Keynotes:
Serving Up Success: Reimagining Recruitment and Retention in Collegiate Dining
Brian Carter
Bestselling author, keynote speaker and CEO of the Brian Carter Group
In today's rapidly evolving collegiate food service landscape, attracting and keeping top talent is more challenging—and crucial—than ever. This engaging, humor-infused keynote will dive into innovative strategies to overcome staffing hurdles, adapt to change, and leverage technology to create a thriving work environment that appeals to all generations.
Through stories, real-world examples, and a generous portion of laughter, attendees will gain practical insights on:
• Talent Acquisition Alchemy: Transform your recruitment approach to attract qualified candidates in a competitive market.
• Change Management Cuisine: Develop a taste for change and learn techniques to overcome resistance.
• The Retention Recipe for Success: Hear highlights from Brian's book, "The Retention Formula" and discover the secret ingredients to reduce turnover rates and create a workplace culture that employees crave.
• Generational Gourmet: Master the art of catering to a multi-generational workforce.
• Tech-Savvy Service: A brief look at how AI and automation can revolutionize your operations, from streamlining recruitment processes to enhancing employee experiences.
Drawing from 25 years of workplace leadership and a background in professional comedy, Brian Carter serves up a delectable blend of insights, interactivity, and humor. You'll leave with a full plate of actionable takeaways to implement immediately, helping you create a workplace that not only attracts top talent but keeps them coming back for seconds.
Join us for this feast of knowledge and laughter, and discover how to turn your staffing challenges into opportunities for growth and excellence in collegiate dining!
Feeding the Future: An AI Adventure to Drive Efficiency, Satisfaction, and Growth in Campus Dining
Julie Holmes
Innovation, technology, and AI expert
Campus dining is like hosting the world’s biggest family dinner every single day—except this "family" is made up of students and team members with wildly different tastes, preferences, generations, personalities and more. If only there was some technology that could help! Well, set another at place at the table for Artificial Intelligence!
In this interactive keynote, Julie Holmes will take you on a journey to discover how this incredible technology can make your life easier—whether it’s helping your team communicate better (because let’s be honest, not everyone loves that group chat) or creating a more seamless dining experience for your students. We’ll break down real-life examples, equip you with strategies and tools, and you’ll even get hands on in this kitchen. Think of AI as your new secret ingredient to make campus dining more efficient, more inclusive, and just plain better—all while keeping the human touch that makes your team and service so special.
By the end of this session, you’ll be ready to take on the future of campus dining with confidence (and a smile). So, grab your aprons and let’s get cooking with some AI!
Sessions:
The Learning Sessions for the NACUFS 2025 Spring Conference Series will focus on delivering content in the domains aligned with the NACUFS Collegiate Dining Body of Knowledge™ .
Business Administration Domain
Sessions in this domain focus on planning, systems, and business functions required to operate, enhance, and fund a campus-valued dining program
Talent Management Domain
Sessions in this domain focus on recruitment and selection, development, and engagement of personnel (including student employees) in order to operate a successful collegiate dining operation.
Guest Experience Domain
Sessions in this domain focus on providing an exceptional collegiate dining guest experience.
Campus & Community Engagement Domain
Sessions in this domain focus on collaborative alignment with campus culture, mission, and strategies (including student engagement) as well as developing successful brand recognition through effective marketing.
Professional Intelligence Domain
Sessions in this domain focus on driving an ethical, organized environment that promotes high standards of integrity and inclusivity, effectively modeling responsible stewardship of campus resources, and leading and promoting organization initiatives and change.
Automating Impact: How AI Elevates Campus Dining Experiences
Adam Bailey
CTO/co-founder, Topanga.io
Elizabeth Riede
Executive director of campus dining, Appalachian State University
Join Adam Bailey, CTO of Topanga, and Elizabeth Riede, Executive director of campus dining at Appalachian State University, as they explore the transformative role of AI in collegiate dining. This session will dive into practical applications of AI that enhance operational efficiency, reduce labor friction, streamline food production, and boost sustainability. Through real-world examples, including a case study from Appalachian State, attendees will learn how AI can drive meaningful outcomes in food service. Participants will leave with actionable insights on evaluating, implementing, and maximizing AI technology to improve campus dining operations and elevate the student experience.
Beyond the Dining Hall: How Collegiate Dining Thrives Through Cross-Campus Collaboration
Jon Webster
Vice president of operations, Boston University (BU Dining)
Christopher Bee
Campus culinary director, Boston University (BU Dining)
Collegiate Dining programs can offer a more comprehensive experience for students by building relationships and partnerships with other departments on campus. By working closely with diverse groups such as academic departments, religious life, sustainability offices, and student organizations, dining services can offer tailored experiences for students that would otherwise be challenging to achieve within budgetary and operational constraints. These partnerships also create opportunities for innovation, improved student engagement, and enhanced campus-wide synergies. In this session, we will explore the benefits and results of developing strategic partnerships within the university, sharing key lessons learned and best practices for successful collaboration.
Climate, Cows, & Calories: Serving Dairy & Plant-Based Foods in Dining Halls for Planetary and Human Health
Laura Buxenbaum
Senior director of health and wellness, The Dairy Alliance
Robin White, Ph.D
Associate professor, Ruminant Nutrition & Sustainable Agriculture, School of Animal Sciences, Virginia Tech
Jeremy Moyer
5th generation dairy farmer, Oakmulgee Dairy Farm
Recent data and research show that environmental sustainability is on consumers’ minds and is making its way into purchasing and consumption decisions, particularly for Gen Z. In fact, over half of Americans have already stopped buying a product because of its negative impact on the environment and almost 2 in 3 have switched their product for a one making a positive impact. This session will examine how America’s dairy farms are not only providing nutrient-dense foods that optimize wellness but are working to take care of their animals, planet and communities.
Cook-it-yourself Recipe Boxes: From creation to communication to completion
Nelson Gonzalez
Assistant director of marketing and communication, Rutgers University Dining Services
Chef Kris Solt
Assistant director, Rutgers University Dining Services
Have you ever thought about procuring a cook-it-yourself recipe program for your students? Do you already have a system in place? In either instance, this is the session for you! Join the Rutgers University Dining Services team as they go through the process of starting their recipe program. The Rutgers Dining team will review best practices from both the culinary and communications side in order to execute a program like this in any region on any campus.
Elevating Campus Dining: Engaging and Supporting Students with Celiac Disease and Dietary Restrictions
Nicole Kessler
Founder and president, The Celiac College Guide
Ashley Leone
Co-president, The Celiac College Guide
Explore practical strategies to create inclusive, safe, and engaging dining environments that support students with celiac disease and other dietary needs. Through real-world examples from leading institutions, attendees will learn how schools have implemented effective accommodations and engaged students in building a supportive dining culture. The session will also focus on developing partnerships with student organizations, wellness programs, and other stakeholders to promote well-being and foster community engagement. Attendees will leave with actionable strategies and ideas that align dining services with broader campus goals of inclusion and wellness.
Foodservice 2.0: Opportunities and Challenges of Working with Startups to Pilot Foodservice Innovation
Pascal Kriesche, CEO and co-founder of smoodi, a healthy robotic fruit smoothie company, will moderate a panel discussion between senior directors at 3 universities with a focus on collaborating with emerging brands. Each school will talk through their experiences introducing new startups into their campus dining programs, and evaluation criteria that can be applied for similar institutions.
Niran Avni
COO, smoodi
Ginnie Dunleavy
Executive director of auxiliary services, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD)
Pascal Kriesche, CEO and Co-Founder of smoodi, a healthy robotic fruit smoothie company, will moderate a panel discussion between senior directors at 3 universities with a focus on collaborating with emerging brands. Each school will talk through their experiences introducing new startups into their campus dining programs, and evaluation criteria that can be applied for similar institutions.
From Awareness to Action: Engaging Gen Z in Campus Sustainability through Innovative Marketing
Lexie Raczka
Sustainability director, Boston University (BU Dining)
Lynn Cody
Director of marketing, Boston University (BU Dining)
Sustainability regularly ranks as a high priority for Gen Z students. Many collegiate dining programs have a variety of sustainability initiatives in place, but there is often a disconnect inhibiting effective communication of these initiatives and their impacts on students and the greater campus community. This challenge is only exacerbated by staff capacity limitations, student desires for transparency, concerns around greenwashing and greenhushing and more. Over the years, Boston University Dining Services has implemented many different strategies to market sustainability programs, learning invaluable lessons about how best to reach and engage with students without sacrificing operational bandwidth.
Leveraging Values-Based Purchasing to Support Enhanced Menus and Thriving Food Systems
Bill Green
Executive director, The Common Market Southeast
Natalie Pritchard
Residential executive chef, Aramark Collegiate Hospitality, Clemson University
Ryan Pressley
Farmer, owner and manager, Farms 2 U
Discover how colleges and universities can advance values-based purchasing while supporting diverse, equitable food systems. Join nonprofit food distributor The Common Market as it showcases partnerships that uplift local, climate-smart, and BIPOC- or woman-owned farms—and their collective impact on communities. Values-based purchasing strategies are most successful when they include intentional, consistent orders with aligned producers. Standing orders or “forward commitments” reduce risks for producers by creating reliable markets for their products, allowing them to plan ahead, make growth-oriented investments in infrastructure and production, and thrive. Through facilitated discussion with diverse partners, this panel will address how higher education institutions can offer stability, predictability, and viability for our region’s sustainable and historically underserved producers. Participants will have an opportunity to hear directly from impacted producers and university partners about the value of these partnerships. We will focus on how these institutional investments can increase the capacity of these farmers to meet wholesale demand, establish deeper connections with local food sources, create more memorable, hiqh-quality menu items, and in turn, create thriving, diverse, and resilient regional food systems.
Resilience in Service: Campus Dining’s Response to Community Crisis
Elizabeth Riede
Executive director of campus dining, Appalachian State University
In the wake of Hurricane Helene, Appalachian State Campus Dining stepped up to support not only the campus by providing free meals to students, faculty, staff, and the entire surrounding community. This session explores how our dining services became a lifeline, fostering community connections across diverse backgrounds and ages. We will learn about the dedication of our staff who prioritized service in a time of personal upheaval, highlighting the transformative power of food and community during crisis. This session will inspire attendees to examine their own programs, explore their crisis management strategies, and encourage student and community engagement.
The Power of the Authentic Response: Using Reddit and Private Facebook Groups as Resources
Nelson Gonzalez
Assistant director of marketing and communication, Rutgers University Dining Services
Quality, authentic feedback from students (and parents) can be difficult to obtain. Sometimes you have to go where your audience is most comfortable. In this session, we will dive deep into uncharted territory, such as Reddit and private Facebook groups, to uncover the plethora of quantitative and qualitative resources available at your fingertips. Attendees will walk away with new methods of acquiring feedback about their dining operations!
Solution Exchange
Many challenges in collegiate dining don’t have an easy answer—but you don’t have to tackle them alone. Solution Exchange is a structured, problem-solving session designed for professionals to confront real, pressing issues together. Prior to the event, attendees submit challenges they face, which are then curated into focused discussion topics. During the session, facilitated small-group conversations will explore unconventional strategies and share expertise, offering a brief but valuable personal consulting experience with peers who understand your challenges. Walk away with crowd-sourced solutions and fresh insights tailored to your specific needs.
Roundtables
Roundtables provide a dynamic, interactive space for collegiate dining professionals to share experiences, discuss trends, and exchange best practices in an open, peer-led format. These sessions encourage collaborative conversations on key topics, allowing participants to gain new perspectives, innovative ideas, and practical takeaways to enhance their dining programs. Roundtables create an opportunity for meaningful discussions and valuable networking in an engaging and supportive setting.