Food bank’s leader leaving post in a year
Roadrunner president, CEO has run charity for 22 years
Melody Wattenbarger, CEO and president of Roadrunner Food Bank for the past 22 years, has given notice to the staff and board of directors that she will be leaving in a year.
“She’s been an icon in the community and has been serving hungry New Mexicans for the majority of her career,” Roadrunner spokeswoman Sonya Warwick told the Journal on Thursday. “We will miss Melody terribly, but she will be with us for the next year to help us through the transition.”
Wattenbarger has expressed a desire to retire and return to Texas to spend more time with family, Warwick said.
As CEO and president, Wattenbarger has overseen all of Roadrunner’s operations, direct services, programs and fundraising.
Roadrunner is the largest food bank and hunger relief agency in the state. During the last fiscal year it provided more than 32 million pounds of food. About 70,000 people each week rely on food from Roadrunner and its statewide network of partner food pantries, shelters and meal sites. Last year, Roadrunner rescued more than 25 million pounds of food that might otherwise have wound up in landfills.
Mark Ryerson, Roadrunner’s board chairman, said, “What’s nice about Melody giving us so much lead time is that it gives the board an opportunity to get together and do some planning to find her replacement.”
He added that it had not been decided if the board would conduct a national search.
According to Roadrunner’s IRS 990 form, Wattenbarger’s annual salary is $117,784, with $7,689 in other compensation.