The Shelby-Griffin Report presents the 21st annual tribute to Women of Influence in the food industry. For 21 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.
2026 Women of Influence
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2026 Women of InfluenceClaudia Keyes
SVP, Operational Excellence -- Acosta Sales Agency, Acosta Group
Read MoreClaudia Keyes led several enterprise-wide initiatives from February 2025 to February 2026 that advanced Acosta Sales' operational capability, strengthened sales enablement and delivered measurable financial impact.
She executed key priorities of The Acosta Way strategy, influencing how more than 1,300 sales and business intelligence associates operate and develop. Her work elevated talent development, operational consistency and data fluency through initiatives such as SuccessFactors talent assessments, The Acosta Way Development Guide, data-fluency and storytelling training, an integrated business planning framework, collaborative value creation for priority clients, career-pathing guides and a standardized Business Manager Onboarding Guide.
Keyes also played a critical role in the order-to-cash transformation, partnering with sales and commercial leaders to define strategy, escalate systemic issues and stabilize operations post-deployment to ensure business continuity and field adoption.
Her financial governance efforts delivered tangible results. She enhanced the monthly No Pay Report process and launched a PowerBI dashboard that helped recover more than $1 million in 120 days. She also led a refined monthly financial management process with sales and operations finance, improving forecasting accuracy, ownership and KPI visibility across multiple channels.
Across all initiatives, Keyes is focused on sustainable change and stronger performance outcomes.
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2026 Women of InfluenceClaudia Velgara
District Loss Prevention Specialist, Superior Grocers
Read MoreClaudia Velgara is a forward-thinking loss prevention leader who drives measurable impact across shrink reduction, associate safety and operational discipline at Superior Grocers.
Beginning her career in frontline grocery operations, she developed firsthand insight into store execution and customer experience. She advanced into investigative and analytical leadership, leveraging POS exception reporting, trend analysis and case development to identify internal and external theft patterns and implement targeted corrective strategies.
Wicklander certified, Velgara conducts investigations with professionalism, integrity and sound judgment. She played a pivotal role in helping launch the company's SAFR facial recognition program. She supported implementation, compliance alignment and store-level adoption -- ensuring the technology was deployed responsibly and effectively. Her leadership improved visibility on repeat offenders, accelerated case resolution and strengthened proactive deterrence, enhancing both safety and profitability.
Bilingual, Velgara builds trust across diverse teams and partners cross-functionally to embed sustainable loss prevention practices. She does not simply respond to risk; she builds systems that prevent it.
Her innovation, influence and operational results make her deserving of this recognition.
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2026 Women of InfluenceConstance Hammond
Retail Safety and Casualty Claims Manager, Lowes Foods
Read MoreConstance Hammond provides steady and confident leadership in the area of safety and claims administration for retail operations support. She ensures that retail stores are compliant with all regulatory requirements and oversees all aspects of safety training and program execution are her major objectives.
Hammond oversees a best-in-class retail safety program while also serving as a TPA liaison to ensure any accident claims are properly and promptly administered to control expense.
She volunteers in her community at homeless shelters through her church outreach ministry and has been a board member of a local animal rescue organization. She also is a foster dog mom.
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2026 Women of InfluenceCourtney Meador
VP of Human Resources, Houchens Food Group
Read MoreCourtney Meador exemplifies principled, visionary leadership in her department at Houchens Food Group. Serving more than 12,000 employees across 15 states, she provides strategic oversight for all human resources functions supporting four retail formats, a distribution warehouse and the corporate office.
Meador's leadership reflects operational excellence and a deep commitment to people. She spearheads enterprise-wide talent acquisition and retention strategies, shapes organizational culture and champions employee engagement initiatives that strengthen the company's ability to attract and develop top talent.
Meador also oversees payroll, compliance, employee relations, workers' compensation and crisis response efforts, ensuring consistent, fair and effective workforce practices across a complex, multi-location organization.
Between March 1, 2024-Feb. 28, 2025, she led a transformative culture initiative anchored in the "One Mission and 5 Rules" framework. She authored the company's new mission statement -- "Proudly empowering employee-owners, serving customers and supporting communities" -- creating a unifying foundation for accountability and engagement.
Through executive collaboration, enterprise-wide training and innovative communication strategies, Meador ensured the initiative was fully embedded into daily operations. She also launched Houchens Food Group University, a scalable online learning platform that streamlined onboarding.
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2026 Women of InfluenceCrystal Dominguez
Store Director, United Supermarkets
Read MoreCrystal Dominguez leads the United Supermarkets store in Muleshoe, Texas, where her steady, hands‑on leadership has strengthened both her team and the store's performance. This year, her store reached a major milestone, achieving a higher store rating for the Muleshoe location for the first time since 1996. Average weekly sales numbers were up, reflecting her focus, consistency and belief in what her team can accomplish together.
Dominguez works with her leaders to build smart labor schedules, protect service standards and keep the store running smoothly without placing strain on her team. She is committed to developing people, encouraging managers to learn across departments so they can support the store as a whole. Her willingness to teach, guide and challenge her team has created confident, capable leaders who feel supported and valued.
Dominguez's leadership is rooted in service. She rolls up her sleeves, works alongside her team and sets the tone for the entire store. Her presence builds trust and inspires a culture where everyone takes pride in their work and feels ownership in the store's success.
Dominguez's impact extends far beyond the store. She serves on the Muleshoe Heritage Foundation board and the CTE Advisory Committee and supports groups such as Muleshoe Fine Art, athletic booster clubs, the local food bank and multiple charity events. And her store has been recognized by community partners for its consistent support and kindness.
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2026 Women of InfluenceDanielle Wortham
Warehouse Operations Manager, Gelson's Markets
Read MoreAs a woman in a male-dominated distribution center, Danielle Wortham embodies strength and a no-nonsense, get-it-done kind of grit that leads the way. Beginning her career as a temporary clerk in human resources, she worked her way into the distribution center where she now oversees the daily operations of a complex, high-volume logistics environment.
Known for her direct leadership style and operational discipline, Wortham plays a critical role in coordinating across warehouse teams, transportation, buyers and store leadership. Her journey from temporary employee to operational leader reflects her determination, resilience and unwavering commitment to accountability and excellence.
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2026 Women of InfluenceDarla Deiro
Director, Albertsons SoCal Team, C.A. Fortune
Read MoreDarla Deiro is a key leader at C.A. Fortune, known for her strength in client development, strategic selling and building high-impact retail relationships. Deiro tends to sit right in that lane of driving growth through people, process and customer strategy. She leads customer and client engagement and execution at the SoCal Albertsons division.
Deiro is a strong operator and relationship builder. And not just big ideas -- she's about getting it done with clients and teams.
She has a client-first mindset and is focused on delivering results and making sure brands feel supported and growing.
Deiro is a connector across teams. She bridges gaps between sales, clients and internal teams, especially important in a national model like C.A. Fortune.
Deiro also is execution focused. She leans into "how does this actually land in market?" versus just strategy.
In addition, she is active in the community. She is part of the board of NextUp Southern California and attends and volunteers with Illuminators and FISMC.
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2026 Women of InfluenceDarla Rieg
Director of Commercial Planning, The Giant Co.
Read MoreDarla Rieg is an exceptional leader whose results‑oriented performance, strategic mindset and collaborative approach make her deserving of Women of Influence recognition. This year marked an important transition for The Giant Co. as it focused on building momentum for future success and she led a critical pricing project with accountability and collaboration.
In addition to the pricing project, Rieg represented merchandising on a brand-wide promotional initiative, driving parameters and change as areas of period planning were redefined. Her collaboration with strategic vendor partners brought important application enhancements to the merchandising teams.
Rieg also was a part of a team that implemented tools that improved promotional efficiency and bottom-line results, including bringing fresh online in the brand's merchandising promotion application.
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2026 Women of InfluenceDea Calkins
Business Manager, JOH
Read MoreDea Calkins serves as a business manager in the Twin Cities and is a respected leader within JOH's North Central region. Throughout her career, she has built a reputation for bringing strategic thinking, deep industry knowledge and a steady leadership presence to every partnership she supports. She plays an important role in helping drive growth across the region, working with clients and customers to develop solutions that deliver long-term results. Known for her professionalism and thoughtful approach, Calkins is someone people trust. She listens, considers every angle and finds ways to move initiatives forward while strengthening relationships along the way. Her ability to balance big-picture strategy with day-to-day execution makes her an invaluable partner to the clients and customers she serves. Calkins' strong work ethic, integrity and collaborative spirit have helped her build lasting relationships across the industry. She brings positivity, determination and a genuine commitment to excellence to everything she does. Dea lives in the northwest suburbs of the Twin Cities with her husband, Dave. When she is not working, she enjoys traveling and spending time with friends.
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2026 Women of InfluenceDebbie Allison
Store Manager, Hannaford Supermarkets
Read MoreDebbie Allison exemplifies the kind of leadership that defines a Woman of Influence in the food industry. She is widely respected for her people-first leadership and a commitment to doing what is right for associates, customers and the communities she serves.
Allison brings our values to life every day, empowering and modeling Hannaford's "Uncommon Care" purpose, creating environments where people feel supported, respected and motivated to deliver exceptional customer experiences.
Her leadership translates into strong business results, including double-digit sales growth and impressive movement growth, demonstrating her ability to balance operational excellence with a thriving store culture.
A core strength of Allison's leadership is building trust. Associates are comfortable sharing ideas and speaking up, knowing they will be heard and valued. She maintains a strong focus on food and workplace safety, reflected in strong audit results and a high associate engagement score, which speaks to the pride and confidence her team feels under her leadership.
Allison's influence extends beyond her store. She supports the United Way and champions inclusion through her involvement in the LGBTQ+ Business Resource Group. As a mentor and coach, she has developed district leaders, guiding associates into new opportunities. Through her leadership, integrity and commitment to people, she represents the very best of leadership.
Celebrating the Women of Influence in the food industry for 21 years!
Presented by The Shelby-Griffin Report
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