MEET YOUR 2021-2022 ISNA executive board
Amanda Worrick, DTR Region Representative Chair / Region 5 Representative Mississinewa Community Schools
Betty Huddleston, Region 6 Representative Western Wayne Schools
Amanda Worrick is ISNA’s Region Representative Chair and the current Region 5 Representative. Amanda has been in school nutrition since 2015 when she began her role as Director of Child Nutrition at Mississinewa Community Schools in Gas City, IN. Amanda has been a registered dietetic technician for nearly 20 years and is a Ball State University Alum. Amanda began her career in clinical dietetics then moved on to food service in a college setting and catering before finding her niche in K-12 food service. She is also a member of the ISNA Administration Research Committee. Amanda is passionate about feeding hungry children. She began a Boomerang Backpack program in her district to send food home with food insecure students to have over the weekends. She also helped bring school gardens back to her district and incorporates the student-grown produce in her school cafeterias. In her free time, Amanda enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, traveling, or whatever her two teenage daughters have her busy doing.
Betty Huddleston is the Region 6 Representative as well as the Food Service Director for Western Wayne Schools. Betty began working in the school cafeteria because the hours were great with 2 kids in school at the time. She came to love it very quickly! The middle school in Betty’s district was one of the pilot schools for the Fresh Fruit and Veggie Program.
Betty has been a member of ISNA for 20 years and has attended several ISNA conferences and workshops. Betty is returning to the ISNA Executive Board after being away for about 10 years…she loved every minute of it, so is happy to be back! In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family and going on day trips with her husband of 39 years, David. Betty’s other interests include competing at the Indiana State Fair in the Culinary and Photo categories, and she also has a massive cookbook collection.
Angelica Claiborne , Region 1 Representative Merrillville Community School Corporation
Angelica Claiborne is the Food Service Director for Merrillville Community School Corporation. She has been working in the corporation since 2009. Angelica began her career with Merrillville schools as assistant kitchen manager and worked her way up, becoming the director in February 2021. She graduated from Merrillville High School in 2006 and completed her Associate of Applied Science degree in Culinary Arts in June 2009 and her Associate of Science degree in Early Childhood education in 2019. Angelica is professionally interested in earning the SNA Level 4 Certificate and SNS Credential. She was recently featured in an SNA news brief and local newspaper on supply chain issues. She has spent her career in food service, but became interested in school food service right out of college. Angelica is focused on learning all she can so she can share that knowledge with her staff. With labor shortages, she is focused on having her staff work smarter and not harder. Angelica has never seen herself as a lunch lady as much as a student advocate for what they want since she considers herself to be a child at heart. She is married and a mother of three. In her free time, Angelica loves watching Encanto with her children and spending quality time with her husband. She is also an active member of her church and loves family gatherings.
Mary Ellen Gilliam, MBA, Region 7 Representative MSD Wayne Township
Mary Ellen Gilliam is your new Region 7 Representative and the Child Nutrition Assistant Director for MSD Wayne Township in Indianapolis, IN. In this role, she creates nutritious breakfast, lunch, snack, and summer menus for the district’s 17 schools and various satellite sites. She also oversees procurement and ensures program guidelines are followed.
She began her career in child nutrition as a dietitian and nutrition manager in Georgia. Returning to her Midwest roots, Mary Ellen has served as the Assistant Director of Dining Services and then as Director of Dining Services for Chartwells K-12. Mary Ellen earned her Bachelor’s Degree inNutrition Sciences and another degree inDietetics, both fromPurdue University. She successfully completed her Masters of Business Administration from Indiana Wesleyan University. Mary Ellen is the youngest of thirteen children and enjoys traveling and spending time with her loved ones. Child Nutrition for Mary Ellen is where passion meets purpose.
Lisa Abell , Region 2 Representative NIESC/NWIESC
Shenae Rowe, RDN, Region 8 Representative Warrick County School Corporation
Lisa Abell is the Assistant Executive Director/Director of Cooperative Purchasing at the Northern Indiana Educational Services Center (NIESC) in Mishawaka, Indiana. As a 21-plus year veteran of NIESC, Lisa has had many professional roles at NIESC. Starting as a media secretary, Lisa has served member districts during her tenure at NIESC by constantly taking on additional responsibilities due to staff attrition and her desire to grow both professionally and personally. These additional responsibilities included: website design, technology server helpdesk maintenance, school testing data and reporting, and school food service bids. Lisa has a passion for serving others and has expanded the NIESC member school food service bid to include nearly 80 other educational service center member districts throughout the state of Indiana. By growing this service, it has allowed Lisa to also provide an annual staff development event for food service personnel. National presenters provide a day-long training session that has boasted an attendance of nearly 300 participants for the last three years! Lisa has presented at both the annual ISNA and IASBO conferences and volunteers her time at both conferences. Lisa also has had the honor of receiving the School Support Professional of the year award for her IASBO Region in 2016 and in 2020 was the state-wide recipient of this award. Lisa currently holds the IASBO certification of Assistant Chief Business Official. Lisa is very passionate about her job and considers it an extension of her desire to help others and a blessing to be able to do so. On a personal note, Lisa has 4 beautiful grandchildren, who she loves to spend time spoiling: Cienna who is 15, Turner, who is 11, Ellie, who is 3, and 1-year old Lexi. Cienna and Turner live nearby and Ellie and Lexi live in California, so vacations are often spent with them. When Lisa isn’t spending time with her grandchildren or going out to dinner with her husband, Tom (his favorite hobby), she enjoys riding her horse, Blaze.
Shenae Rowe is the Region 8 Representative for ISNA and the Food & Nutrition Director for the Warrick County School Corporation. She is a registered dietitian and also serves as the Employee and Student Wellness Coordinator. Shenae has been involved in ISNA and SNA for over 19 years. She actively serves on the SNA Political Action Committee and has served on the SNA Public Policy and Legislation Committee, SNA Unpaid Meal Charges Working Group, and the SNA Operation USDA Foods Task Force. Shenae currently serves on the ISNA Legislative Committee. Education is an avenue Shenae has always pursued, not just by working for the school corporation, but by being an educator herself. Shenae has been a regular presenter for ISNA and SNA at the state and national annual conferences, the Legislative Action Conference, and many regional and local workshops. Her passion for the WCSC School Nutrition program is evident and her goal is to help others achieve the same desire and passion in their role as School Nutrition Professionals. In Shenae’s free time, she enjoys watching her 7th grade son, Ethan, play basketball and seeing her junior daughter, Elorie, perform in the Castle High School Show Choir and Theater productions.
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