Staff

Our small but mighty team

River City Food Bank is a grass-roots community effort, but these professionals make sure that our program is run with integrity and efficiency.

Amanda McCarthy, Executive Director

 With a passion to build healthy communities, Amanda began her professional career working for a food bank in Seattle, Washington. What started as a position in program management, quickly grew into a lifelong passion for hunger relief and social justice. Amanda has experience developing programs, leading operations, and building collaborative relationships to increase awareness and achieve goals for food banks and nonprofit organizations. Committed to alleviating hunger in Sacramento County, she will work to advance River City Food Bank’s mission through continued focus on providing emergency food and resources for families and individuals needing assistance.

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Paula Jenkins, Operations Administrator

Paula started with River City Food Bank in 2010 shortly after the fire destroyed our location on 27th Street.  She started as an Administrative Assistant and has moved into the position of our Operations Administrator, providing support to the operations of our Midtown location. In addition, she oversees the financial and personnel responsibilities of both locations of our food bank. She is frequently referred to as our “Computer Whisperer” and is the go-to person for troubleshooting equipment issues, building maintenance and ordering office supplies. Paula believes that everyone brings something unique to the table and values helping others. She believes in the core values that are practiced by River City Food Bank staff and volunteers…Dignity, Understanding, Mutual Respect, Health and the ability to receive nutritious food as a basic human need… Because no one should be hungry.

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Jena Robinson, Program and Operations Manager

Jena Robinson came to River City Food Bank through the Lutheran Episcopal Volunteer Network (LEVN). Since graduating from Auburn University in 2009, she has worked for numerous non-profits fulfilling her passion to help marginalized people. Her passion for food justice started as a little seed in an urban garden in Nashville, TN and has grown to managing food programs, volunteers, food drives and more at River City Food Bank.

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Denver Symister, Program Coordinator

Denver Symister is the Program and Operations Assistant at River City Food Bank. He has been with the organization since 2015, and is committed to helping RCFB become more successful in its endeavors to provide more compassionate and dignified assistance to people in need. Originally from the United Kingdom, he now resides in Sacramento, California.

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Fred Gorsira, Program Coordinator

Fred found his way to River City Food Bank after years of living in the Bay Area and running his own business in the legal field. His passion is to help those less fortunate, and he feels privileged to work alongside staff who give so much to making a difference in so many lives. “It feels good to be of service to our community.” Outside of work, his focus is to raise his daughter with the same sense of compassion and giving back.

Thomas Pearson, Operations Coordinator

Thomas Pearson is originally from Paterson, New Jersey and has worked for non-profits for over 20 years. He is passionate about helping people in any and all ways possible. Thomas also enjoys golfing, writing and working out. He spends his spare time with family and friends. One day he wishes to establish two separate businesses, one profit and one non-profit. In the meantime, RCFB is a great company to work with.

Donnie Salgado, Truck Driver

Donnie Salgado is originally from Salinas, CA. He came to RCFB from Goodwill, a partner of River City Food Bank. Donnie enjoys the physical aspects of his position as well as driving. In his spare time Donnie likes to work out and play sports.

Amy Dierlam, CalFresh Outreach Program Director

Amy has strong roots in social service, a background that helps her to be especially sensitive and helpful to people needing CalFresh assistance. Before coming to Sacramento, she was a social worker for a foster care agency in Butte County, and then transitioned to work for the Episcopal Diocese of Northern California, coordinating youth and young adult ministry. Amy volunteered at the River City Food Bank intake desk for a year before accepting the CalFresh outreach assistant position in the summer of 2011.

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Yee Her, CalFresh Outreach

Yee Her started working with River City Food Bank as a CalFresh Outreach Intern in October 2018 and then accepted a part time position in the CalFresh Dept. She is currently a student at California State University, Sacramento majoring in Family and Consumer Sciences with a concentration of Family Studies, and minoring in both Business Administration and Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Administration. Yee has a strong customer service background, along with a passion for assisting and informing the community about existing resources for the diverse, underserved communities. She also has experience working for nonprofit organizations through volunteering work and coordinating events. Yee finds satisfaction knowing that she is making a difference in someone’s life by providing them with resources that he or she may not know that it exists. Her bilingual and bicultural skills in Hmong bring a tremendous impact on outreach to this population.

Margaret Caridi, CalFresh Outreach Assistant

Margaret has a passion for helping people. Prior to employment with River City Food Bank, she worked as an organizer for unions, helping raise the minimum wage for low income workers.  She enjoys helping motivate people to strive for a better quality of life and helping people apply for and receive food benefits through CalFresh. Margaret enjoys helping to provide fresh, healthy food to residents of Sacramento. Her bi-lingual and bi-cultural skills assist with outreach to the Hispanic Community.