Stop Hunger Now Team

Executive Management

Ray Buchanan

Founder and International President

A native of Texas, Ray Buchanan earned a bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, a Master of Divinity from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Divinity from Shenandoah University and Conservatory. He co-founded Stop Hunger Now in 1998, following an 18-year career as the founder and co-director of the Society of St. Andrew, a Virginia based domestic food relief organization. Ray also served in the U.S. Marine Corps in Vietnam.

An ordained United Methodist minister, he is fueled by the vision of ending hunger in his lifetime and, to that end, has dedicated himself to helping those in the greatest need. Stop Hunger Now was created by Ray as an entrepreneurial model for providing rapid, cost-effective responses to international crisis situations. Ray is the recipient of numerous awards in recognition of his humanitarian effort. His awards include the University of North Carolina at Wilmington Alumnus of the Year Award, the Caring Institute National Caring Award, the National Association of Christians and Jews Humanitarian Award and the Maxwell House “Real American Hero Award,” the North Carolina International Human Rights Award, and the International Affairs Council’s Citizen of the World award.

Articles on Ray and his work have appeared in the Washington Post, the Baltimore Sun, the San Francisco Examiner, the Houston Post, the Dallas Morning News, the Arizona Republic, the Raleigh News and Observer and the Los Angeles Times. He has appeared on the NBC Nightly News, the CBS Weekend News and the 700 Club.

Rod Brooks

President & CEO

rbrooks@stophungernow.org

Rod Brooks began serving in July 2006 as CEO of Stop Hunger Now. In this capacity, he provides leadership and direction toward the achievement of the organization’s mission to end world hunger, focusing on service programs, fundraising, financial and administrative management. Rod has spent nearly twenty years working in the non-profit sector. Prior to directing Stop Hunger Now, Rod worked for sixteen years creating Exploris (now titled Marbles Kid’s Museum), an interactive museum about the world, ultimately serving as Vice President for Administration.

Rod is active in the community as a member of the Cary Rotary Club, Fairmont United Methodist Church, and NC Partners of the Americas. He has been recognized for his leadership of Kids Voting Wake County and received the James S. Bramham Humanitarian Award from NC Partners of the Americas. He received a B.A. in Economics and Spanish from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1989. He speaks Spanish fluently. Rod lives in Raleigh with his wife, Terry Jasper Brooks, and daughter, Vivian.

Bob Dixson

Chief Financial Officer

bdixson@stophungernow.org

Bob Dixson is an experienced financial executive, having served as CFO or COO for a variety of companies. Since 1998, Mr. Dixson has served as Chief Financial Officer, typically two or three days a week as interim, part-time, or for special projects, in such diverse industries as manufacturing (pharmaceuticals, enzyme-enhanced feed products, bio-filters for pharma, food products, dish detergent, Christmas decorations and gemstones), high tech (software development, wireless, product engineering), retail (home furnishings), importing and distribution (medical equipment, tobacco products and consumer durables), services (mental health clinic chain, investment bank, law firm, veterinary hospital chain, HR outsourcing), and non-profit (substance abuse treatment, hunger relief, art museum, children's museum, middle school, adoption and family services, and funding for community re-development).

He has established three, five, and 25-year plans (business plans and detailed cash forecasts), raised capital for equity and bank credit, guided mergers including due diligence, introduced financial reporting and control systems, created costing systems and product pricing models, negotiated leases and economic incentive packages, restructured 401(k), stock option and other incentive packages, and revitalized accounting departments by implementing new software, reorganizing personnel, hiring, and training.

From 1993 to 1997, Mr. Dixson was the CFO and COO of North Atlantic Trading Company (NATC), an importer and international distributor of cigarette paper and tobacco products, formed as a leveraged buyout of a $46 million product line from U.S. Tobacco, Greenwich, CT. He was instrumental in growing the company to a 15-fold increase in stockholder value by doubling EBITDA and reducing debt. He negotiated the sale of the company in May of 1997, arranging financing through a high-yield public bond and warrants offering for $199 million.

Before joining NATC, Mr. Dixson was the CFO and co-owner of Brown-Rogers-Dixson Co., a leading hardware, carpet, and major appliance distributor, where he purchased and consolidated a number of competitors, reaching $35 million in sales. The distributor was also the headquarters for an international buying group of fifty appliances distributors with $200 million in revenues, for which he implemented a computer system, audit, and personnel policies, and selected and trained the Director of Operations and the Director of Accounting.

Mr. Dixson holds a BA in economics from Emory University where he was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. He attended Columbia University in a Ph.D. program in economics as a Fellow of the Faculty. He was certified by the Institute of Management Accountants with a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) certificate. He is a member of the Center for Entrepreneurial Development and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

Emily Everett

Chief Marketing Officer

eeverett@stophungernow.org

Emily Everett has a rich and diverse 20+ year history of non-profit experience specializing in strategic marketing and communications with an emphasis on strategic planning, brand management, event & media planning, sponsor relationships, fund raising and revenue development, crisis management, staff and volunteer development and training.

As Regional Communications Officer for the American Red Cross, was responsible for driving brand and PR strategies across a variety of media and online platforms to support mission and fund-raising efforts. Previously, she spent 14 years as Regional Director of Communications & Marketing for the March of Dimes where she built a strong marketing communications program for 25 states from the ground up and helped lead the organization’s strategic direction to develop and implement marketing strategies in the field.

A native of Smithfield, NC, Emily earned a B.A. in Radio, TV & Motion Pictures from the UNC-Chapel Hill and M.A. in Journalism from the University of Arizona. She has served on the Local and Development Committees for Camp Don Lee, raising money for the new sailing center. She also has been an event marketing consultant for EMSTAT Event Management & Logistics in Fredericksburg, VA, and consultant for The Masters Group, a communications & marketing consortium. Emily and her husband, Eugene, live in Cary.

Jeffrey Scott

Chief Information Officer

jscott@stophungernow.org

After experiencing a meal packaging event in Raleigh in 2008, Jeff became committed to the Stop Hunger Now vision and was instrumental in expanding operations to the West Coast. As CIO, Jeff’s vision is to enable the Stop Hunger Now mission through the strategic use of cloud technology solutions like salesforce.com. With event management, donor and volunteer engagement as a key focus, Jeff is committed to using technology to operate, scale and improve results.

Since 1995, Jeff has dedicated his life to building successful technology companies. In 2003, he launched C-Level Management, Inc., a Southern California based business strategy and technology consulting firm. As a business architect, Jeff has a passion for weaving structured processes into organizations with a methodology he defines as "Process Obsessed”™.

Jeff is known for his revolutionary approach to community based philanthropy. Under his leadership, C-Level Management pioneered an innovative giving back program that to date has helped a number of organizations like Stop Hunger Now by providing in-kind consulting services, financial support and software applications built exclusively on the Salesforce Platform.

Jeff lives in San Clemente, California with his wife Diana and his three children.