DOVER — The Delaware Restaurant Association welcomes Meghan Gardner as Director of the Delaware Restaurant Foundation.
Ms. Gardner was announced as the new Director of the Delaware …
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DOVER — The Delaware Restaurant Association welcomes Meghan Gardner as Director of the Delaware Restaurant Foundation.
Ms. Gardner was announced as the new Director of the Delaware Restaurant Foundation (formerly the Delaware Restaurant Association Educational Foundation) in late 2023, which serves as the philanthropic arm of the Delaware Restaurant Association.
Under Delaware Restaurant Foundation President and CEO Carrie Leishman’s leadership, the Delaware Restaurant Foundation remains dedicated to enhancing the industry's training and education, career opportunities, and community engagement efforts.
Ms. Gardner brings over 30 years of experience and dedication to Delaware’s hospitality industry, the previous co-owner of Blue Moon restaurant in Rehoboth Beach and most recently served as the Director of Resource Development with Children’s Beach House in Lewes.
Ms. Gardner has served as an industry mentor to local ProStart® students in statewide and national culinary and management competitions and was the founding Chairperson of the Board for the Delaware Restaurant Association Educational Foundation.
She brings a depth of industry experience and leadership to the team of the Delaware Restaurant Foundation and Delaware Restaurant Association and seeks to advance the mission by supporting career pathways for individuals of varying backgrounds and abilities.
The Delaware Restaurant Foundation, and Ms. Gardner as new director, manage the ProStart® high school program curriculum, which was grown in reach to include 24 schools and two correctional facilities (reaching 3,600+ students across the state), restaurant industry apprenticeship programs in Delaware that have been expanded to include young adults, re-entry and justice-involved individuals, and specialized training/employment opportunities pathways that have been implemented for adults with disabilities.
State agency partnership with the Foundation for the “Forward Delaware” training initiative has resulted in DRF free training distributed to over 10,000 industry workers since the program’s inception in 2021. The Delaware Restaurant Foundation also launched an industry support campaign during the pandemic, serving the impacted restaurant workforce with over $250,000 in financial relief. The fund has been transitioned into the Delaware Restaurant Foundation Industry Relief Fund and will continue to provide financial assistance to industry workers facing unexpected hardships, illness or emergencies.
