Delaware’s own Carrie Leishman, the president and CEO of the Delaware Restaurant Association (DRA), has been named chair of the board of directors of the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF), the workforce development and training arm of the National Restaurant Association.
A nationally recognized workforce and industry leader, Leishman is in her 26th year as president and CEO of the DRA, which represents over 2,300 restaurants statewide.
As the leader of the Delaware Restaurant Foundation (DRF)—the DRA’s nonprofit arm focused on education, training, and workforce development—Leishman already has experience leading a comprehensive hospitality workforce pipeline.
Leishman oversees Delaware programs that reach thousands of learners and workers each year. The DRF currently supports more than 6,000 high school students annually through the ProStart program. Meanwhile, the Restaurant Ready program has served more than 900 adult learners with a 100 certification completion rate. Delaware is also a state leader in hospitality apprenticeships, with programs supporting youth, adult, and justice-involved participants.
“National vision. State-powered impact.”
“I step into this role with a perspective shaped by the field,” Leishman says. “I am a state restaurant association CEO and foundation leader. Together with my colleagues from across the country, we come from the places where strategy meets reality, where programs live not on paper, but in classrooms, restaurants, workforce centers, and communities every day.”
With uncertain economic times, new tech and automation, and evolving expectations around work and learning, this is a pivotal time for the hospitality industry. States are rethinking workforce systems, credentials, and pathways in response to labor shortages, and restaurants have to rapidly adapt to the changes being implemented.
“The question is not whether change is happening,” Leishman says. “It is whether we are positioned to lead within it. That is why this moment matters, and why the partnership between the NRAEF and state restaurant associations is so vital.”
Programs such as ProStart and Restaurant Ready remain central to the NRAEF’s mission, but Leishman also emphasizes the importance of building clearer, more connected pathways beyond initial entry points.
“The challenge is not getting people in the door,” she says. “It is what happens next. These programs must be part of flexible pathways that lead to advancement, additional credentials, and real careers.”
Under Leishman’s leadership, the NRAEF will focus on modernizing what works, strengthening trusted programs, and building workforce systems that reflect state and regional realities.
She summarizes her vision as “national vision, state-powered impact.”
Find a full slate of officers for both the National Restaurant Association and Educational Foundation online.
Related: A Guide to Over 30 New Delaware Restaurants You Need to Try
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