Cargill Foundation & Corporate Affairs: Advancing Purpose Through Strategy and Partnership

At Cargill, I led a $16M philanthropic portfolio focused on global education and childhood nutrition across the U.S., Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, and Russia. As head of the Cargill Foundation, I oversaw operations, board engagement, and grantee partnerships—managing communications and strategy alignment with the board of directors and executive leadership team to ensure every investment was outcomes-driven and tied to business priorities.

I managed over 50 global and local partnerships, including Feeding America, the Executive Leadership Council, Partners in Food Solutions, International Institute of Education, Minnesota Business Partnership and Minneapolis Public Schools, to drive equity, access, and stakeholder trust. I also redesigned our partnership strategy to create stronger alignment with business objectives, resulting in more integrated cross-sector initiatives and measurable impact across regions.

As Corporate Affairs lead for North America’s food ingredient business, I embedded corporate giving, issues management, and reputation strategy into business planning to support both community and commercial goals. A signature achievement was launching the Cargill Global Scholars Program, now active in six countries and responsible for developing 600+ future leaders in business, science, tech, and agriculture through mentorship and cross-cultural exchange.