About Our President and CEO

Randi Shubin Dresner, CFRE

Dedicated to improving the lives of people around us, Randi Shubin Dresner has been
the champion of putting a face on people who are hungry on Long Island. A Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE), she has served as president and chief executive officer of Island Harvest, Long Island’s largest hunger-relief organization, since 2001. Randi is a tireless advocate on behalf of people in need, and has raised awareness of the insidious,
yet often unrecognized, problem of chronic hunger on Long Island.

As the president of Island Harvest, Randi stresses the human side of people in need.
They are people first and deserve respect, she often reminds others.

Prior to joining Island Harvest, Randi held senior positions at several health and human services organizations, including the National Center for Disability Services/Henry Viscardi School in Albertson and the Nassau County Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, leaving her distinctive mark on each of them.

Utilizing her nonprofit-management skills, Randi has propelled Island Harvest to unprecedented growth in its collection and distribution of donated food — from an
annual 2.1 million meals (2.5 million pounds) in the early days to well over 9 million
meals (more than 11 million pounds) annually in 2012.

Under her leadership, Island Harvest has realized unprecedented growth, thanks to a major expansion of its programming and operations, including the opening of its third facility,
a 24,000-square-foot warehouse in Hauppauge, and the streamlining of operations to improve the efficiency of food delivery to people who need it most. She has participated
in the creation of education, outreach, training and advocacy programs designed to help people transition from uncertainty to stability, and has established a direct mobile-food-delivery service targeted at specific populations struggling with hunger. As a result,
Island Harvest has become one of the region’s lead agencies in food-banking, and
in disaster-relief food and product distribution and support, as evidenced by the organization’s rapid and continued response to super storm Sandy and other disasters.

Her innovative management style has changed Island Harvest, which now operates under
a unique nonprofit business model, leading noted Long Island Association economist
Pearl Kramer to state, “other nonprofits. . .might consider incorporating elements of the business model used by Island Harvest.” With nearly 95 cents of every contributed dollar directed toward program expenses, Island Harvest has been consistently rated a
“4-Star Charity” by the nation’s largest nonprofit watchdog, Charity Navigator,
and has been awarded Accredited Charity Status by the Better Business Bureau. 

Randi’s grasp of hunger and and its related issues have made her the go-to source for the press and government leaders and, as a result, she serves on many state and local councils, including U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s New York State Agriculture Working Group and the Suffolk County Legislature Food Policy Council. She was also appointed by the governor to serve on the Farmingdale State College Council. She is a member of the Energeia Partnership at Molloy College, and has been recognized as one of Long Island’s Top-50 Most Influential Women in Business by Long Island Business News. Randi is an adjunct faculty member at Molloy College in the Non-Profit Management Certificate Program,
and the Development and Fundraising Management Program.  

03/13