Recognizing Joanna Sebelien for Her Achievements with Harvesters
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. CLEAVER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with eternal gratitude to celebrate the long and diverse career of Joanna Sebelien, the last 23 years of which were devoted to service with the charitable food bank, Harvesters. Since 2001, Joanna has been an integral part of Harvesters' mission to create a healthy, thriving community where no one is hungry. As the non-profit's Chief Resource Officer, she has been responsible for its fundraising, volunteer recruitment, food acquisition, communications, and advocacy. During her long tenure, Joanna has seen Harvesters' recruitment of over 1 million volunteers across 2.5 million hours of service, fundraising of over $300 million, and acquisition of a whopping 1 billion pounds of food. Let us take a moment to reflect on Joanna's long and fruitful career and its impact on food security here in Missouri's 5th District and beyond.
Although Joanna's decorated career did not begin with Harvesters, she has always sought to make a difference in the lives of others with her professional life. After graduating with honors from Boston College and receiving a master's from Central Michigan University, Joanna settled on the East Coast as an English teacher. It was in this position that she saw firsthand the effect that food insecurity could have on young people leading to misbehavior at school. This experience ignited her passion for fighting food insecurity so that no child would become a victim of it like her students did.
Joanna settled in the Midwest and joined Harvesters, an organization established in 1979 that focused on cutting back food waste in Kansas City, in 2001. As one of the pioneering food banks in the country, Harvesters quickly joined Feeding America, a national organization of food banks. The organization has become a staple charity in Kansas City and beyond, serving to ensure the human right of food security for over forty years. From the moment she joined Harvesters, Joanna committed herself to its mission, exceeding expectations in every way imaginable. Not only did she quickly climb Harvesters' ranks to become Chief Resource Officer, she also involved herself with state and national organizations dedicated to fighting food insecurity. She has served on three separate advisory committees for Feeding America, the Breakfast in the Classroom and Hunger Leader groups for the Food Research and Action Center, the local and Kansas State boards of the Federal Emergency Management Agency Emergency Food and Shelter Program, and as a member of Feeding Missouri. Such an illustrious resume demonstrates Joanna's awe-inspiring dedication as a crusader for equality and sets an example for anyone with similar conviction to follow.
Joanna's commitment to civic engagement does not end with ensuring food security. She also serves as a founding member of Hartsook Companies Kansas City Advisory Council, the Global Advisory Council, the American Association of Fundraising Professionals, Rotary 13, the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce Centurions, Chamber Champions, and the Greater Missouri Leadership Foundation. That is just her current engagement, in the past, she has served on the board of Empower Missouri and as a member of the Non-Profit Advisory Group, Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, and the Heart of America Hunger Coalition. With her expansive involvement across the non-profit community, Joanna has become an unstoppable force for good in the Greater Kansas City area.
What I admire most about Joanna is her resilience in the face of adversity. Over the course of her 23-year tenure at Harvesters, she has endured some of the most trying times our country has ever faced and has met these challenges with strength and determination. In 2008, the Great Recession wreaked havoc on the American economy, and the number of people needing food assistance from Harvesters jumped by forty percent. Over the next six years, Harvesters met this challenge by nearly doubling its food distribution. Joanna herself was a crucial part of this success, being named the Association of Fundraising Professionals Mid America Chapter's Fundraiser of the Year in 2008. Finally, in 2020, as the COVID-19 Pandemic hit, Harvesters saw another forty percent surge in need. Despite a decreasing number of food drives and volunteers due to safety concerns and social distancing regulations, the organization distributed 65.9 million pounds of food and fundraised $23 million, a record on both counts. As Chief Resource Officer during this period, Joanna was integral to this success. Once again, she proved her ability to face any challenge standing tall and handle it with the utmost skill and grace.
Harvesters' functions according to the belief that access to nutritious food is a human right. From the beginning of her career as a teacher and through her 23 years with Harvesters, Joanna Sebelien has understood this to be true. Her commitment to combatting food insecurity in Missouri's Fifth Congressional District is an inspiration to us all. Mr. Speaker, please join me in celebrating Joanna's 23 years of service with Harvesters. On behalf of the 118th Congress, I wish her a retirement as fulfilling as her career.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source