“Part of my responsibility will be to help raise awareness within the U.S. of the foundation and its programs, also connecting it to the real-life needs of students,” Knight says. “As president of Kendall College, I see the gaps impacting the ability of committed young people, military veterans and career-changers to seek meaningful careers and to address the financial challenges that their families face. I want to assist in expanding scholarship awareness and opportunities, promoting the ProStart program to more high schools and their students, and examining what we as industry executives can do to help more students from every walk of life achieve the rewarding restaurant and culinary careers they seek.”
Knight will also support the NRAEF’s initiative to generate financial resources to fund the ongoing work of the foundation, which includes a robust scholarship program that has awarded $14 million since 1997.
Knight says that her election as an NRAEF board trustee recognizes the stature Kendall College has achieved in its first 80 years. “To serve as one of only three educators on the board makes me feel incredibly proud to represent this institution and our students. It acknowledges Kendall’s leadership in the U.S. hospitality industry and our ranking as the No. 1 hospitality and culinary-arts program in Chicago. Personally, I’m thrilled and honored. With my dual passion for education and our industry, I’m able to work hand in hand with incredibly gifted and intelligent people via a national platform to help more Americans achieve their career dreams.”
Knight was named president of Kendall College by the board of directors in January 2012. She previously served as a vice president at Laureate Education, Inc., where she was responsible for globally expanding access to the company’s hospitality-management, culinary-arts and art-and-design programs. Before joining Laureate she was CEO of New England University, LLC, where she was responsible for expanding marketing and strategic initiatives as well as growth into Latin America for the New England College of Business and Finance.
Knight currently serves on the advisory board of directors of the Illinois Restaurant Association.
For more information about the NRAEF, visit www.nraef.org. For more information about Kendall College, visit www.kendall.edu.
Photo: Emily Williams Knight, president of Kendall College, and Michael A. Hickey, NRAEF Board of Trustees chair and executive vice president and president, Global Institutional, Ecolab, Inc.