School Nutrition Managers Honored for Dedication

The dedication, ingenuity and compassion shown by cafeteria managers is being celebrated this week, honoring a sampling of professionals who have excelled in providing high-quality, nutritious meals to students throughout the school year.

In advance of School Lunch Hero Day, celebrated each year on the first Friday in May, the School Nutrition Association (SNA) is spotlighting regional honorees of the Manager of the Year awards. Congratulations!

Kirstine Sonner, Food Service Manager at Polk Elementary in Ogden School District, Utah: Southwest Region Manager of the Year

Kirstine Sonner’s cheerful personality creates an atmosphere of belonging in the cafeteria; she greets each student by name and with a smile. She is enthusiastic about opportunities for students to engage in special activities and she advocates for nutritious choices for students. Sonner goes above and beyond to support her school and the community. She attends back to school events to help students learn about school meals and feel comfortable in the cafeteria and to support families filling out meal application forms.  

Sonner’s is known as an extremely hard worker and a mentor. She leads the district’s manager internship program to assist aspiring foodservice managers. A team player, Sonner is always willing to cooperate with district policy and procedures while never hesitating to be a voice in problem solving. She ensures staff have the time and understanding they need to perform essential district and state training, and she empowers them with the tools and autonomy to effectively do their job.

A proponent of professional development for herself and for nutrition program staff, Sonner is active with SNA and served as president of the local chapter. She encourages staff to achieve and maintain SNA certificates, helping to track their training codes so they can advance in levels. Sonner regularly attends local, state and national SNA events and shares information gained with her staff.  

Tina Roberson, Nutrition Services Supervisor at Bakersfield High School in the Kern High School District (KHSD), California: Western Region Manager of the Year

Tina Roberson has dedicated more than two decades to school nutrition and is known for maximizing organization, safety and efficiency while managing staff members to serve 3,000+ meals daily. She demonstrates exceptional leadership and sets high expectations, modeling positive customer service and cultivating a culture where every student is greeted warmly and every meal is served with care. Roberson organizes student engagement events, including taste tests of new menu items. Her efforts have increased meal participation as well as student enthusiasm about healthy choices, fostering stronger connections between the cafeteria and classroom to reinforce the importance of nutrition as part of the educational experience.

During the first year of KHSD’s rural summer feeding program, Roberson successfully coordinated outreach with community partners, designing flyers to promote the program to families across the region. She helped distribute meals in extreme summer heat that often exceeded 110 degrees, serving 516,000 meals over a five-week period. Her efforts ensured that families were aware of the resources and helped establish the program as a trusted community lifeline. 

Roberson regularly meets with staff to coach them on time management, safety procedures and leadership readiness, creating a strong pipeline of future leaders and contributing to higher staff morale. The customer service training program she developed is now used districtwide, delivered to more than 100 employees annually. By equipping staff with both technical and interpersonal skills, Roberson’s program has helped strengthen retention and elevated the cafeteria experience for students. 

Roberson regularly attends state SNA conferences and shares membership drive and scholarship opportunities, leading to staff signups and an increase in local chapter activity. Her involvement with SNA has strengthened collaboration with peers and demonstrated the importance of professional engagement and the value of networking. Roberson maximizes her SNA experiences, often contributing ideas at conferences while bringing useful information back to her staff.

Shaina Whitehead, Cafeteria Manager at East Central Lower Elementary in Jackson County School District, Mississippi: Southeast Region Manager of the Year

Shaina Whitehead prioritizes student comfort and ease of access to nutritious school meals. She transformed the cafeteria to better serve students, improving the dining experience by securing new cafeteria tables to create a modern, inviting space and improve accessibility and aesthetics. Recognizing that many students don’t arrive in time for school breakfast, Whitehead championed and implemented a Second Chance Breakfast program, removing barriers to food security by serving students after first period. 

Whitehead serves as a bridge between the school meal program and the community, often working beyond traditional school hours. She coordinates large-scale special events for parents and community members to successfully integrate the foodservice program into the broader school culture while building a positive reputation for the department.

She significantly expanded the program’s footprint by managing a non-congregate rural summer feeding initiative and recruiting community organizations to volunteer. Whitehead has also integrated school nutrition into community athletics, organizing pre-game meals for sports teams. Her proactive marketing on the district’s social media platforms has increased transparency with parents and boosted the program’s public profile with her creative and engaging digital content.

Whitehead’s involvement with SNA illustrates her commitment to personal and staff professional growth. She uses SNA’s digital and print resources to stay current on industry trends and shares information gained from local conferences with staff to ensure they benefit from the association’s research and best practices. Whitehead actively promotes the benefits of SNA membership during staff meetings as she strives for constant improvement. 

Diana Barabani, Cook Manager at Bowie Elementary in Chicopee Public Schools, Massachusetts: Northeast Region Manager of the Year

Diana Barabani demonstrates exceptional creativity and commitment to preparing quality meals, including her vibrant and well-maintained rainbow bar featuring fresh fruits and

vegetables. She regularly introduces new scratch-prepared and innovative recipes and entices students to try these foods by displaying daily sample meal trays so they can see what’s being offered before they go through the line. Barabani’s efforts elevate the cafeteria experience, improve satisfaction and show students that school meals can be both nutritious and enjoyable.

Barabani is a champion for the program, helping to build trust and transparency while highlighting nutrition standards and scratch-cooking efforts. She promotes school meals to families and community members through newsletter updates and photos and by offering menus and taste tests at open houses and community events. Her efforts increased awareness of fresh, locally grown foods offered and the impact of the nutrition program, while building relationships between families, school staff and the nutrition program. Barabani recently advocated for and implemented a hydroponic grow tower in the cafeteria which created a hands-on learning opportunity for students.  She engages students by hosting salad-making events using produce grown in the tower. 

Her positive leadership style supports kitchen staff by modeling professionalism, teamwork, and student-focused service, helping create a welcoming cafeteria environment for all. Barabani provides ongoing on-the-job training to kitchen staff through daily coaching, reinforcing food safety, customer service and operational expectations. 

Always striving for professional growth, Barabani is actively involved with SNA and attends local chapter meetings as well as regional and national conferences. She prioritizes professional development and shares resources and best practices with her team, encouraging discussion about innovative strategies and program improvements. Her participation demonstrates commitment to continuous improvement, and she encourages staff to view SNA as a valuable pathway for learning and professional growth.

Gail Kreager, Lead Cook for Perham High School in Perham Dent School District #549, Minnesota: Midwest Region Manager of the Year

Gail Kreager turns the lunch line into a personal, welcoming experience, greeting students with genuine warmth, remembering their favorite meals and making them feel seen and valued. She maintains spotless, inviting stations and serves food that reflects pride and care in every dish. Kreager pays attention to detail, from her organized kitchen and serving lines to each visually appealing meal. Her positive energy is infectious; she elevates the entire school dining experience by creating a welcoming environment where students and staff feel appreciated and excited to eat, which supports strong meal participation.

Helping organize quarterly student advisory meetings for students to discuss menu preferences and concerns, Kreager encourages honest feedback and listens with patience and compassion to bring suggestions to the team. She also incorporates student input into menu decisions through taste tests, surveys and informal conversations to foster student ownership of menu offerings and reinforce that their voices matter. 

Through strategic marketing practices, Kreager has strengthened parent confidence and increased positive engagement with the school nutrition department. She highlights menu variety, scratch cooking efforts and compliance with federal nutrition standards through district communications to support participation growth and reinforce the professionalism of the program. She treats both staff and students with respect and genuine care.

Kreager holds SNA Level 4 Certificate in School Nutrition, viewing professional development as a shared responsibility and helping her team grow more confident and effective in their roles. She consistently participates in SNA trainings and conferences and shares new ideas, best practices and regulatory updates with the department. She encourages coworkers to join SNA with an eye toward professional growth and strengthening both individual performance and the success of the nutrition program.

Dawn Zepp, Food Service Manager for Carroll County District, Maryland: Mid-Atlantic Region Manager of the Year

Managing three school kitchens in the district, Dawn Zepp ensures that staff members are trained properly in all kitchen operations to boost confidence and empower them to learn and model correct policies and procedures. She maintains a positive attitude that resonates with school administrators, staff and students.

Valuing the importance of student input, Zepp takes time to conduct surveys with students about new menu options to gain a better understanding of their food preferences. When Zepp noticed some students who were not eligible for free meals arrived at the serving line without sufficient funds, she worked to ensure they were still able to access a balanced school meal. Her dedication was evident when she assisted in soliciting donations to establish meal charge assistance accounts at district schools. 

Zepp coordinates taste-testing, nutrition education and farm-to-school learning activities for students. To support curriculum, she held an event with local farms who supply food for school menus and enlisted students to help prepare local produce for lunch. She collaborated with the ESOL program during multicultural night to provide a Latin themed meal and hosts a Veteran’s Day lunch to honor those who have served. She also understands the importance of caring for school staff and created a themed food bar for teachers and a staff Thanksgiving meal.

Zepp has been a member of SNA for 14 years and served as co-president of her local SNA chapter, often contributing articles for the chapter’s newsletter. With a focus on professional development, she shares information gained from conferences and encourages her staff to become involved with SNA, even negotiating for pay increases for those who join.

The Manager of the Year Award is given in honor of Louise Sublette, a leader in school nutrition in her state and the national School Nutrition Association. During her 43 years in the profession, Sublette worked in many areas of food service—public schools, colleges, hospitals and elderly feeding programs. Sublette dedicated her career to honoring school nutrition professionals and ensuring those who work in school cafeterias have access to professional development opportunities, empowering them to help their school meal programs flourish.