Bridget Clark Whitney, President and Founding CEO
Bridget Clark Whitney is the President and Founding CEO of Kids’ Food Basket (KFB). Bridget began her career with KFB as an intern in 2002, officially serving as KFB’s first employee before succeeding Mary K. Hoodhood to lead the organization.
During her tenure and under her leadership, Kids’ Food Basket has had consistent year-over-year growth and has become one of the largest anti-hunger and childhood nutrition programs in Michigan. Bridget leads KFB’s advocacy efforts at the local, state and federal levels, sharing the organization’s expertise at the intersection of healthy food access, sustainable agriculture and nutrition education to inform meaningful policy change.
In 2020, Bridget was appointed to Governor Whitmer’s Michigan Community Service Commission to represent an individual with expertise in the educational, training, and developmental needs of youth, particularly disadvantaged youth. She has received widespread community recognition, being named one of Grand Rapids Business Journal’s “50 Most Influential Women in West Michigan” five times, Grand Rapids Business Journal’s “40 Under Forty” seven times, Crain’s Grand Rapids’ “Top 200 Business Leaders” five times, Crain’s Grand Rapids’ “Nonprofit Newsmaker of the Year” in 2020 and won the ATHENA Young Professional of the Year in 2013.
She is a West Michigan Advisory Board Member for Michigan Women Forward, has acted as a member of the Michigan Nonprofit Board of Directors for nine years and serves on numerous food and equity-related committees at the local, state and national levels. Bridget is a dynamic and engaging speaker. She has held the position of international emcee for 12 years for the Wege Prize and is most proud of 20 Stories in Honor of 20 Years, featured on the KFB YouTube page.
Bridget graduated from Aquinas College (B.S.) and Marygrove College (M.A.) and holds a Certificate of Executive Leadership in Nonprofit Management from Stanford University Graduate School of Business. She was inducted into her alma mater Regina High School’s Hall of Fame in 2024 and was proud to be the commencement speaker for Aquinas College’s Class of 2025. She is originally from Pittsburgh, then Detroit and now calls Grand Rapids home with her husband, Matt Whitney (Group Leader, Perrigo) and their two children, Madeline and Jack.