Lecturing Instructor, School of Culinary Arts, The Culinary Institute of America; Hyde Park, NY

Roshara Sanders ’14 is a lecturing instructor in the School of Culinary Arts at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA). She is the first black female chef instructor at the CIA and an inspirational figure who has overcome hardship and poverty, served two tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, and rose to the top of the restaurant game before taking her talent, skill, empathy, and wisdom to America’s most important institution of culinary training. An alum of the James Beard Foundation’s Chef Bootcamp for Policy and Change, she also presented a feature dinner at the prestigious James Beard House in New York City in November of 2018 in honor of Veterans Day. That same year,she was recognized as a fellow at the Forbes 30 Under 30 Summit in Boston. Chef Sanders currently serves as a celebrity ambassador for Habitat for Humanity International and most recently traveled to Malawi on behalf of the organization. Chef Sanders currently leads the CIA’s new African Cuisines concentration. She plans to change the industry from the inside out. @chefro137