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. In addition to working as a full-time kitchen manager and chef for MCK, he is also a fulltime kitchen manager and chef at one of the largest emergency houseless shelters in Oregon. Ask him about his former jobs and Netflix :-) He calls Portland his adopted home.
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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.
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Volunteer Grant Writer & Administration
Meridith Greer
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.
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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.
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Kitchen Assistant
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.
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!