The CEO of the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank (GPCFB) has decided to return to his southern roots. After only a year as the head of the GPCFB, D. Jermaine Husser is leaving to be closer to his family in Charleston, South Carolina. He will remain in his position until the end of the summer when he hopes his replacement will be ready to take over.
"It's been a tremendous opportunity for me to work with a very generous environment and supportive staff and a great board, and we've accomplished a tremendous amount of work on behalf of those that we do serve," Husser said.
On August 1 Husser succeeded long-time leader and co-founder of the GPCFB, Joyce Rothermel, who retired. Before coming to Pittsburgh, Husser served as the Executive Director of the Lowcountry Food Bank in Charleston, South Carolina for six years.
During the past year, Husser said the GPCFB has accomplished much. "Our challenge over the past year was to try to continue to meet the growing demand of families who are out of work or have lost income, and we've seen numbers upwards to 3,500 new households coming to our doors looking for food assistance," Husser said.
Under his direction, the Food Bank exceeded its goal, distributing more than 26 million pounds of food in 11 counties. Husser also established a three-year strategic plan and doubled the amount of food distributed as part of the mobile food pantry project.
The GPCFB will assess leadership qualities among prospective replacements for Husser as part of the process to hire a new CEO sometime this summer.
