History
The foundation was started in 1986 by Peter Kump, a former student of James Beard who also founded the Institute of Culinary Education. At Julia Child's suggestion, Kump purchased Beard's New York brownstone townhouse at 167 West 12th Street in Greenwich Village and preserved it as a gathering place where the general public and press alike would be able to appreciate the talents of established and emerging chefs. The first such dinner was at the suggestion of Wolfgang Puck in 1987. Puck cooked a dinner to raise money and Kump later established it as a monthly event.[2]
Leonard F. Pickell Jr. was nominated as president of the foundation in 1995.[3] In August 2004, shortly before the results of a three-month audit were to be announced, he resigned. He was charged with fraud in late September, having misused the foundation's finances for unnecessary and undocumented expenses.[4] Pickell later pleaded guilty to second-degree grand larceny and a $1.1 million theft.[5] As a result of the scandal and his indictment by the Attorney General's Office, the members of the board of the foundation were asked to resign in January 2005.[6]
In January 2006, the reconstituted board, under the direction of interim president Edna Morris, initiated a search for a permanent president of the foundation.[citation needed] In April of that year Susan Ungaro, formerly editor-in-chief of Family Circle magazine from 1976 to 2005, was appointed president.[7] Following the scandal, the foundation also made changes such as creating a salary for the president, CFO, auditors and a larger staff. The foundation lost about $1 million under Pickell's leadership, and paid approximately $750,000 in legal and accounting fees. Sponsorships, donations, and event revenues also dropped after the scandal broke prompting the foundation to take out a $2 million mortgage on the Beard home, the only asset.[8]
In October 2007, the board announced that Woodrow W. Campbell, senior partner at Debevoise & Plimpton, would be taking over chairmanship of the board after the resignation of Dorothy Cann Hamilton who served since 2005.[9] Emily Luchetti, two-time James Beard Award-winning executive pastry chef and multiple cookbook author, was named chair of the foundation's board of trustees in May 2012, succeeding Woodrow W. Campbell. In 2012, the foundation also announced the following appointments: Michael Phillips, chief operating officer, Jamestown Properties, and Frederic M. Seegal, vice chairman, Peter J. Solomon Company, as the board's new vice chairs; Erica Gruen, a principal with Quantum Media Consulting, remained secretary.[citation needed]
During her presidency, Susan Ungaro increased the organization's income, tripling it to roughly $12 million, with a $400,000 surplus. She also expanded the foundation's culinary scholarship program; increased its membership base with a new online enrollment program; moved the annual James Beard Foundation Awards Gala to Lincoln Center and then Chicago; and hosted the James Beard Foundation's traveling national food festival.[10] In September 2012, Susan Ungaro collaborated with the U.S. Department of State to develop the “Diplomatic Culinary Partnership,” an initiative to elevate the role of culinary engagement in America's formal and public diplomacy efforts. During Ungaro's tenure, the foundation created the James Beard Foundation Food Conference.[citation needed]
In 2018, Clare Reichenbach was unanimously selected by the board as the foundation's new chief executive, replacing Susan Ungaro. Reichenbach's background is in marketing and consulting, rather than food.[11][12][13]
