Kwame Brown

Sworn into office on January 2, 2005, Councilmember Kwame R. Brown hit the ground running to elevate the quality of life of all District of Columbia residents by focusing on improving education, stimulating the economy, reducing crime and reviving blighted areas in our neighborhoods. Councilmember Brown was later appointed Chair of the Committee on Economic Development because of his specialized background in small business development and determination to bring more local jobs and businesses to the District. Full Bio

Robert L.E. Egger
Founder and President of DC Central Kitchen, Inc.

Robert Egger is the Founder and President of the DC Central Kitchen, where unemployed men and women learn marketable culinary skills while foods donated by restaurants, hotels and caterers are converted into balanced meals. Since opening in 1989, the Kitchen has distributed 17.4 million meals and helped over 605 men and women gain full-time employment. Currently, Robert is the Chairperson of the DC Mayor's Commission on Nutrition, as well as the Chair of the Board of Street Sense, Washington's "homeless" newspaper, and RESULTS, a multinational microcredit and citizen advocacy organization. He serves on the Boards of TimeBanks USA and the Food Systems Leadership Institute. He was also the Co-Convener of the first ever Nonprofit Congress. Full Bio

Monique Greenwood

Monique Greenwood is a master multi-tasker with a vision. The 25-year journalism veteran, who succeeded Susan Taylor as Editor-in-chief of Essence Magazine, the preeminent publication for Black women, has now taken the hospitality industry by storm with Akwaaba Bed & Breakfast Inns, an impressive collection of five historic B & Bs in Brooklyn, NY, Cape May, NJ, Washington, DC, and New Orleans, LA. Monique is passionate about empowering Black people and encouraging entrepreneurship, and to that end, she and husband Glenn purchased and developed a block in their Bedfords-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, community that now includes a 72-seat restaurant, a coffeehouse, a bookstore, an art and gift shop and a beauty salon. Full Bio

Ris Lacoste
Chef/Restaurateur

RIS LACOSTE is one of the most respected and dedicated chefs working in Washington, D.C. today. For the last decade she has served as executive chef of Georgetown's celebrated 1789 Restaurant, where her innovative regional American fare drew national attention and earned numerous awards, including those from Wine Spectator magazine, The Washington Post, Washingtonian, as well as nomination from the James Beard Foundation. The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington named Lacoste "Chef of the Year" in 1999 (she was nominated again for this award in 2005) and awarded 1789 Restaurant its "Restaurant of the Year" prize in 2000. She was one of three chefs to compete in the Food Network's Iron Chef America in September 2005 and was Iron Chef for the D.C. Central Kitchen's Capital Food Fight in 2004 and 2005. Full Bio

Marion A. Pitcher

Marion's love for the culinary arts began at a very early age. The passion for pastry was passed down from her grandmother who was a self made baker and a designer of wedding gowns, a talent Marion acquired. She is currently with the Clydes group of restaurants, working as the Pastry Chef for Clydes of Chevy Chase. Full Bio

Nycci Nellis

NYCOLE NELLIS -- Nycci -- is the CEO and publisher of TheListAreYouOnIt.com (www.thelistareyouonit.com). Founded just three and half years ago and already acknowledged by The Washington Post as "one of the premier resources for things food and wine in the Washington area and beyond," TheListAreYouOnIt.com is a multifaceted website providing details on literally hundreds of food and wine events occurring across Greater Washington each month, from chef appearances and cooking classes to wine seminars, local vineyard tours, special restaurant activities and promotions and more.  Updated every two weeks and "announced" to more than 20,000 subscribers by a e-mail blast, TheListAreYouOnIt.com features a regular guest Chef’s Column authored by local and nationally-renowned toques, such as Charlie Palmer, Roberto Donna, and Eric Ziebold; Grapes & More, featuring guest columns by locally and nationally prominent sommeliers, wine writers, winemakers and others expert in the ways of the vine; the Buzz, a section devoted to restaurant industry insider news; Openings and Coming Soon, each detailing changes on the restaurant scene.

Previously a baker for local restaurants and a professional meeting planner who spent seven years organizing educational conferences for state legislators, Nycci is a self-described "foodie descended from a long line of foodies" and has cooked and catered meals for friends and family since she was in elementary school.  In addition to TheListAreYouOnIt.com, Nycci writes The Dish column, a bimonthly feature published in Washington Flyer magazine and is a featured lifestyle reporter for the publication on Washington's WTOP radio (103.5 FM).

Nycci lives in Kensington, Maryland with her husband, David, five kids and various dogs and cats.