Spotlight On…
Looking Back, Giving Thanks
As the end of the year approaches, Hot Bread Kitchen reflects on our rapid growth during 2010. In the past year, we have: tripled the amount of production and English fluency training offered from the previous year, moved into our new state-of-the-art commercial baking facility in La Marqueta and launched HBK Incubates. Our success would have not been possible without the continued commitment of donors like:
- New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn
- City Councilwomen Melissa Mark Viverito
- NYC Economic Development Corporation
- Harlem Community Development Corporation
- Freygish Foundation
- New York Women’s Foundation
- The Durst Foundation
- Liz Claiborne Foundation
- Vilcek Foundation
- Jane and Tad Shepard Family Foundation
- Valentine Perry Snyder Fund
- Edward and Ellen Roche Relief Foundation
- Arbor Brothers
- HBK’s Kitchen Cabinet
- GA Partners Foundation
- Advantage Testing
- M&T Charitable Foundation
- Rockefellar Foundation
- Our Board of Directors and many other generous individuals
Hot Bread Kitchen wishes to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who has donated, volunteered, advised, purchased our breads and supported us in 2010—thank you. We couldn’t do it without you.
The Cindy Levine Group and Why I Love It
Cindy Levine Founder of the Cynthia Levine Group
by Jessamyn Waldman
In summer 2009, I was approached by Echoing Green with the opportunity to work with a professional coach. I am generally skeptical of such relationships, but in a moment of frustration typical in the start-up phase, I met with Cindy Levine of The Cindy Levine Group and am grateful that I did.
Cindy Levine would be too humble to tell you, but she is a brilliant business women with the EQ of Mother Teresa and an impeccable clarity of vision. Cindy is a career changer. She recently switched from banking, where she was most recently the Chief Operating Officer of the US Private Bank at JPMorgan Chase, to leadership coaching so that she could dedicate her wisdom and energy to supporting the next generation of socially responsible leaders. She was interested in working with Hot Bread Kitchen because she loved our mission of creating better lives for foreign born women and understands the importance of good bread.
Through a series of one-on-one meetings and weekly calls, Cindy coached me on a host of issues as Hot Bread Kitchen went through a phase of fast and furious growth. Some of the guidance was within the realm of traditional coaching. When I expressed anxiety about the multitude of decisions that I had to make, Cindy helped me recognize that my feelings were normal and manageable as I was at the helm of an innovative organization that was moving into uncharted territory. Seems like a simple insight now, but when you face 20,000 uncharted decisions per day, it was an important insight.
But leadership coaching is just the tip of the iceberg. Cindy provides serious business perspective which I was always grateful to receive. She has valuable insight and offered timely advice about the dynamics of scale, investment strategy, and management. Unlike many people that have achieved success in the corporate realm, Cindy has an excellent grasp on and sensitivity to small scale business management.
Cindy often emphasized that Hot Bread Kitchen has a host of external and internal resources and encouraged me to tap into them to overcome challenges. I am grateful for the work that I did with Cindy and that we have been able to add The Cindy Levine Group to our arsenal of organizational resources. To learn more about Cindy’s services check out the Cindy Levine Group website or contact Cindy at cindy@cindylevinegroup.com.
