Sara Celi -- Event Chair
Amazon Top 100 and Barnes & Noble Bestselling Author, Sara Celi, has lived all over the United States. She is a proud Buckeye and she currently resides in Wyoming, Ohio.
Before writing books, Sara worked as a TV anchor and reporter at television stations in Louisiana, Ohio, and Oklahoma. She also wrote articles for publications, magazines, and digital media across the country. While working as an evening anchor in Oklahoma City, she wrote what became her first published novel. The Undesirable came out in 2013. In 2014, Natural Love became an Amazon Top 100 Bestselling Book, and was on the Barnes and Noble E-book bestseller list. Prince Charming followed as an Amazon Top 100 Bestseller in 2015. Since then, several of her books have hit Amazon bestselling lists across three countries.
Sara Celi serves on the Meals on Wheels Southwest OH & Northern KY Board of Trustees. In her spare time, Sara likes to travel, hunt for good wine, add to her expansive handbag collection, hike into the woods, volunteer in her community, and push herself to be uncomfortable. Once an avowed pessimist, she's now an optimist who wishes she hadn't wasted so much time comparing herself to others. She married the love of her life in 2009 and became a mother in 2019.
Tom Brady -- Committee Member
Tom Brady is a 1989 graduate of St. Joseph’s College (Indiana) where he earned his degree in business. Tom serves as the Director of Development at Wilmington College and has over 25 years of experience including over 15 years in nonprofit fundraising and event management experience.
Prior to joining Wilmington College, Tom served as the Director of Business Development at Geronimo Solutions and helped nonprofit organizations nationwide raise funds through special events & Year -Round fundraising programs. Tom’s nonprofit experience includes over 12 years at Xavier University, where he served as the Director of Alumni Chapters and Athletic Development as well as leading the university’s Corporate Partners & Matching Gifts programs. Tom also spent 3 years at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation as the Director of Special Events.
Tom currently resides in Cincinnati, Ohio with his wife Mary Pat and his two children, Brian and Shannon. In addition to spending time with family & friends, Tom is an avid golfer.
Heather Couch -- Committee Member
Heather Couch is a School Counselor at Blanchester Middle School in Southwest Ohio. She received her MA in School Counseling from Xavier University and her BA in Music Education from Mount St. Joseph University. As a school counselor, Heather helped create and implement the Whole Child Initiative, implement a new college and career curriculum, and spearhead the social emotional learning curriculum. She is active in her community, educational advocacy, and promoting the school counselor profession by presenting at conferences and through her book titled The School Counselor’s Guide to Surviving the First Year.
BJ David -- Committee Member
BJ David was born and raised in Northern Kentucky--the same place he and his wife, Michelle, are raising their son and daughter today. After graduating from the University of Kentucky, BJ joined the family business: Gold Star Chili. His grandfather was one of the four founders.
BJ sold his last store at the end of 2008 and opened Mella Window & Carpeting, which has grown to include flooring sales and installation. In their free time, BJ and family travel to Northern Michigan throughout the year. Regardless of his location, BJ loves to barbecue and cook over an open fire.
Laura is dedicated to organizations that promote both philanthropy and the vibrancy of Greater Cincinnati. She was Chair of the Leadership Northern Kentucky Class of 2020 (alumna of the LNK Class of 2015), leads Impact 100’s Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Young Philanthropist Scholarship Program, and serves on the Renaissance Covington Board, the St. Elizabeth Planned Giving Committee, and the Historic Licking Riverside Civic Association Executive Committee. She has co-chaired the St. Elizabeth Young Patrons’ Guild, chaired the Junior League of Cincinnati’s Transfer Committee, and competed in the 2019 Dancing with the CLC Stars to benefit the Children’s Law Center, taking home the champion trophy for fundraising (not talent). Laura grew up in Rhode Island, graduated from Stanford University, and moved to Cincinnati in 2012. She now happily lives in Covington.
Sarah Avila Murphy -- Committee Member
Sarah Avila Murphy relocated to Cincinnati in 2006 where she immediately fell in love with the city and its people. Jumping right into volunteerism, Sarah spent countless hours at various charities serving in committees, leading as Chair and eventually serving on the boards of the Junior League of Cincinnati and Learning Through Art. Today, she is thrilled to be a steering committee member for Bust a Crust! after living aboard for the past two and a half years.
Professionally, Sarah has been with Procter & Gamble for 14 years and most recently serves as the Senior Director for P&G Ventures, Procter & Gamble’s business unit dedicated to building or partnering with startups, entrepreneurs, and inventors to create billion–dollar brands in categories where P&G does not play today and with superiority that drives brand choice. This is a fantastic assignment for Sarah as it leverages her years of upstream innovation, brand building, and go-to-market expertise as well as her deep knowledge and experience from living and working in The People’s Republic of China.
Kymberly Wilbon -- Committee Member
From early days “tearing it up” with her Easy-Bake Oven – “You mean I can have cake in my room—all the time—and all I need is a light bulb?” – to late night feasts with fellow U.C. fashion majors, to dishing up comfort food to touring punk bands, cooking has always been Wilbon’s first love.
But it was her other passion – fashion – which led to a decade in New York City, where she worked in the garment and music industries by day and played in Manhattan’s hippest clubs by night. When not zipped into Gaultier and hanging at the Palladium, Wilbon baked fashionista birthday cakes, fed bands at upstate recording sessions, and catered record exec Superbowl parties. “I knew my jambalaya was a hit when two rockers with pierced eyebrows licked the pot!”
Fate and food led to hostess gigs at some of New York’s hottest restaurants, but it was Wilbon’s love for the back-of-the-house, that steered her toward a degree in Restaurant Management / Culinary Arts from The New York Restaurant School. Returning to Cincinnati to be closer to her family, she worked in restaurant management positions at several hotels, including the Cincinnati Hyatt Regency; cooked at CoCo and was a sous chef at Otto’s; and opened McCormick and Schmick’s.
Though it was great experience, Wilbon says, “I felt like something was missing. I knew I loved to cook and host great dinner parties. One day it all connected and I decided: That’s it – I want to be a personal chef!” She enrolled at the highly regarded Culinary Business Academy, earned her USPCA (United States Personal Chef Association) membership, and Kymberly Wilbon’s The Passion Plate was born.
Meals on Wheels Staff Committee Members
Laura Proto
Philanthropy Officer
Kat Steiner
Chief Giving Officer
Nancy Schreiner
Philanthropy Officer
Ja'Lah Willingham
Volunteer Engagement Manager