# Mary's Meals USA Appoints Jennifer Hartley President, Mark Menking Board Chair > Mary's Meals USA named Jennifer Hartley president and executive director, Mark Menking board chair and Andy Armanino vice chair. - Published: 2026-10-20T20:59:36+00:00 - Section: Leadership - Author: News Desk - URL: https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-20/marys-meals-usa-leadership-appointments - Source: [PRLog](https://www.prlog.org/13177967-marys-meals-usa-announces-leadership-appointments-to-expand-impact-across-the-globe.html) ## Key takeaways - Jennifer Hartley became President and Executive Director of Mary's Meals USA, with Mark Menking as Board Chair and Andy Armanino as Vice Chair. - Mary's Meals International named Andy Griffiths Executive Director on October 14, with founder Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow moving to President and Founder. - Mary's Meals serves more than 3 million children every school day across 16 countries, providing over 400 million meals annually. [Mary's](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/02loxwl/mary-s-meals-usa-inc) Meals USA appointed Jennifer Hartley as President and Executive Director, Mark Menking as Board Chair and Andy Armanino as Vice Chair, the organization said in a [PRLog](https://www.prlog.org/13177967-marys-meals-usa-announces-leadership-appointments-to-expand-impact-across-the-globe.html) announcement on October 20. The U.S. appointments come as the global Mary's Meals movement undergoes a leadership transition. ## Hartley, Menking and Armanino Take Mary's Meals USA Roles Hartley brings decades of Fortune 500 leadership experience to the role, according to the announcement. A lifelong Catholic from the Dallas-Fort Worth area, she first became involved with Mary's Meals as a volunteer, helping establish the organization in her local community and building relationships with parishes, schools, volunteers, donors and community leaders. Menking, the newly appointed Chairperson of the Mary's Meals USA Board, brings decades of experience in executive leadership, financial strategy, restaurant operations and real estate investment. Before forming the Hielan Companies, he spent seven years with la Madeleine Bakery & Café, serving first as chief financial officer and later as president and CEO of the 63-unit restaurant chain through 2002. In 2009, he led the acquisition of 21 Chili's restaurants in the Midwest, which were combined with existing operations to form Hielan Restaurant Group. Today, Hielan Restaurant Group operates 43 Chili's restaurants across five states, while Menking also invests in commercial real estate through Hielan Real Estate Fund. "I first discovered Mary's Meals in Scotland and was deeply impressed by the extraordinary impact of its work, its cost-effective model and, above all, the loving commitment of the organization to its mission," Menking said. Armanino, joining as Vice Chairperson, is the former CEO and Managing Partner of Armanino LLP, where he led the firm from 2005 until his retirement in 2018, growing it into the 20th largest accounting firm in the United States. He currently serves as Chairman of Moore Global, Chairman of Good.lab and as a director of California BanCorp. "Mary's Meals is a remarkable example of faith in action," Armanino said. "I look forward to helping expand awareness and participation in a mission that is both deeply human and profoundly hopeful." ## Global Transition at Mary's Meals International On October 14, Mary's Meals International announced the appointment of Andy Griffiths as its new Executive Director, a newly created role designed to strengthen the international organization for the future. Founder and current CEO Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow will transition to President and Founder, allowing him to focus on raising awareness, strategic initiatives and the continued development of the movement's values and culture. Griffiths will lead Mary's Meals International as the movement approaches its 25th anniversary in 2027 and works toward reaching more children facing extreme hunger. "With 79 million children around the world going hungry each day, Mary's Meals is committed to reaching children waiting for a meal in their place of education," Hartley said. "I'm incredibly grateful for the leadership, expertise and support Mark and Andy will bring to me and our team." ## Mary's Meals Scale and Cost Per Meal Mary's Meals USA Inc is the US fundraising affiliate of Mary's Meals, a 501(c)(3) charity that supports daily school meals for more than 3 million children across 16 countries through local volunteers and in-country NGO partners, according to akta.pro [company records](https://akta.pro/company-data). The organization serves over 5,800 schools across 16 countries, including Malawi, Haiti, Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Mozambique, South Sudan, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Liberia, Madagascar, India, Ecuador and Benin. It provides over 400 million meals annually at approximately 13 cents per daily meal, or $25.20 per child per school year. In September 2025, Mary's Meals crossed the 3 million children per school day milestone, driven by scale-ups in Ethiopia, Haiti, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, South Sudan, Zambia and Zimbabwe that added 462,000 additional children in 2025. In December 2025, it launched the Feed a School initiative, formalizing a school-level sponsorship product that allows supporters to fund daily meals for every student at a selected school. ## Companies in this story - [Mary's Meals Usa Inc company profile](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/02loxwl/mary-s-meals-usa-inc) · website: https://www.marysmealsusa.org - [Mary’s Meals company profile](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/000datq/mary-s-meals) · website: https://www.marysmeals.org --- News for Agent · https://newsforagent.com/llms.txt