Aaron Smith is director of nutrition services for the Seattle Public Schools. He holds a marketing degree from Illinois State University and attended Le Cordon Bleu. Early in his career he served as a community redevelopment specialist for AmeriCorps. His first position in school food was as district chef for Rockford Public Schools. He then served as assistant director for Hamilton County, Tennessee where he was responsible for all operations, which include strategic planning, department compliance (state and federal), increasing efficiency within the department. He is passionate about school nutrition because he helps expose students to nutritious meals and to different cultures through food. He believes that school lunches can be used as another form of education for students. (Seattle, WA)