Blog

NRAEF Promotes Rob Gifford To Foundations Presidency

WASHINGTON, DC - Rob Gifford has been named president of the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation. NRAEF is NRA's philanthropic foundation, dedicated to enhancing the industry's training, education, career opportunity and community engagement programs. Gifford had been executive vice-president. NRA president and chief executive Dawn Sweeney remains chief executive of the Foundation. "Rob's passion and dedication for cultivating the next generation of restaurant leaders is unparalleled," ...

June 24, 2019 by Tim Sanford

WASHINGTON, DC - Rob Gifford has been named president of the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation. NRAEF is NRA's philanthropic foundation, dedicated to enhancing the industry's training, education, career opportunity and community engagement programs. Gifford had been executive vice-president. NRA president and chief executive Dawn Sweeney remains chief executive of the Foundation.

"Rob's passion and dedication for cultivating the next generation of restaurant leaders is unparalleled," Sweeney said. "This promotion reflects Rob's commitment to excellence and his contributions to the ongoing success of the industry."

During Gifford's tenure at the Foundation, its ProStart high school culinary and restaurant management program has grown by more than 50%, currently reaching 150,000 students across the country each year. The Foundation also has introduced a growing array of new programs to attract, empower and advance the industry's workforce. These include Restaurant Ready, a work readiness training program offered to youth and ex-offenders in cities throughout the nation; and the Hospitality Sector Registered Apprenticeship program run in partnership with a partnership with the American Hotel & Lodging Association, which provides existing industry employees with apprenticeships to become certified restaurant or lodging managers.

The Foundation also has developed training partnerships with all branches of the U.S. armed forces, and annually offers hundreds of scholarships and grants to students, employees and educators.

About Tim Sanford

---

Tim Sanford is the retired, long-time editor of Vending Times.

Connect with Tim: