The Des Moines Area Religious Council board of directors announced that Kathy Underhill has been hired to lead the organization as chief executive officer, effective July 1.

Underhill has spent over 20 years working on the issue of hunger at every level of the nonprofit and government landscape. Most recently, she has overseen nine federal nutrition programs working for the state of Colorado, managing the distribution of more than $80 million in American-grown food. Underhill was instrumental in the founding of Hunger Free Colorado, serving as the founding CEO of the state’s leading anti-hunger organization. She has continued to develop the next generation of advocates in the fight against food insecurity while teaching advocacy and policy at the University of Denver School of Social Work.

“I am thrilled to be joining DMARC,” Underhill said in a prepared statement. “Stepping into this role, I’m excited to get to know [Des Moines] better, build on our efforts to alleviate food insecurity and provide opportunities for everyone living in central Iowa to meet their basic needs.”

Underhill will join DMARC in June and will work alongside outgoing CEO Matt Unger until June 30. “We had several strong candidates for this position, but we were particularly impressed with Kathy’s record of putting people first in every role she’s held in her extensive career fighting hunger,” DMARC board president Rachel Collier Murdock said in a prepared statement. “We have many challenges and opportunities ahead of us as we work to meet our neighbors’ basic human needs.”

Underhill, who has a master’s in social work specializing in community organizing, has taken a collaborative approach between people in need of support and people supporting charitable food work, according to a news release. Her work has been recognized nationally, with honors including the Share Our Strength Innovator Award, Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Livingston Fellowship and the Dr. Wheeler/Senator Wellstone Award. She was named a Top Thinker for nonprofits by the Denver Post Editorial Board.