The Nashville Food Project, Inc.
Executive Director
| Executive Director | Dr. C. J. Sentell |
|---|---|
| cj@thenashvillefoodproject.org | |
| Term Start | July 2021 |
| C. J.'s Experience: Dr. C.J. Sentell is the CEO of The Nashville Food Project. Prior to joining the Food Project, C.J. was the Executive Director of the Forge Fund, a community development financial institution (CDFI) dedicated to helping underserved farmers and rural entrepreneurs. Before that he served as the curriculum director for Brightwater: A Center for the Study of Food - the first culinary school in the U.S. based on a full food systems approach to culinary education - and was the founding operations manager for the Grass Roots Farmers' Cooperative, a social enterprise of Heifer International. An alumnus of Hendrix College, C.J. holds a master's degree from the University of Cambridge and a doctorate of philosophy from Vanderbilt. In 2009, he began a farm in Joelton as the experimental apparatus to his dissertation examining the relationships between freedom and food, slavery and agriculture. Originally from Shreveport, Louisiana, C.J. has lived off-and-on in Nashville for more than 20 years, and currently lives with his wife and three children in Bellevue. When he's not working to build a just food system for all Nashvillians, C.J. enjoys gardening, poetry, and long walks in the woods with his family. | |
Senior Staff
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Christa Bentley | Interim Chief Programs Officer |
| Teri Sloan | Development Director |
Staff
| Full Time Staff | 29 |
|---|---|
| Part Time Staff | 0 |
| Volunteers | 2,315 |
| Contractors | 2 |
| Retention Rate | 77% |
Plans & Policies
| Does your organization have a Fundraising Plan? | Yes |
|---|---|
| Does your organization have a Strategic Plan? | Yes |
| Years Strategic Plan Considers | 3 |
| When was the Strategic Plan adopted? | January 2023 |
| Does your organization have a Management Succession Plan? | No |
| Does your organization have a Policy and Procedure Plan? | Yes |
| Does the organization have a Nondiscrimination Policy? | Yes |
| Does the organization have a Whistle Blower Policy? | Yes |
| Does the organization have a Document Destruction Policy? | Yes |
Evaluation
| Is there a formal evaluation for... | Frequency (if applicable) | |
|---|---|---|
| CEO/Executive Director | Yes | Annually |
| Senior Management | Yes | Annually |
| Non-Management | Yes | Annually |
Affiliations
| Affiliation | Year |
|---|---|
| Center for Nonprofit Management (Nashville) | 2019 |
Awards
| Award / Recognition | Organization | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Compassionate Care | Center for Nonprofit Management Salute to Excellence: Healing Trust | 2018 |
| Excellence in Revenue Development | Center for Nonprofit Management Salute to Excellence: Frist Foundation | 2017 |
| Excellence in Sustainable Practices | Center for Nonprofit Management Salute to Excellence: Piedmont Natural Gas | 2014 |
| Governor's Environmental Stewardship Award in Organics Management | Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation | 2017 |
