OUR TEAM

Kate Howe

Managing Director

Kate Howe joined the Indy Hunger Network as Managing Director in 2016. Kate has a B.A. in Biology from Macalester College, an M.S. in Ecology from the University of Minnesota, and a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Washington. Before joining the Indy Hunger Network, Kate spent ten years with the Midwest Invasive Plant Network, another collective impact organization that was housed by The Nature Conservancy and Purdue University. She became interested in food insecurity through serving as a volunteer and board member for the Mid-North Food Pantry. After seeing the challenges of poverty and food insecurity up close, she became passionate about working to improve the hunger relief system for people in need of food assistance.

Martha Malinski

VISTA Coordinator

Martha Malinski is the VISTA Coordinator. Martha has a B.A. in Individualized Studies, Peace and Social Justice from Gustavus Adolphus College, and M.A. in Education from Goddard College. In 2015, she moved to Indianapolis and became involved in addressing food insecurity in her own neighborhood by volunteering weekly in a food pantry, growing food in a community garden, and engaging in efforts to ensure all have access to healthy and nutritious food. Martha brings over twenty years of experience working in higher education at various universities managing civic engagement and internship programs. Martha coordinates the VISTA program and facilitates professional development programming for VISTA members.

Alex Sindorf

Food Assistance Programs Manager

Alex Sindorf is the Food Assistance Programs Manager for Indy Hunger Network. While studying for a B.S. in Urban Community Development in Portland, Oregon, Alex took a class on food ethics and has been involved with farming and other food-related work ever since. In her role with IHN, Alex works with the Food Pantry Network, Food Drop, and other programs.

Megan Songer

Cooking Matters Program Manager

Megan Songer is the Cooking Matters Program Manager for Indy Hunger Network. She graduated from IUPUI in 2016 with her B.S. in Public Health with an emphasis on Community Health. In her last year of college, she was a wellness intern at a camp for children from low-income families, where she realized how much Marion County struggles with food insecurity. Her favorite memory was having the children try smoothies; many of the children had never tried the fresh fruits and asked for more. That experience led her to join the Indy Hunger Network in April 2017 as an AmeriCorps VISTA for the Cooking Matters program, and she now oversees that program as a full-time staff member. Megan enjoys teaching others the importance of cooking a healthy, nutritious meal on a budget.

Kate Howe

Managing Director

Kate Howe joined the Indy Hunger Network as Managing Director in 2016. Kate has a B.A. in Biology from Macalester College, an M.S. in Ecology from the University of Minnesota and a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Washington. Before joining the Indy Hunger Network, Kate spent ten years with the Midwest Invasive Plant Network, another collective impact organization that was housed by The Nature Conservancy and Purdue University. She became interested in food insecurity through serving as a volunteer and board member for the Mid-North Food Pantry. After seeing the challenges of poverty and food insecurity up close, she became passionate about working to improve the hunger relief system for people in need of food assistance.

Martha Malinski

VISTA Coordinator

Martha Malinski is the VISTA Coordinator. Martha has a B.A. in Individualized Studies, Peace and Social Justice from Gustavus Adolphus College, and M.A. in Education from Goddard College. In 2015, she moved to Indianapolis and became involved in addressing food insecurity in her own neighborhood by volunteering weekly in a food pantry, growing food in a community garden, and engaging in efforts to ensure all have access to healthy and nutritious food. Martha brings over twenty years of experience working in higher education at various universities managing civic engagement and internship programs. Martha coordinates the VISTA program and facilitates professional development programming for VISTA members.

Alex Sindorf

Food Assistance Programs Manager

Alex Sindorf is the Food Assistance Programs Manager for Indy Hunger Network. While studying for a B.S. in Urban Community Development in Portland, Oregon, Alex took a class on food ethics and has been involved with farming and other food-related work ever since. In her role with IHN, Alex works with the Food Pantry Network, Food Drop, and other programs.

Megan Songer

Cooking Matters Program Manager

Megan Songer is the Cooking Matters Program Manager for Indy Hunger Network. She graduated from IUPUI in 2016 with her B.S. in Public Health with an emphasis on Community Health. In her last year of college, she was a wellness intern at a camp for children from low-income families, where she realized how much Marion County struggles with food insecurity. Her favorite memory was having the children try smoothies; many of the children had never tried the fresh fruits and asked for more. That experience led her to join the Indy Hunger Network in April 2017 as an AmeriCorps VISTA for the Cooking Matters program, and she now oversees that program as a full-time staff member. Megan enjoys teaching others the importance of cooking a healthy, nutritious meal on a budget.

VISTA TEAM MEMBERS

Every year, Indy Hunger Network sponsors AmeriCorps VISTAs to join us in working to fight hunger and poverty in the Greater Indianapolis area.

Claire Crosby

Claire Crosby is the Nutrition Promotion Coordinator VISTA for the Indy Hunger Network. Claire was born and raised in south Louisiana and received her undergraduate degree from the University of Kentucky in human nutrition. After studying abroad in Ghana, West Africa, Claire became interested in the connection between nutrition and other social and economic conditions as drivers to health. She took her newfound perspective of nutrition and health and decided to work directly with the University of Kentucky students to improve food access on campus. Claire volunteered her time with Campus Kitchen to process and cook nutritious meals for students, and implemented a meal swipe bank for students to receive meals when struggling to meet basic needs. Claire is excited to work at Indy Hunger Network to gain professional experience and work with organizations that address solutions to overcoming food insecurities in communities. After her year with Indy Hunger Network, Claire hopes to start an MD program to blend the roles of providing excellent care and improving aspects of communities that affect health.

Hannah Hurt

Hannah Hurt is Indy Hunger Network’s Community Outreach VISTA. Hannah is from Nashville, Tennessee. She is a recent graduate of Butler University where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies. At Butler, Hannah participated in research that explored the intersections of place, civics, and environmental sustainability through urban agriculture in Indianapolis. Her undergraduate work allowed her to work with many urban farms and gain a passion for food security. Hannah is thankful for such an opportunity to continue her work locally and to pursue her passions further. After her year of service, Hannah hopes to continue her work in nonprofit programming to address hunger and food security.

Rebecca Olson

Rebecca Olson is the Senior Health and Wellness Coordinator VISTA at CICOA Aging & In-Home Solutions through Indy Hunger Network. Originally from Crystal Lake, Illinois, a northwest suburb of Chicago, Rebecca graduated from the University of Evansville with a degree in Sociology, and Ethics & Social Change. She finds passion in working with older adults and in the non-profit sector, and hopes to gain experience in program development and volunteer management. After her year as an AmeriCorps VISTA, she plans to continue her education by pursuing a Master of Public Affairs with a concentration in Nonprofit Management. In her free time, she loves to travel, read, and draw!

Skylar Rueff

Skylar Rueff is the Indy Food Council Program Officer. She is from Louisville, Kentucky; however, she graduated from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida in 2020 with a Bachelor degree in Anthropology and with two minors in Spanish and Latin American and Caribbean Studies. In her last year of college, she was involved in community engagement classes, which gave her the opportunity to work with nonprofit organizations in the Orlando area. She worked with immigrants and refugees to help them gain citizenship in the United States. During her time working with these nonprofits she realized that she has a passion for giving back to her community. After her year with the Indy Food Council, she plans on attending graduate school for a Masters in Migration Studies or International Development, and will be striving to make an impact on a larger scale one day by working for the United Nations.

Kathryn Slomski

Kathryn Slomski is the Food Pantry Coordinator VISTA for Westminster Neighborhood Services through Indy Hunger Network. Originally from Wilmington, Delaware, Kathryn spent the past three years in Montreal, Quebec studying at McGill University. She graduated in 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts in International Development Studies, French, and Hispanic Studies. Kathryn’s interest in food security developed throughout university while she served as a coordinator for a lunch kitchen at a local community center and was a part of a sustainability club on campus. She is excited to help improve food sovereignty and food security in Indianapolis by working to increase community members’ access to healthy, local foods and nutrition education as a VISTA member. After her year of service with the Indy Hunger Network, Kathryn hopes to either continue working with community-oriented food security organizations or go into environmental policy to help make the agricultural sector and food distribution chain more sustainable. In her free time, Kathryn enjoys spending time outside, trying out new cafes around town, and baking.

Katherine Starr

Katherine Starr is the Nutrition and Dementia Services Coordinator at CICOA Aging & In-Home Solutions through Indy Hunger Network. Katherine is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She attended Washington & Jefferson College where she majored in economics and minored in psychology. She also obtained a Dementia Care Certification through California University of Pennsylvania and Presbyterian Senior Care. She is excited to serve in this position because it combines her two passions of reducing the stigma around aging and combating poverty. Throughout college, she volunteered at a dementia care facility, and this experience gave her a passion for increasing the quality of life for the geriatric population. Katherine loves research, so she is excited to learn more about the relationship between nutrition and wellness, as well as learn more about food insecurity and other poverty-related issues. After serving with AmeriCorps, she ultimately hopes to pursue either a higher degree in economics or law. In her free time, she enjoys theatre and being outside.

IHN VISTA ALUMNI

Indy Hunger Network has sponsored over 20 AmeriCorps VISTA members. We are always excited to see our former members enter graduate school, find a new job, or reinvent their careers. Here’s a sampling of where our VISTA members have landed!

Maura Broderson
Second Helpings, 2017-2018
Creative Marketing Specialist,
WFYI Public Media

Azaria Brown
Westminster Neighborhood Services, 2019-2020
Volunteer and Community Engagement Coordinator, Westminster Neighborhood Services

Stasy César
CICOA, 2017-2018
Community Health Worker Screener,
Marion County Public Health Department

Mackenzie Dafferner
CICOA, 2017-2018
Graduate student at Loyola University:
Public Health

Baili Gall
Indy Hunger Network, 2017-2018
Graduate student at the University of Alabama: Biocultural Medical Anthropology

Adaline Heitz
Indy Hunger Network, 2019-2020
Medical Student, Indiana University School of Medicine

Lisa Joseph
Indy Hunger Network, 2019-2020
Graduate student at American University: Health Promotion Management

Caleb Kulinski
Indy Hunger Network, 2018-2019
Assistant Director, McFarland Youth Center
Graduate student at University of Wisconsin-Madison: International Public Affairs

Joel Landis
City of Indianapolis, 2018-2019
Project Development Analyst,
City of Indianapolis: Department of Business & Neighborhood Services

Kristen Osborne
Connect2Help, 2018-2019
Resource Database Specialist,
Connect2Help

Grace Powers
CICOA, 2019-2020
Thrive to 5 Coordinator, Community Development for All People

Abby Rolland
Second Helpings, 2016-2017
Communications Project Manager,
Indiana University School of Philanthropy
Graduate student at IU: Philanthropic Studies & Nonprofit Management

Robyn Rowe
CICOA, 2019-2020
Care Manager, CICOA

Megan Songer
Indy Hunger Network, 2017-2018
Cooking Matters Program Manager,
Indy Hunger Network

Jessica Sullivan
Indy Hunger Network, 2016-2017
Senior Consulting Associate,
Kaiser Permanente