2025 Women of Influence

The Shelby-Griffin Report presents the 20th annual tribute to Women of Influence in the food industry. For 20 years, we’ve honored the outstanding women shaping the food industry—from executives and innovators to mentors and community leaders. This year’s nominees represent a diverse range of roles, backgrounds, and regions, each making a profound impact in their careers and beyond.

Explore their stories below, and join us in celebrating their achievements.

2025 Women of Influence

2025 Women of Influence

Lorin Velazquez

Customer Experience Specialist, Stop & Shop

Lorin Velazquez is a dedicated and results-driven leader who exceeds expectations. She offers invaluable support to her peers, demonstrating expertise and a commitment to operational excellence.
Lorin has played a key role in driving the success of several key company KPIs, including Kronos Auto Schedule, Everseen and Net Promoter Score. In addition, she took on the responsibility of cash office lead for the brand, providing support across customer experience and business operations.
Serving as a liaison between district directors, store management and union teams, Lorin's strong communication skills ensure clarity and alignment, driving success throughout the organization. Her passion for customer service is evident in every district she supports, as she leads by example to drive excellence in service and operational performance.
Lorin's leadership – marked by integrity, teamwork and strategic focus – had a positive impact on her district and region in 2024. Her ability to navigate challenges while prioritizing associate development further underscores her influence.

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2025 Women of Influence

Lorrie Griffith

Senior Content Creator, Shelby Publishing Co., Inc.

Lorrie, also a UGA graduate, has about 32 years of experience in the field.

“I met my husband, Kevin, here at Shelby, so he understands the business and the extra time it sometimes takes to meet a deadline,” she says. “Our two sons, who are grown with families of their own, own their own coffee-roasting business and always ask me what I’m currently writing about when we get to catch up. I’ve always got a story for them.

“I enjoy writing stories about people who are passionate about getting food to people who need it. Having fresh food is a basic need that many of us take for granted. These conversations help remind me to be grateful for easy access to food and to be thankful there are people out there who are working to serve those who need it.”

Outside of the office, Lorrie appreciates spending time with her grandchildren, the fifth of whom arrived in April. She adds, “I volunteered for several years in a backpack ministry, packing non-perishable food in backpacks for children to take home for the weekend. I sing in the choir and serve as clerk at my current church.”

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2025 Women of Influence

Lucy Durbin

SVP, National Food Facilities Group, CBRE

Lucy Durbin focuses on real estate brokerage solutions for the food industry, including food processing, manufacturing and distribution facilities, lending technical expertise to her clients. Lucy is at the forefront of her industry as a subject matter expert in cold storage/food distribution/food manufacturing real estate. She and her team are pioneers in their approach to cold storage speculative development (developing freezer/cooler buildings prior to finding a tenant). Today, they lead the nation in market share of cold spec leasing assignments, as well as completions. In the last five years, Lucy was part of 117 transactions totaling more than 12 million square feet and valued at more than $1.9 billion across 13 states. Lucy takes particular pride in finding new food manufacturers and food distributors to bring jobs back to communities after facilities are shuttered. What makes Lucy stand out among her peers is her commitment to her clients, her ability to adapt to changing situations and her relentless pursuit to learn more. She is generous with her time, going out of her way to pursue opportunities to give back to others in CBRE's office and the Dallas community. She believes that it's a moral obligation to invest in one's community and she does this through mentorship, participation in local events and philanthropic efforts.

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2025 Women of Influence

Lupita Tolento

Director of Center Store, Northgate Gonzalez Market

Beginning in 1999, Lupita Tolento has spent her entire career with Northgate González Market, growing alongside the company. Over the past nearly two years, she has led a team that has achieved sales and unit growth and differentiated offerings with innovative products, many of which come from Mexico and Latin America.
What drives Lupita each day is the sense of fulfillment that comes from knowing her work makes a difference. She says the support, value and challenge she feels from her role motivate her to do her best. The results – through strategic growth and product differentiation reflect the team's hard work. She is proud to be part of an organization that encourages innovation and strives for excellence at every level.

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2025 Women of Influence

Lydia Alesina

Category Manager, Food Lion

As category manager for condiments/sauces and shelf stable sides categories for Food Lion, Lydia Alesina was responsible for delivering consistent shopping experience throughout complex and dynamic 2,500 SKUs assortment for 1,110 stores across 10 states. Lydia helped develop and implement a short- and long-term category strategy that delivered record-breaking results in 2024. In partnership with company private brand development team, Lydia helped bring to market 45 new, own brand items, which contributed 7.7 percent sales growth. Lydia also partnered with several key national suppliers to create actionable plan to reduce unsellable inventory loss and saw 3 percent improvement in 2024. Late last year, to further her development and knowledge of grocery retail industry, Lydia accepted the role of category manager for vegetables and local produce at Food Lion. From day one, she has focused on building strategic plans to continue to bring the freshest produce for Food Lion's 10 million weekly customers, grow its partnership reach with local farmers and reduce operational cost by increasing efficiencies in transportation and supply chain. Lydia supports Food Lion Feeds, the company's nonprofit dedicated to ending food insecurity. In her free time, she also volunteers with Samaritan's Purse, a nonprofit providing emergency aid to disaster victims. Lydia was involved in recovery efforts in Western North Carolina following the devastating effects of Hurricane Helene.

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2025 Women of Influence

Lydia Marquez Gomez

Director of Marketing, Marquez Bros.

Lydia Marquez Gomez is a wife, mother, business woman, sister, daughter and online influencer. She manages the branding and marketing for the family business, Marquez Bros., and is not afraid to get her hands dirty. She excels in her passion for the food industry and offering Hispanics a healthy and delicious alternative to Mexican cuisine. Today, El Mexicano brand is recognized as the market leader in authenticity, quality and flavor. It was the company's vision to bring to the market products that would not only marry nostalgia and culinary traditions but become a staple in the kitchens of consumers, generation after generation. The family commitment to providing the Hispanic community with the products they are accustomed to back home has allowed the company to branch out into grocery and non-food products as well. This has given El Mexicano the opportunity to become a nationally recognized brand and household name.

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2025 Women of Influence

Lynn Scavullo

Director Omnichannel Ops Strategy and Support, Stop & Shop

Lynn Scavullo demonstrated exceptional leadership in 2024. While excelling in her role, she goes beyond typical job expectations, immersing herself in various areas of the business.
She developed a union contingency plan, collaborating with many across the brand. The plan was successfully tested in June, ensuring stores had the necessary support to care for customers.
Lynn also led the closing of the Jersey City e-commerce facility, guiding the transition to using a third-party provider for the last-mile delivery process. As a result, store pick sales saw double-digit growth. Lynn ensured stores had the equipment and resources needed for success.
In her ops support role, Lynn took the lead in coordinating town halls, assisting others with presentations and contributing to Stop & Shop's sustainability programs. She also coordinated and influenced volunteer events, including the Paul Newman Hole in the Wall Camp and Connecticut Food Bank in early winter.
Lynn's leadership is defined by her ability to adapt, collaborate and influence the business and the communities she serves. Her commitment to excellence makes her a standout leader.

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2025 Women of Influence

Maggie Kaeppel

VP Publisher, North and Mid Atlantic Regional Director, Shelby Publishing Co., Inc.

Maggie Kaeppel, VP Publisher, North and Mid Atlantic Regional Director, has been a sales consultant for 35 years, the past five with Shelby.

“I love working here. I feel appreciated and enjoy building the business with my co-workers,” she says. “We share a common goal of doing our absolute best for our retail subscribers and customers.

“The retail grocery channel is my favorite industry because it is vibrant and ever changing. I have the pleasure of working with salt-of-the-earth retailers and vendors who work hard to serve their customers and communities.”

Maggie says she relishes her current role because it allows her to help shape the direction of The Shelby and Griffin Reports. “It also allows me to capitalize on my experiences – from having been a cashier at Jewel-Osco to selling HBC products to publishing.”

When not working, Maggie mentors young adults in career development, volunteers with local hunger-relief organizations and helps out at St. Jude\'s Children\'s Research Hospital charity events.

“I could not do this job without the support of my family,” she adds. “Jay, my husband of 36 years, and our adult children, Jenny and Jimmy, have been real troopers. My husband took great care of the kids while I traveled for work, though I did have to intercede once when the kids mentioned three nights of frozen pizza and no veggies.”

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2025 Women of Influence

Maggie Torres

Manager, Business Partner and People Experience, Stemilt Growers

Maggie Torres' journey from farmworker to a leader in learning and development exemplifies her resilience, dedication and the pursuit of continuous growth. She leads occupational training and people safety within Stemilt Growers, a role that has her in orchards and packing locations to ensure that 4,000-plus Stemilters know and practice safety in the workplace.
Maggie has improved Stemilt's OSHA rating across business units while fostering a culture of ongoing learning. She implemented the Equitable Food Initiative certification throughout Stemilt's operations by overseeing training, leadership team development and audits to achieve certification. She led the development of Learning Tuesdays, a weekly one-hour training event for all employees to gain skills around self-awareness, strategy, financial literacy, business functions and knowledge and well-being.
While excelling in her full-time position, Maggie is nearing completion of a master's degree in human resource management. She also has sought additional growth opportunities through Toastmasters, enhancing her communication and leadership abilities, which have benefited her team and the organization. Beyond formal education, Maggie invests in her personal development through volunteerism, particularly with the Landmark Forum, where she hones her leadership skills while helping others achieve their potential.

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2025 Women of Influence

Mandy Rinderle

Customer VP, Omni Shopper Commerce, The Campbell's Company

Mandy Rinderle partners with Campbell's sales teams to elevate the omni-commerce conversation to drive sales, volume, profit and share growth across nine market-leading retailers: ADUSA, Albertsons, Dollar General, H-E-B, Kroger, Meijer, Publix, Target and Wakefern.
She is elevating the conversation around e-commerce, one of the fastest growing business segments in Campbell's Snacks, by developing unique plans at each retailer to drive a seamless experience for shoppers across a portfolio of elevated snacking brands, including Cape Cod, Snyder's of Hanover, Pepperidge Farm, Goldfish, Kettle, Lance, Late July, Pretzel Crisps and Milano.
Mandy helped shape Campbell's omni-commerce team with her ability to drive out-of-the-box thinking through short-term, process-driven initiatives to help drive the long-term vision.
She's been recognized for leading best-in-class innovation launches in some of the fastest-growing omnichannel retailers, such as the launches of Goldfish Crisps and Kettle Brand with Avocado Oil chips at Kroger and for developing a localization strategy tying brands to the community. She's helped to change the conversation with key retailers and executed four recent customer summits to help drive profitable growth.
Mandy is most proud of being a mom to her four children, alongside her husband, Jason. As a five-year breast cancer survivor, she's an advocate for breast cancer awareness in her community of Cincinnati, Ohio.

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