El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank has named Kris Yagel, a U.S. Army veteran and business leader, as interim chief executive officer, the organization said Tuesday without citing a reason for the departure of its former leader Susan Goodell.
Yagel, who has served as director of strategic development at the food bank since March, is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and served as a military police officer for six years, the food bank said in a news release. He has held a variety of sales, management and leadership development roles since leaving the Army.
“It is an honor to be chosen to lead such a dedicated, hard-working team. Hunger is a formidable enemy, but together in partnership with our community, we will advance our cause to reduce its grip on our region,” Yagel said in a statement.
He will serve as interim CEO while the board conducts a search for a permanent CEO.
Gabriel Garcia, director of communications at the food bank, said the organization could not share individual employees’ salaries, including Yagel’s.
The food bank didn’t address Goodell’s departure, only providing a comment in its news release by board Chair Robert Moore thanking her for her eight years of leadership.
Goodell did not immediately return calls for comment.
Garcia told El Paso Matters he could only share what was provided in the news release. He pointed to the release when asked whether Goodell had retired or resigned and whether she was fired or left under a separation agreement.
Goodell was appointed CEO of the food bank in 2018. She was paid a base salary of $279,970 last year, according to the Form 990 filed by nonprofits with the IRS in October 2024. The form also shows she received “other” unspecified compensation of $28,000 from the organization and related organizations.
In the fiscal year ending December 2023, the latest information available, the food bank in its IRS forms reported revenues of $219 million and expenses of $235 million.
Friends of El Pasoans Fighting Hunger, the food bank’s fundraising arm, lists Goodell as its principal officer, according to IRS forms, which in 2023 listed “no reportable compensation” from the Friends organization to Goodell or other officers.
The food bank this spring reduced its food distribution from five to four days a week and stopped providing food to some of its agency partners and mobile pantries, citing drops in fundraising since the COVID-19 pandemic. The organization in a news release at the time also cited financial instability caused by President Donald Trump’s administration, which was cutting food assistance program funding.
El Pasoans Fighting Hunger serves El Paso, Hudspeth and Culberson counties, providing food for up to 190,000 food-insecure people annually. The food bank has a network of about 100 partner pantries and meal sites.
Disclosure: El Paso Matters CEO Robert Moore is the board chair for El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank. The newsroom’s policy on editorial independence can be found here.
The post El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank names interim CEO in sudden leadership change appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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