Meet The team
Founder, Co-Director (Culinary, Strategy & Ops)
Board President
Michael Casper
Our culinary director, kitchen manager and co-director of strategy & operations. Founded MCK as a mutual aid project in April 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and was a team of one throughout MCK's first year of operation. Casper went to Oregon Culinary Institute over 10 years ago and has worked as a line cook and an executive chef in various food establishments in the greater Portland area. His menu planning is inspired by his Southern upbringing, experience preparing meals to accommodate certain dietary and health needs, and by what he craves. When the pandemic hit, he pivoted to cooking for mutual aid and grassroots founded nonprofit organizations.
​
Co-Director (Strategy & Ops, Programs, Development)
Board Vice President
Sherielyn Gardner
Our co-director of programs, development, strategy & operations, and planning. First person to organize a community fundraiser for MCK joined in May of 2021 as a volunteer. Sherielyn comes from the corporate world of Human Resources, Organizational Development, Business Administration, Sales & Marketing. She pivoted from working in for-profits to the nonprofit sector. Her industry areas include working in humanitarian agencies, food rescue, biotech-pharmaceuticals, acupuncture & integrative medicine, and banking. Her interpersonal skills, love for sharing resources, and community-centric approach to helping has been described by many as the glue that keeps MCK together. Before calling Portland her home, she moved from Sweden after living in California for 18 years. She is a Filipino-American who loves food and traveling, thinking about learning a fourth language.
​
Volunteer Grant Writer & Administration
Meridith Greer Jacobo
A volunteer walking alongside MCK since July 2022. Meridith runs her own consulting business in grant writing and management. She started volunteering as a delivery driver with MCK and soon after started helping Sherielyn with grants. Meridith's experience is in environmental justice and is quick to learn about the local food justice systems and the areas that MCK works in. Very organized and detail oriented, Meridith has been a great addition to the team. When not working, Meridith can be found playing soccer, hiking, and baking.
​
Volunteer Graphic Designer
Sarah Rousey
A volunteer who has been helping MCK with brand development and graphics design since July 2022. Sarah is originally from Texas, but has been living in Portland for 8 years, after moving to the Pacific Northwest for work. She is an architect by trade, but is also interested in graphic design, illustration, and branding. For the last couple of years Sarah has volunteered with MCK in multiple capacities. When she's not working or volunteering with MCK, Sarah loves to cook for her friends, host her monthly book club, and watch reality TV.
​
Sous Chef
Alexander benavidez
Alex started volunteering for MCK in 2023 guided by a passion for both cooking and community based food justice. Alex has a long history of working in the food industry including line-cooking, kitchen management, menu development, catering, designing and running pop-ups, and instructing cooking classes as well as an equally long history working in education including college instruction and program design/management specializing in working with adults with disabilities. Alex is driven by a philosophy of mutual aid, solidarity, and praxis. When he's not in the kitchen or classroom Alex is with his wife and two children foraging in the woods or taking a nap.
Lead Volunteer / Board Member
Stephen Garfield
Stephen has volunteered for MCK since July 2023. After graduating from OHSU with an MS in Food Systems and Society in 2022, Stephen had been looking for an impactful way to continue to apply his passion for supporting others through food. He has been a food professional for almost 20 years, spending 14 in the restaurant industry and currently running the food program for a large guest house non-profit across two locations in Portland. In this capacity, he manages a program that feeds up to 75 a night, utilizing his experience in cooking, volunteer management, and menu design, along with his natural desire to connect with others to build community across socioeconomic and cultural divides. Stephen loves to stay busy, but always finds some time to spend with his beloveds: pots and pans in the kitchen, his ever-expanding "to-be-read" pile, and his beautiful fiancé.​
​
Lead Volunteer / Bottle Drop Lead
Stacey Yoshimura
​Stacey started volunteering with MCK back in April 2022 as a delivery driver. She loved it so much she spent almost every Saturday for the next year delivering meals. Much to her dismay, she is no longer available on Saturday mornings, so she fills that need by stocking the free fridges around town on behalf of MCK, picking up donations and her help with the BottleDrop program has been INVALUABLE. When she's not working or volunteering with MCK she's probably hanging out with her husband, chickens or cats. She loves to read, knit and sleep. Sleeping is her favorite.​
Join the board
We believe that the best way to get to know the people you want to represent and help starts with becoming a volunteer. When you see first hand what we do and how we operate, it helps you understand our real needs as an organization. If you are interested in joining our board, we encourage you to send us an email. We would love to meet you!