ليزلي باتشو

Leslie Bacho has served as CEO of Second Harvest of Silicon Valley since 2017, after 19 years as the Chief Operating Officer of the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank. Her food banking career has been fueled by her deeply held belief that access to nutritious food is a basic human right.

Under Leslie’s leadership, Second Harvest has deepened its commitment to reducing the barriers neighbors face in accessing food assistance. This is part of the organization’s vision to bring a more client-centered approach to food banking, to work more deeply in partnership with the communities it serves, and to address the root causes of hunger in the areas where the food bank can have the greatest impact. Leslie is also focused on creating a workplace that empowers all Second Harvest staff to do their best work, and on inspiring the community to support the food bank’s mission to end hunger in Silicon Valley.

When the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, Leslie led the organization’s rapid response efforts to scale its services — doubling the number of people served to an average of 500,000 per month — while also making significant changes to its service delivery model to keep staff, volunteers and clients safe.

Additionally, Leslie is active in the national anti-hunger organization, Feeding America. She provides leadership at the state level through her service on the board of the California Association of Food Banks, and her long-time involvement with Farm to Family, a program that has transformed food banking in California.

Leslie was selected to be among the Silicon Valley Business Journal’s 2020 Women of Influence honorees and was a Silicon Valley Business Journal Power 100 Honoree in both 2023 and 2024. Leslie earned her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and her bachelor’s degree from Duke University. She resides with her family in San Francisco.