With a background in human services and a Spanish & Communications major from Rutgers University, Kathleen will often be found talking at Manndible. If not in discussion, she's on her laptop, prepping, running a register, picking up scraps of paper from the floor or doing dishes. Kathleen is in charge of Café Operations and Staffing. She can be contacted with all feedback, donation requests, and for folks seeking employment at Manndible.

When not at work, Kathleen enjoys life with her partner and 6 year old triplets.

"I came to this area after hearing about the Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen during college. I volunteered to clean the barns at the Sanctuary for one summer, and fell in love with Ithaca. I started my first business in 1993. It was called PJ's Vegan and I sold burritos and sandwiches to Greenstar and Oasis. I then started to work along side of Susie Gutierrez, owner of Susie's Seitan, making and selling food at music festivals and the Ithaca Farmers Market. Kathleen was also working with Susie at music festivals, and after meeting we decided to form a partnership and open a café. First it was Harvest Deli, then Juna's Café, and now Manndible Café.

I handle the finances, payroll, bookkeeping, and try to keep my head from spinning off my shoulders when tax returns are due. To balance this, I also handle most of the catering jobs we do. I really enjoy making food for people. I used to do a lot of cooking at Harvest Deli but I don't anymore. I also enjoy doing the food sourcing. We are using as many local sources for the food we sell as possible, so it's fun to see what is available in this area. More choices all the time!

I love our new home at Cornell. It's been a wonderful change for us and we feel lucky to have been awarded this contract to run the café in Mann Library."