Executive Team

Allison O'Toole

Chief Executive Officer

Allison O’Toole is likely to introduce herself as “the very proud CEO of Second Harvest Heartland.” She’s proud of her team at the food bank and the way they’ve stepped up to address the largest uptick in hunger in decades. Allison believes that we all benefit from building a more just community and is proud of her organization for taking a stand on ending the inequities that leave Minnesota’s Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Indigenous families facing twice the hunger of White families.

A self-described “CEO who does stuff,” Allison is close to the action. From loading groceries into community members’ trunks, to testifying at the Capitol, Allison is an active leader on all fronts.  
Her current role is the culmination of three decades working at the intersection of health and social good. Allison is credited with overhauling Minnesota’s insurance exchange program, MNsure, and has served as Senior Director of State Affairs at the United States of Care and as state director for U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar. Early in her career, Allison was a dedicated prosecutor in the Twin Cities.

She serves on the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition, Vice Chair of the board of directors at UCare and the board of trustees at Breck School.

Sarah Moberg

Chief Operations Officer

Sarah Moberg believes everyone should be able to come together over a meal with family and friends in celebration and community. That’s why she has dedicated her career to providing people all over the world with the foods they need and love.

Sarah is committed to creating, sourcing, and moving food to neighbors as she oversees all end-to-end sourcing and distribution of the millions of meals Second Harvest Heartland shares with the community annually. She enjoys partnering with the community to solve day-to-day problems in service of addressing bigger, systemic challenges. Prior to joining Second Harvest Heartland, she spent 25 years with General Mills, leading teams, operations, and innovation initiatives around the world. Sarah currently serves on the board of Aeon, an affordable housing non-profit, and on the advisory council for the Minnesota Children’s Cabinet.

Sarah earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and her Master of Business Administration from the University of California, Davis. Her favorite days involve enjoying a barbecue in the backyard with friends and family.

Michael Hoban

Chief Financial Officer

Michael Hoban has overseen the finances for some of the largest and most complex nonprofits in the region, where his work has been powered by a philosophy that a healthy organization is one that collectively owns the financial strategy. This means his budgeting and forecasting work is only truly done when the teams who will use these tools understand them. Michael served as CFO for Planned Parenthood North Central States for several years and previously directed the finances for several top healthcare providers in the Twin Cities for more than a decade. He is a leader in forecasting, accounting and budgeting best practices who also delivers deep knowledge in strategic financial modeling and investment strategies. Michael earned his Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) with a focus in Finance from Metropolitan State University. When he’s not balancing the books, Michael will be spending time with his two children and his wife.

Gwendolyn Freed

Interim Chief Development Officer

Gwen is passionate about advancing the common good. She seeks to end hunger by leading Second Harvest Heartland’s development team in individual and corporate giving, grants, annual giving, cause marketing and events, and development operations.

A Certified Fundraising Professional (CFRE), Gwen has served as a Chief Development Officer at the University of Minnesota, Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Cornish College of the Arts, and Vice President for Marketing and Communications at Gustavus Adolphus College.

Gwen holds a Ph.D. in Educational Policy and Administration, and a master’s degree in Public Affairs from the University of Minnesota. She has been an adjunct faculty member at the University of Minnesota since 2018. For fun, Gwen enjoys group runs with friends on local lakes and trails year-round.

Elizabeth Cooper

Chief External Relations Officer

Elizabeth Cooper works her dream job leading the food bank’s efforts to change the hunger conversation by overseeing the research, brand communications and advocacy teams.

Bringing 20 years of nonprofit strategic communications experience to her work, Elizabeth believes strong conversations make for strong communities. She led the mighty communications teams at College Possible and Child Care Aware through national expansion and the introduction of the state’s childcare rating system. Immediately before joining the Second Harvest Heartland team, she managed communications strategy for Minnesota’s Health Care Administration, working to ensure a robust Affordable Care Act conversation in the state.

Elizabeth is a proud graduate of the University of Minnesota’s Master of Arts in Strategic Communications Program and earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota, Morris. She is passionate about libraries, half marathons and pub food. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and son and has probably run alongside you if you frequent the city’s lakes or trails.

Sarah Waite

Chief People Officer

Sarah Waite’s 20-year career as a talent and human resources leader is defined by a singular dedication to trust-building and an understanding that best practices in people management are only “best” when they uplift an organization’s unique culture, mission and strategy.

With deep experience supporting professionals across the Twin Cities and around the globe, Sarah’s work is imbued with her passion for building inclusive teams. During her respective tenures with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, ABRA Auto Body, Target and Medtronic, Sarah drove robust business results and created strong cultures through a steadfast commitment to bringing diverse voices to the table.

Sarah is thrilled to be part of the Second Harvest Heartland team and to have the opportunity to partner with our community to end hunger together. She believes that by listening and learning from our neighbors we can find innovative solutions to the COVID-era hunger surge and the racial hunger divide.

When she’s not at work, Sarah loves to travel with her husband, son and daughter. When she is at work, she tries valiantly to keep her fur kids, Benji and Monty, from crashing her virtual meetings.