Leah Lizarondo is Co-Founder and CEO of 412 Food Rescue. 412 Food Rescue works to eliminate hunger and promote a healthy environment by rescuing viable food about to go to waste and redirecting to nonprofits that serve those who are food insecure. 412 Food Rescue is a rapid response organization with a reverse logistics model that utilizes technology to aggregate and automatically match food donors and beneficiaries. The organization works with a network of dedicated volunteers and deploys the only scalable technology and replicable model designed to eliminate food waste at the retail level.
Leah received her Masters Degree in Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University graduating with Highest Distinction and is an advocate for healthy food accessibility, food safety policy and sustainability. She has also trained at the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York City and received her
Certification in Plant-based Nutrition from Cornell University.
She began her career as a product manager in Southeast Asia, working in consumer packaged goods and technology before moving on to her passion in food and health advocacy. She has a track record of leadership in nonprofits in New York and Pittsburgh. She is interested in social innovation and
technology and mines her experience launching startups as she works to establish 412 Food Rescue.
Leah is an active advocate for food, health and innovation in Pittsburgh. She is also the founder of The Brazen Kitchen, an influential blog in the region.
Leah wrote an award-winning a weekly food column for Pittsburgh Magazine online and is currently Editor-at-Large for NEXTpittsburgh, covering social innovation. Leah’s work has been featured in print and online publications including MSN’s Re:Discover Series, NPR, Oprah.com, GOOD Magazine
online, and local media. The Brazen Kitchen won the 2013 National City & Regional Magazine Awards.
Leah has delivered numerous talks in the field of food policy and innovation. In April 2014, she gave the TEDx Talk “Why the Farm Is Not Getting to the Table.” The video can be accessed on tedx.ted.com