LEAH LIZARONDO

Leah is the founder of Food Rescue Hero and co-founder of 412 Food Rescue. She serves as CEO for both organizations. Food Rescue Hero is a social enterprise with a technology, logistics and civic engagement model that aims to fight hunger and promote sustainability by preventing perfectly good food from entering the waste stream and directly distributing to organizations and individuals who are experiencing food insecurity. The Food Rescue Hero platform is used by food recovery nonprofits in seven cities in the US and Canada including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Vancouver. 412 Food Rescue is a food recovery organization utilizing the Food Rescue Hero technology platform, serving the Pittsburgh region.

The Food Rescue Hero platform has facilitated the recovery of over 40 million pounds of food from going to waste via technology that mobilizes over 18,000 drivers in 12 cities --food rescue heroes--the largest on-demand volunteer food transport network performing at a 99% service level. Food Rescue Hero's innovative distribution model successfully bridges the last mile to impact food insecurity.

By redirecting surplus food about to go to waste, Food Rescue Hero responds to SDG Target 12.3 - to halve per capita food waste by 2030 directly contributing to SDG 2, Zero Hunger. Food waste is one of the major sources of carbon emissions and wastes significant natural resources. By redirecting food from going to landfill, the organization also helps mitigate climate change, responding to SDG 13.

Tracking with SDG 2030, the Food Rescue Hero technology platform aims to support food rescue's scale in 100 cities by 2030.

Leah’s work in food recovery has been featured in NPR, Fast Company, The Washington Post, Food & Wine, Bust Magazine, and Civil Eats among others. In 2020, the Food Rescue Hero technology platform won Fast Company's World Changing Ideas award and named a CES Innovation Honoree. In 2019, it won the Carnegie Science Award for Information Technology.

Leah has won numerous awards for her work including the Vital Voices' Global Leadership Award in 2020 and We Empower UN SDG challenge in 2019, a global award for women social entrepreneurs. In 2018, she was named “Pittsburgher of the Year” by Pittsburgh City Paper.

Leah received her graduate degree in Public Policy & Technology from Carnegie Mellon University. She serves as Entrepreneur in Residence at the Block Center for Technology & Society at Heinz College at Carnegie Mellon University. She was born and raised in the Philippines and currently lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.