Oregon Food Bank welcomes Chi Nguyen as Interim Deputy CEO

Former APANO Executive Director will succeed longtime anti-hunger leader Leslie Sampson, who retires in December 

Oregon Food Bank is delighted to announce that Chi K. Nguyen will serve as the organization’s Interim Deputy Chief Executive Officer. Nguyen will take on the new role beginning November 2, in preparation for the retirement of 15-year Oregon Food Bank veteran Leslie Sampson. 

A mission-driven leader and the former Executive Director of Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO), Nguyen brings significant leadership experience from her work with APANO and as the founder of two small businesses. Nguyen has long been active in local and state government and policy, serving on the Governor’s Racial Justice Council and the Salem Area Mass Transit District Board. She has also represented King City, Oregon as a City Councilor.

“We are so honored to welcome Chi Nguyen to the Oregon Food Bank team — and couldn’t be more excited about the combination of professional leadership and lived experience she brings to our efforts to emerge stronger from the crises our communities face,” shared CEO Susannah Morgan. “We are also saddened and overjoyed for Leslie Sampson to embark on her next chapter. The Oregon Food Bank community is incredibly grateful for her many years of dedication and accomplishment. We will continue to build upon the strong foundation she helped to create, pushing forward to end hunger for good.”

In addition to her leadership in the business, government and non-profit sectors, Nguyen brings important lived experience and perspective to the Oregon Food Bank leadership team — as an immigrant, an Asian-American and a multilingual speaker fluent in English, Vietnamese and French. She will play an integral role in advancing Oregon Food Bank’s mission to end hunger and its root causes.

Nguyen will serve through June 30, 2021 and will report to CEO Susannah Morgan. Her duties will include leading strategic implementation at Oregon Food Bank and overseeing two of OFB’s departments, Operations and Partnerships and Programs.