Mel Ekins Email & Phone Number

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Greater Chicago Area

- Coordinated, supported, and built capacity for over 100 Google SNAP food bank partners; EnhancedGSNAP during COVID-19 when it became more valuable to do digital outreach- Managed the Medicaid Outreach Project grant opportunity; Collected learnings and analyzed data onMedicaid outreach within the Feeding America network- Planned, coordinated, supported, and hosted technical assistance webinars, conferences, andconvenings; collaborated with Economic Mobility team on holding these events- Collaborated with various departments, such as Digital Marketing, Government Relations, Health &Nutrition, and IT- Utilized former food bank experience to improve and add insight to Google SNAP, the SNAP CapacityInstitute, and Medicaid Outreach Project- Created and followed project management plans to ensure projects stayed on track- Focused on learning about racial equity and incorporating a racial equity lens into all projects(individually and with Economic Mobility team); Participated in the Equity, Diversity, and InclusionEmployee Resource Group- Participated in several Employee Resource Groups: COVID-19 Office Reopening Committee, FormerFood Bankers ERG, Pride + Progress

- Managed Google SNAP initiative and hotline. Coordinated coverage between staff and volunteers- Collaborated internally on the Advocacy team. Stayed up to date on all related government policy updates and acted as liaison between Advocacy & SNAP teams- Selected as a SNAP Capacity Advisor from May 2019-February 2020. Advised Food Banks on their SNAP programs and acted as a leader for the SNAP Capacity Institute- Represented Northern Illinois Food Bank on Feeding America grants and collaborated internally to meet objectives—Equitable Access Grant, Facebook Ads Grant, and Google SNAP- Managed SNAP volunteer program. Trained, coordinated, and supported SNAP volunteers daily- Collaborated externally on Community Quality Councils with the Illinois Hunger Coalition and IDHS, and SNAP Advocates calls with several other organizations in Illinois

Greater Chicago Area

- Strong functional knowledge of the SNAP process: pre-screened clients, determined eligibility, assisted them in completing SNAP applications, and connected them with other resources- Managed SNAP volunteer program: trained, coordinated, and supported SNAP volunteers daily- Managed Google SNAP initiative and our hotline: coordinated coverage between staff and volunteers- Bilingual in English & Spanish: used Spanish to assist clients and translate public-facing documents- Collaborated internally on the Advocacy team: stayed up to date on all related government policy updates and changes and informed team members- Attended the Anti-Hunger Policy Conference for two years and spoke with elected officials about the importance of protecting SNAP- Collaborated externally on the SNAP Capacity Institute, Community Quality Councils with the Illinois Hunger Coalition and IDHS, and SNAP Advocates calls with several other organizations in Illinois- Moderated a panel at the Illinois Hunger Summit, hosted a session on SNAP at internal A.C.E. Conference

Greater Chicago Area

- Primarily worked with two federal child nutrition programs: Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP)- Quickly learned program and eligibility requirements for the federal child nutrition programs, then used program requirements to ensure compliance of CACFP site partners before beginning programs, while on monitor visits, and throughout the year. - Coordinated the monitor schedule for all 500 site visits (split between 4 individuals) during the school year. - Accurately inputted all 160 sites’ information into the Illinois State Board of Education’s database. - Conducted monitor visits to ensure sites’ compliance, discussed successes and violations with site partners, and returned for follow-up visits when violations were found. - Conducted outreach to find new, potential site partners. - Translated over 100 pages of materials into Spanish. - Collaborated with team to find ways to provide more healthy meals for children in need.- Participated in The Ideal Team Player book club and other training opportunities provided by the Food Bank.

Greater Chicago Area

- Served as an Americorps VISTA from August 2015-August 2016.- Managed the Skills-Based Volunteer program; connected volunteers with projects in various departments based on their abilities and interests.- Managed VolunTeens, a program for high school students. Provided leadership opportunities by turning them into volunteer supervisors; coordinated training sessions on topics including public speaking, interviewing, personality type, and team-building.- Delivered volunteer orientations, including information about the Northern Illinois Food Bank and safety guidelines, to groups of up to 200 people.- Other volunteer coordinator duties, including recruiting, scheduling, and helping volunteers sign in for their shifts.

Dubuque, Ia

Worked in the call center to become a personal contact for prospective students; helped students fill out college applications.

Dubuque, Ia

Gave tours of the college to prospective students and families; hosted overnights for seniors.

Dubuque, Ia

Recruited a new record of participants (383); acted as the dancer relations representative; thought of incentives and other ways to encourage participants to fundraise throughout the year; attended the Dance Marathon Leadership Conference in the summer of 2014.

Master Of Arts - Ma, Women'S Studies & Gender Studies

Part time student in the Women’s Studies & Gender Studies Masters Program. Thesis completed with distinction, titled Looking for Love.

Bachelor Of Arts Degree, Spanish & Sociology, 3.59/4.0 Scale

Activities and Societies: Americorps, Duhawk Dance Marathon, Honors Program, co-founder of DuHealth Committee, Spanish Club, Loras.

High School Degree, 92.8

Graduated First Honors