Allison O’Toole was appointed as a member of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition on March 24, 2023, for a 2-year term.
Ms. O’Toole is the proud CEO of Second Harvest Heartland, a regional food bank that’s changing the way hunger is addressed in America. Located in the heart of the Twin Cities, Second Harvest Heartland serves 59 counties in Minnesota and Western Wisconsin through partnerships with 1,500 food shelf and program partners. Committed to ending racial and geographic inequities in hunger, Second Harvest Heartland has introduced freshly prepared, culturally connected meals and farm partnerships to feed more people. Last year, Second Harvest Heartland distributed 113 million meals to 813,000 people.
O’Toole’s current role is the culmination of 3 decades of working at the intersection of health and community service to help organizations, programs, and people thrive. She’s credited with overhauling Minnesota’s insurance exchange program as part of the Affordable Care Act, where she oversaw a rebuild of the organization’s operations, customer service, and outreach programs, resulting in 3 years of record-breaking enrollment. O’Toole also served as a leader at United States of Care and a Minneapolis-based public affairs firm — and as State Director for Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). Early in her career, O’Toole dedicated a decade to criminal justice as a prosecutor in the Twin Cities. O’Toole received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Art History from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, her Juris Doctor from Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota, and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Franklin and Marshall College. She serves on the Board of Directors at UCare and the Board of Trustees at Breck School. O’Toole loves art, local food, and Prince.
