In addition to a career spanning 18 years of progressive leadership roles in collegiate dining and his recent election as 2023 chairman of the National Association of College & University Foodservices (NACUFS), Kory L. Samuels, is a devoted family man with a sincere commitment to making a positive impact in the lives of others.
His favorite quote reflects his values in both the personal and professional realms.
"There’s a wonderful, mythical law of nature,” he said, “That the three things we crave most in life – happiness, freedom, and peace of mind – are always attained when you give them to someone else."
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It was during Antarctic winters at the bottom of the world where Kerry Paterson, CEC, immediate past chairman of the NACUFS Board of Trustees, learned the importance of good food in raising team morale in adverse environments. It was a lesson that would serve him well in his eventual career as a leader in collegiate dining.
He grew up in Te Atatū North, a waterfront suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, where he first developed his culinary curiosity. He formalized that passion with culinary certifications from the Auckland University of Technology, City & Guilds of London Institute, New Zealand Hotel & Catering Industry Board, and the American Culinary Federation (ACF), culminating in the Certified Executive Chef (CEC) certification.
Inspired by a favorite poem, “If—” by Rudyard Kipling, Rahul Shrivastav, chairman-elect of the National Association of College & University Food Services (NACUFS), has made it an aim in life to “meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two impostors just the same.”
The executive director of dining & hospitality at Indiana University has met with both, practicing an awareness that it is the journey, not the destination, that matters most. A recognized leader in the hospitality industry, Shrivastav has worked at top hotels in Syndey, Australia; Orlando, Florida; Chicago, Illinois; and Ann Arbor, Michigan. He attributes his success to his focus on learning, rather than success or failure.
As the first in her extended family to leave home and study in a country where she knew no one, Sojo Alex—now serving in her first term on the National Association of College & University Food Services (NACUFS) Board of Trustees—knows about breaking barriers.
Born in Kerala, India in 1980, her family has lived in the Kingdom of Bahrain since the 1960s, which is where she moved at 3 months old. There, she attended The Indian School from kindergarten to high school, moving to Bangalore, India for just three years to earn her Bachelor of Business Management at Jyoti Nivas College in 2001. She then immigrated to the United States, receiving her master’s in integrated marketing communications at Loyola University Chicago in 2004.
After more than two decades of leadership experience in diverse sectors including the military, healthcare, and education, Douglas Frazier, executive director of dining services at George Washington University, has learned at every stage of his career that taking care of his team is the most important ingredient for success.
"In every organization I've been part of, we conduct annual satisfaction surveys for clients, customers, and employees," Frazier said. “Along the way, I’ve learned that if I take care of my people, they will take care of the clients and customers.”
“Change doesn’t happen by wishing for it.”
That is a key lesson David Annis said he has learned in a career covering more than four decades of campus foodservice leadership. A past president and current board member of the National Association of College & University Food Services (NACUFS), Annis explained that effective growth and change requires building a strong foundation first.
But you can’t do it alone, he added.
“You have to build a strong team to be successful,” Annis said. “Once there, stand back and let them go while remembering to give credit where the credit is due.”