Regi Young, incoming Executive Director of the Alameda County Community Food Bank

Regi Young(he/his/him)Executive Director

Regi Young joined Alameda County Community Food Bank as Executive Director in September 2021 and has been in food banking for over a decade. Regi began his career as a community organizer working to bring technology and economic resources to neighborhoods in Houston, TX. He later was 1 of 6 people selected to participate in Feeding America’s inaugural Child Hunger Corps program, where he partnered with staff at Houston Food Bank to assess and develop their hunger-relief programs. Upon completion of his service term, Regi joined the staff of Houston Food Bank and served in multiple capacities prior to being named Chief Strategy Officer.

As Chief Strategy Officer, Regi led five functional food bank areas, including many programs and the Food Bank’s 120,000 sq. ft. North Branch warehouse operation. He directed strategic community partnerships with a network of 1,500 organizations to provide the equivalent of 207 million meals across 18 counties, annually. He also supervised much of Houston Food Bank’s disaster preparedness and response efforts, for which the organization was recognized as a national leader. Regi oversaw the organizations diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. He also spent much of his tenure leading the organization’s critical Food for Change strategy to study the outcomes of hunger-relief efforts on health and economic opportunity. Under Regi’s strategic leadership, Houston Food Bank increasingly leveraged data to investigate gaps and ensure the equitable access of food and other resources.

Regi is an advisory council member of the Root Cause Coalition and has previously served on the boards of the Center for Urban Transformation, Urban Harvest, and the advisory board of the City of Houston Mayor’s Office of Adult Literacy. He was also a founding member of the Houston Food System Collaborative, a group of individuals and organizations that facilitates the growth and accessibility of a sustainable local food system.

Regi attended Millsaps College in Jackson, MS where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, as well as the University of Houston-Clear Lake where he received a Master of Arts in Cross-Cultural Studies. He is interested in the impact design can have in addressing social problems and is currently pursuing a doctorate in Organizational Leadership from Northeastern University. Regi lives in Oakland and enjoys exploring the East Bay food scene with family and friends.