Meet the Board
Mashama Bailey
Chairwoman
Mashama Bailey is the Executive Chef and a partner of The Grey restaurant in Savannah, GA. While she was born and raised in New York City, her maternal roots hail from the South and as a result, Mashama attended grammar school in Savannah and spent many summers with her grandmother in southcentral Georgia. She attended the Institute of Culinary Education and has studied in France and traveled far for food. Chef Bailey spent a dozen years cooking throughout New York City, the last four of which were at Prune on Manhattan’s Lower East Side under the tutelage of her friend and mentor, Gabrielle Hamilton. In 2018 Chef Bailey was named a James Beard Award finalist in the “Best Chef: Southeast” category.
Nina Williams-Mbengue
Nina Williams-Mbengue is the daughter of Edna Lewis’s younger sister Naomi. At the age of 12, she lived with her mother and Miss Lewis in New York City and subsequently typed the manuscript for ‘A Taste of Country Cooking,” Miss Lewis’s seminal cookbook based on her childhood.
A graduate of the University of Virginia, she holds a BA in Latin American Studies and has worked as a grant writer with Care International, as a Resource Assistant with American Humane Association and with the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) as a Program Director and Senior Fellow. She recently retired from NCSL’s Child Welfare Project where, for nearly 25 years, she conducted legislative research and policy analysis on child welfare issues, and also provided and developed technical assistance programs, educational sessions, national legislative meetings, publications, research and testimony. Nina is currently providing policy consultation on child welfare.
Osayi Endolyn
Osayi Endolyn is a writer, producer, and curator whose storytelling centers food and culture. A changemaker and thought leader, she spearheads discourse ranging from editorial direction to the politics of dining. A James Beard Award winner, Osayi’s writing and commentary is featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Time, Eater, Food & Wine, Travel + Leisure, the Oxford American, Netflix's Chef’s Table and Hulu's The Next Thing You Eat. She is the writer of Ghetto Gastro Presents: Black Power Kitchen, and with Marcus Samuelsson The Rise: Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food.
Paul Fehribach
Born and raised in Jasper, Indiana, Paul Fehribach’s small-town upbringing instilled in him a passion for heritage recipes and appreciation for fresh, seasonal ingredients and a love for traditional cooking. In 2008 he opened his restaurant, Big Jones, in Chicago, Illinois, where his regionally-inspired fare with Cajun, Creole, Lowcountry and Appalachian influences has garnered both local and national acclaim, including Best New Restaurant by Chicago Magazine. In 2013 and 2014, Fehribach was honored as a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation’s “Best Chef: Great Lakes” award.
