Luke Elzinga
Chair
Luke Elzinga is the policy & advocacy manager at the Des Moines Area Religious Council (DMARC) Food Pantry Network, which last year assisted over 65,000 people facing food insecurity in Greater Des Moines. Luke works to advocate for policies that strike at the intersecting root causes of poverty and food insecurity.
In addition to serving on the board of the Iowa Hunger Coalition, Luke serves on the Iowa Food System Coalition’s Local Food Policy Network priority team, the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services’ Healthy Iowans Healthy Eating and Active Living (HEAL) Work Group, and the national leadership team for Closing the Hunger Gap. He recently completed his Master of Public Policy through the University of Northern Iowa. Luke lives in Des Moines with his partner, child, two cats, and dog.
John Boller
Secretary
John Boller is the Executive Director of the Coralville Community Food Pantry, an anti-hunger nonprofit providing critical food assistance services to the greater Coralville community. He was co-founder and former director of Grow: Johnson County, a hunger-relief and educational farm program. John lives in Iowa City with his family and is passionate about food justice, cooking, gardening, and Iowa Women’s Basketball.
Nicole McAlexander
Nicole McAlexander is the Executive Director at Southeast Linn Community Center, a rural human services non-profit. The organization’s largest program is a weekly client-choice, no limit food pantry which is used by 11% of the community. For the last 6 years, Nicole has managed a volunteer-run garden to grow fresh produce for the pantry. Nicole also serves as a Board member for the Housing Fund for Linn County, and is passionate about addressing the intersecting issues of housing challenges and food insecurity.