Diana Brooks Appointed New Chair of Feeding South Florida's Board of Directors

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Sep 05, 2012, 11:00 ET

PEMBROKE PARK, Fla., Sept. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Paco Velez, CEO of Feeding South Florida™, is pleased to announce that Diana Brooks has been appointed as chair of Feeding South Florida's Board of Directors.

The Board of Directors at Feeding South Florida is a committed, passionate, diversified group of citizens dedicated to the mission of ending hunger in South Florida. According to Feeding South Florida's records, 938,110 individuals in South Florida experience food insecurity; 340,740 of those are children. The food insecurity rate in South Florida is 16.9 percent.

Brooks, who began volunteering her time to Feeding South Florida over 10 years ago, joined the organization's Board of Directors in 2008. She is also co-founder and managing partner of Coral Gables-based VSBrooks Advertising, which donates yearly in-kind services to Feeding South Florida. Brooks spearheads the agency's team for strategic planning and production of all broadcast, print, collateral, online, and public relations materials for the organization.

As chair of Feeding South Florida's Board of Directors, Brooks' main goal is to use her marketing expertise to educate the community about who the face of hunger really is. It's no longer only the homeless; it's those who suffer in silence: the elderly, children, the working poor, handicapped and veterans.

Brooks, who founded VSBrooks in 1996 with Vivian Santos, services the agency's client relationships and oversees the agency's entire operational structure. She has worked with Fortune 500 companies including PepsiCo, Frito-Lay, and Colgate-Palmolive, and has led brand-building teams at regional and national levels in categories that span healthcare, public service, tourism, automotive, retail, and real estate.

Brooks holds a Bachelor of Science in Advertising and Marketing from the University of Miami in Miami, Fla. In 2008, 2010 and 2011, Brooks was named among the Top 50 Business Women Leaders of South Florida by Florida International University Center for Leadership.

"We are very pleased to have Diana as the chair of our Board of Directors," said Velez. "Having donated her and her team's time to Feeding South Florida for several years, she has a unique understanding of our mission, and is truly dedicated to fighting hunger in South Florida."

"I'm very passionate about ending hunger in South Florida," said Brooks. "With my many years of marketing experience, I hope to help the public understand that there are people who are food insecure in all of our communities, and that it's very important for all of us to work together to make a difference in their lives."

Among VSBrooks Advertising's many accolades and awards are the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce's 2012 South Florida Good to Great Award®, Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce's 2012 Top 100 Minority Business Awards®, South Florida Business Journal's 2012 Best Places to Work award, Business Leader's 2012 Top 50 Entrepreneurs Award won by Brooks, 2011 Top 50 U.S. Hispanic Agencies by Advertising Age magazine, 2011 25 Women to Watch - Florida's Entrepreneurial Leaders, Business Leader's 2011 Top 100 Florida Small Businesses and Top 300 Small Businesses of the South awards, South Florida Business Journal's 2011 Business of the Year award for 1-25 employees, 2010/2011 50 Top Business Women Leaders award, Florida International University. In addition to these corporate recognitions, in 2011, the agency was recipient of prestigious W3 Visual Appeal award, six Addy awards, and three Summit Creative awards.

ABOUT FEEDING SOUTH FLORIDA

Feeding South Florida™ is a not-for-profit organization that empowers other South Florida not-for-profit organizations to assist people in need and improve their lives. Feeding South Florida does this by providing food and other grocery products, and by educating and engaging the community to fight hunger and poverty. Through a local network of nearly 600 other not-for-profit organizations, Feeding South Florida strives to serve over 938,000 individuals in need, including more than 340,000 children who are food insecure, the elderly, the mentally and physically challenged, veterans and the working poor, in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe Counties with compassion and integrity. Feeding South Florida, one of the largest food banks in the state, is a member of Feeding America, the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief charity. In 2011, Feeding South Florida distributed over 30 million pounds of food valued at almost $50 million within the South Florida community. Feeding South Florida's headquarters is located at 2501 SW 32 Terrace, Pembroke Park, FL, 33023. For more information, please call (954) 518-1818 or visit www.feedingsouthflorida.org.