LINQ'D UP: Connecting professionals across school districts LINQ'D UP

Reginold Ross is one of those rare natural leaders who confidently leads by example. As the former President of SNA and  Operations Consultant at North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, he has the innate capacity to effectively manage and lead groups of people to achieve collective goals. Marlon and Nisha met up with Reggie at the National Leadership Conference in West Palm Beach, FL to discuss his tenure during a pandemic as President of School Nutrition Association, serving with purpose, and tips for future leaders.

In this episode of Kickin' It, Nisha and Marlon discuss Marlon's obsession with Kevin Hart, Fabletics, and most importantly having a purpose that fuels you to be the best version of yourself so you can be the best version of yourself for others.

In this episode you'll get a chance to listen in on one of Nisha and Marlon's random conversations where they reflect on life as young professionals and leaders in their organizations and communities. On today's podcast, they do a little self-reflection and talk about the challenges around hiring the right people and inspiring others. This isn't your typical LINQ'D UP episode, this is a Bollywood - Hollywood Convo!

Often times we get excited about new plans or technology, yet never take the time to implement the essential foundation needed to make it operational. Bill Ward, FNS Systems Support Specialist for Hernando County School District, ensures the workflows and technology for the Food and Nutrition staff is optimized-- so they can focus on feeding their students with love. Marlon and Nisha learn more about the importance of his unique role, the amount of logistics behind one school lunch, and need to involve our communities.

Preparing and serving meals at schools involves some serious up-front planning. Amy Faricy, RD, SNS is no stranger to developing nutritious menus that are student tested and approved. As the Manager of Menu Services for Douglas County School District, she ensures a variety of healthy, nutritious, tasty meal options that the students-- and Marlon-- look forward to eating.

Shannon Solomon moved from Restaurant Management to Child Nutrition, and never looked back. Her strong business acumen, management experience, and holistic understanding of the moving parts necessary to make an operation succeed was exactly what Aurora County Public Schools needed. But these skills were just the beginning. Shannon teaches us what it means to be an empathic leader, giving back to those who serve our children every day. Listen to Shannon's story here.