What’s On My Desk: No Kid Hungry Founder and CEO Billy Shore

Billy Shore is a man who is intent on making change. He is the founder and chief executive officer of Share Our Strength, a national nonprofit that is ending childhood hunger in America through the No Kid Hungry campaign; he founded the organization in 1984 with his sister Debbie Shore and a $2,000 cash advance on a credit card. Since then, Share Our Strength has raised and invested more than $600 million in the fight against hunger, and has won the support of national leaders in business, government, health and education, sports and entertainment. He is also the chairman of Community Wealth Partners, a Share Our Strength organization that helps change agents solve social problems at the magnitude they exist. From 1978 through 1987, Shore served on the senatorial and presidential campaign staffs of former U.S. Senator Gary Hart (D-Colorado). From 1988 to 1991, he served as Chief of Staff for former U.S. Senator Robert Kerrey (D-Nebraska). Later, form 2014 to 2015, he served as a Congressional appointee to the National Commission on Hunger, a group tasked with finding innovative ways to end hunger in America. In addition, he is the author of four books focused on social change, including “Revolution of the Heart” (Riverhead Press, 1995), “The Cathedral Within” (Random House, 1999), “The Light of Conscience” (Random House, 2004) and most recently, “The Imaginations of Unreasonable Men” (PublicAffairs, 2010). Here, the man who was named as one of America’s Best Leaders by US News & World Report shares a peek at his where he begins to affect change—at his desk—with Haute Living. 

• FAMILY PHOTOS: I keep a few of photos of my family on my desk at work. My sister and I founded Share Our Strength together more than 30 years ago.And my wife Rosemary is my best friend and adviser.  Family has remained at the center of what we do, especially as we see our children grow.
• SETTING THE TABLE: I’m a big reader and a book I am always coming back to is Danny Meyer’s “Setting the Table.” Danny is a friend, adviser and supporter (Meyer serves on Share Our Strength’s Board of Directors), and his writings on hospitality in business have been important resources as Share Our Strength has grown over the years. Every new employee receives a copy of the book when they begin their work at the organization.
• NOTECARDS: I collect beautiful notecards while I’m on the road for work. I like using these in my personal letter writing and try to get a few letters out each week. In the internet age I find it to be even more appreciated when I reach out to people personally this way, and not just digitally.
• EARPHONES: I’ve developed and interest and appetite for podcasts in the last few years. This October, Share Our Strength launched Add Passion and Stir, a weekly podcast I moderate that unites chefs and social innovators to discuss some of the toughest challenges facing communities. Topics range from preventing gang violence to solving hunger and poverty, but all episodes share one thing in common – the critical role food plays in creating social change. I’ve really enjoyed working on the podcast am excited to see where we can take it.
• DESK: The desk itself is important to me. I’ve had this folding card table since we launched Share Our Strength in 1984. It’s a great reminder of where we’ve been and where we’re going. Today Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign has connected kids in need to more than 500 million meals nationwide. But there is still so much work to do until all kids have the food they need. The desk will stay with me, and us, until that work is done.