in college. My proficiency with technology goes beyond even the norm for my generations; in my career, this means I have a better understanding of how technology will integrate with existing systems and am able to articulate specific needs to software designers.
What would you like to accomplish in your career in the short term?
In healthcare, it’s really tough to prove the value of technology unless it’s been demonstrated large-scale somewhere else. I’m at the point where my ideas for integrating technology with the customer experience have been successful at a midlevel facility, and I’m eager to work on adapting it to much larger hospitals.
What would you like to accomplish in the long term?
I would love to see services like Gmail, Slack and Drobox become commonplace in the foodservice and healthcare industries, like they are at the tech giants surround us in the Bay Area. Small improvements in communication can lead to huge differences in productivity, and these services are more than capable of handling privacy concerns.
Kate Dienst
- Senior Resident Dietitian
- Chartwells K-12 at Duval County Public Schools
- Jacksonville, FLA.
- Age 32
Top Accomplishment this year:
Working with our team to revamp all our menus to reflect a focus on fresh and local items, resulting in students selecting almost 1.5 million entrée salads for lunch last year.
What would you say you excel at over more seasoned employees?
I am pretty resilient when it comes to change. I’ve been in the school foodservice industry for more than six years and have seen so many regulatory changes. I’ve learned to quickly figure out what we need to do to make our menus meet these new regulations but still taste great to appeal to students.
What keeps you up at night?
Product changes! Last school year seemed to be the year of the recall. Every time we turned around, we would receive notification of another food item being recalled. It really gests hard to keep track of your menus when you have to make last-minute changes- and finding enough product to substitute for more than 150 school is no easy task.
What do you value most in a workplace? Are there ways your workplace delivers on that?
It is important to be able to laugh. Foodservice can be so stressful at times with so many moving parts. I really value working with people who are happy and can take a step back and laugh sometimes. Chartwells will occasionally host activities like field days, where we go out and compete in water balloon tosses, hula hooping, musical chairs and other activities that create lots of laughs.
Patti Ramos
- Assistant Director of Food & Nutrition
- Touchpoint at St. John Providence Hospital
- Southfield, Mich.
- Age 29
Top Accomplishment this year:
Starting a food waste diversion program with on-site composting at Borgess-Lee Memorial Hospital, where I previously held a director role.
What’s been your most rewarding moment?
When my associates tell me they appreciate me after I’ve taken time to explain or do something for them. Our people are truly the heart of our business, and without them we would not be able to serve our patients and customers. Even on the most difficult days, they are what make the long hours worth it.
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome?
It is often difficult to manage those who are older than you, especially those who have more experience in foodservice. I’ve also received comments of how I “look so young” or “am so small,” or that I’m a young female in a director role, which is uncommon. I’ve learned to stand up for myself and my abilities, as age, size and gender should never dictate ability. Likewise, I’ve learned the importance of treating others with respect, always listening to opinions, and being mindful of generational differences in the communication and workplace expectations.
What do you value most in a workplace? Are there any ways your workplace delivers on that?
Ideas and creativity- what change is fueled by. I do my best to listen to my managers’ and associates’ ideas and make them a reality.
Check out the complete list of “30 Under 30-Something” here.