District Managers - Our Support Team
California - San Diego
Margaret Small
District Manager - Manna Development San Diego Margaret joined Manna in 2013 as an Assistant Manager and quickly moved up the ranks as a General Manager for both Solana Beach and Carmel Valley. She has 25 years of restaurant experience and believes there is nothing better than spending time with friends and family over a meal. Margaret has a BA and BS in Environmental Science and Business and a Masters in GIS. She has a strong background in systems and believes this is the way to execute excellence in the bakery cafes. She enjoys spending time outside or in the ocean which makes San Diego the perfect place for her! |
Helena Evans District Manager - Manna Development South San Diego Helena has worked for Manna Development since 2007. Since that time, she has held many roles: Shift Supervisor, Assistant Manager, General Manager, Training General Manager and Regional Training Manager. Helena loves being a part of a company that embodies her own personal values while being able to impact the lives of many both professionally and personally. Helena is married to her husband Roger of 15 years and counting. Helena and Roger have four amazing kids together - two girls, Taylor and Keona, and two boys, Malakai and Azekeal. When not working, Helena enjoys spending time with the family at the beach, park or just about anywhere outdoors or just hanging out at home watching movies. |
Julio Juarez District Manager - Risen Bread Los Angeles Julio joined Panera Bread in 2005 as a Shift Supervisor and worked his way up to General Manager at the Palmdale, CA bakery cafe. Julio has being instrumental with the development and training of our management team and was promoted to Executive Manager in 2013. In 2014 Julio was promoted to District Manager on December and also awarded a Mother Bread Award. Julio has 20 years of restaurant experience, working for EL Torito Mexican Grill, Rubio’s , Café Rio and Koo Koo Roo California Kitchen. |
California - Orange County
Reza Parshekofteh
District Manager - Our Daily Bread Orange County
Reza started with Panera Bread in March of 2007 and joined Manna Development Team in January of 2009. In the past 7 years Reza has seen the size of his district double from 7 bakery cafés to 14 bakery cafes. Prior to working with Manna Development, Reza held District Manager positions with Au Bon Pain, Johnny Rockets, California Bread as well as working with Corner Bakery. Reza earned a Degree in Civil Engineering from Leeds Polytechnic in Leeds, England.
Reza is married to a beautiful wife, has a daughter in college and a 4 year old son who keeps him on his toes. Reza used to play soccer for his college back in England and still enjoys supporting the Liverpool Football Club, He also loves to travel and visit new places.
California - Los Angeles
Raquel Hernandez District Manager - Risen Bread Los Angeles Raquel started with Panera Bread March 10, 2007 and just celebrated 14 years of service with Risen Bread. She was hired by Julio Juarez at the Palmdale café as a morning cashier. In less than a year, she worked her way up to General Manager in the Baywood and after 3 years she transferred to the Golden Valley café and became a Training General Manager. in 2015 Raquel received the General Manager of the year award and had lead her team to 5 platinum audits in a row! In 2019 Raquel was promoted to District Manager taking part of the Risen Bread Market. Raquel has worked in the food industry since she was 15 years old in her Grandmas restaurant. Her Grandma taught her the importance of serving others! |
Rico Lopez District Manager - Manna LA Los Angeles Rico started with Panera Bread in 2007 and was promoted to Training General Manager in 2009. He was later promoted to his current role as Regional Training Manager in 2011.-worked for Panera Bread since 2007. Rico's first job was as a cashier at Chuck E. Cheese and Rico says, "Yes, I dressed as the mouse a few times." Rico worked as a stockbroker during the dot.com crash and as a real estate agent during the housing bust and he claims to this day that neither situation was his fault. Rico has two younger sisters who along with him are big Padres, Chargers and Knicks fans. |
Michigan
Alex Lindholm
District Manager - I94 Corridor Alex joined the Manna team in January 2006 , initially serving as Training General Manager of the Rivertown Crossings bakery café. Alex was promoted to DIstrict Manager of our Lakeshore district and eventually took over the I-94 district which includes the Michigan City, IN bakery cafe. Alex says his passion is to create and embody a Heart of Service and a Passion for Achievement in himself and his teams. Prior to joining the Manna team, Alex worked in the casual dining food service industry, most extensively as a Training General Manager with TGIFriday’s. Along with being the proud father of Nicholas, Cassandra, and Katherine, he enjoys both contemplative practices and vigorous outdoor activity. |
Michelle DeLuca
District Manager - Lakeshore Michelle started with Panera in November of 2010 as a General Manager of our Alpine bakery cafe before becoming the Regional Training Manager for Bread of Life. Now Michelle works as one of our District Managers in the Grand Rapids and Lakeshore area. Prior to Panera, Michelle worked for an Applebee's franchisee for 17 years where she worked as Regional Training Manager for the last eight years that she was with them. Michelle and her husband Don live in Grandville with their two daughters and their dog Lando. She and her family enjoy spending time on their boat in Grand Haven and out on Lake Michigan. Time with family, traveling and staying healthy are some of the most important things in life to Michelle. |
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Curtis Pruitt
District Manager - Grand Rapids Curtis started with Panera nearly 10 years ago in our River Town mall café working part-time as an associate while attending Grand Valley State University. He was quickly promoted to a shift manager, and during the next few years worked in multiple cafes in the Grand Rapids area as an Assistant Manager. In 2015, Curtis was promoted to General Manager of our Old Grand Haven bakery-café. Shortly after he worked as a General Manager in Alpine for 2 years. Curtis stepped away from the GM role and worked as an Assistant Manager in Standale, where he helped the cafe achieve training certification. In 2019 Curtis became a GM again and opened our new Grand Haven drive-thru relocation. After a successful opening, the café achieved training certification under his leadership and has been one of our top performers since! In his free time, Curtis enjoys spending time with his wife Jillian, and their boys Calvin and Coulson. Curtis also enjoys gardening and tending to his 100 Dahlia plants every summer. In the fall, he enjoys following the Detroit Lions and Michigan football, while spending as much time outdoors as possible enjoying the gardens until the first frost. |
Nick Meerman
District Manager - North Michigan Nick joined the Panera Family August 2011 as an Assistant Manager in the Saint Joseph café. He helped open the Mount Pleasant café in 2012, before being promoted to the GM of Mount Pleasant. He then opened our Big Rapids and Traverse City cafes back-to-back during the fall of 2014. As an Executive GM he helped open or support various cafes in Michigan including DT Grand Rapids, Cascade, Kentwood, Saint Joseph and Wyoming. Before his time with Panera, Nick managed various restaurants even starting his own small marketing company. Nick attended Central Michigan University where he studied Business Marketing, Advertising and Sports Management. In his free time he loves to cook, particularly on the grill, as well as spend time at the beach or in the woods. Nick is a big sports fan, and you can usually find him watching the Detroit Lions or anything Michigan State. Go Green. |
Oregon/Washington
Jacob Dutoit
District Manager
Jake has worked for Panera Bread for 9 years. He started as an AM for the Beaverton location and assisted in opening two locations. They successfully turned those locations into training locations and they both still train to this day!
Jake feels that Manna coming to the NW has truly been the best thing that has ever happened for his career. Being a District Manager was a career goal for him.
Jake married his wife Rachelle in July of 2015. We met when I was the GM in Corvallis. We currently live in Vancouver, WA. They are both animal lovers. He loves the Atlanta Falcons, Portland Trailblazers, and San Francisco Giants.
Colorado
Kathryn Polly District Manager Kathryn has been with Panera in 2006 when she was hired as an Assistant Manager. Kathryn's favorite part about her job is building a strong foundation of training & developing team member into future leaders. She is also passionate about utilizing tools and systems to create a guest experience surrounded by Panera Warmth. Kathryn received her degree in Nutrition from Colorado State University. She currently lives in Windsor, CO with my husband, son and daughter. Kathryn enjoys playing volleyball, fly fishing, fitness, camping, spending time in the mountains and rooting for the Denver Broncos. Spending time with her family is her top priority (favorite past time). Kathryn was awarded the Mother Bread award in 2014 & 2017! |
Terri Moriarty District Manager Terri has been with Panera for 8 years. She was hired in Denver where she served as an Assistant Manger in several Denver area cafes. She then moved to Northern Colorado where she became a Training General Manager at our Loveland café. Terri loved the role as a TGM as she was able to have an impact, not just on the new managers, but on the entire market. Terri helped out several other cafes including the New Cheyenne, WY location and S. College before becoming a District Manager. |
Darrin Nowakowski District Manager Darrin joined the Panera family in 2009, as a General Manager and was promoted to a District Manager in 2016. His ability to teach, train, develop and connect with his team members are just a few of his greatest assets. He was the General Manager of a four time platinum rated cafe is proof of his dedication to excellence in all areas of management. Darrin has been married to his high school sweetheart, Kyleen for 16 years and has two children, Julia 17 and Jordan 14. When Darrin isn't in a cafe, he loves to spend time with his family. He enjoys football (GO BRONCOS!), golfing, camping, fishing and off roading in the Rocky Mountains. 
Jen Stewart District Manager Jenn Stewart is the District Manager for Southern CO with eight years of experience working with Panera and over 25 years’ experience in the restaurant industry. Jenn has had many different positions with Panera including Assistant Manager, General Manager, Training General Manager, and Delivery Operations Manager. Jenn enjoys using her positive attitude and energy to encourage others to work hard and succeed. Jenn is inspired daily by her husband and their two sons. In her free time, Jenn likes to travel, spend time in the mountains, and go on long walks with her two dogs. |
Becca Gray District Manager Becca joined Panera Bread in 2006 as an AM and has since held roles as a GM, TGM and a RTM. Prior to working for Panera she worked in training and management for Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery and for Sullivan's Steakhouse in Denver, CO. Becca is a Wisconsin Native and loves the Green Bay Packers. She earned a BA in Biology at the University of Oshkosh and an Associate's Degree in Culinary Arts/Hospitality Management from Milwaukee Area Technical College. Becca is married to her husband Mike and they reside in Aurora, CO with our two fur babies Jack and Boo. In her free time Becca and Mike love to travel anywhere with a great beach, garden, cook and bake. 
Anthony Trujillo District Manager Anthony has been with Panera Bread since December of 2016 & has had a dramatic impact on the market by training many managers, as well as, producing several internal promotes. He became a TGM after nearly one year with us which shows his talent of people development. Anthony has been in the restaurant business for 43 years and has worked many positions throughout his career such as Kitchen Manager, Executive Chef, Food and Beverage Director and has had a partnership in his own restaurant. In Anthony’s off time, he enjoys outdoor activities such as fishing, camping and playing golf. Sports such as softball and running 5Ks play a big role in his life which explains his knack for team work. He also plays guitar and likes listening to his favorite band which is REO Speedwagon. |