Michael F. Curtin

Meeting of July 26, 2011 – EEOC to Examine Arrest and Conviction Records as a Hiring Barrier

Mike comes to DCCK after a 20 year career in the hospitality business, most of which has been spent in Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia. With a focus on organizational design and training, he has focused on redefining DCCK departments and creating new positions that have allowed DCCK to run more efficiently. After graduating from Williams College with a BA in Religion, Mike lived and worked in Osaka, Japan for three years. It was then that Mike decided he wanted to open a restaurant back in the States. After returning to the Washington area, he worked at the Hay-Adams Hotel, the Dixie Grill and McCormick and Schmick's on K Street before opening his own restaurant, The Broad Street Grill, in Falls Church, VA.

In addition to growing the many programs of the Kitchen, Mike has focused on expanding its social enterprise efforts. In 2008, 50% of the revenue raised by DC Central Kitchen, over $2.2 million, was the result of social enterprise and employment projects. This work is continuing through the DC Central Kitchen Growers' Co-op, an innovative program where DC Central Kitchen works directly with local growers to purchase unclassified produce, or "seconds" and turn that product into better food for the Kitchen's partners while saving money and employing more graduates of the Kitchen's Culinary Job Training program. This program is now focused on processing and adding that business to the Kitchen's social enterprise portfolio.

Mike lives in Falls Church with his wife, Maureen, and their three children, Maeve, Michael III and Ciara.