North Texas Food Bank Successfully Expands Thanks To Top Strategist Colleen Brinkmann

(CBSDFW.COM) - She's a top strategist for nonprofits and helped guide the North Texas Food Bank through a time of unprecedented expansion.

Colleen Townsley Brinkmann's life was first shaped by her childhood experience.

"I knew that growing up in India and having the childhood that I had, my world view was huge," Brinkmann said.

Brinkmann has made a career of giving back, working in the non-profit world.

"I care about all religions, core human need and the equality of people," she explained.

With the North Texas Food Bank for 16 years, she was the non-profit's chief philanthropic officer, guiding this vital community resource from a place that brought in $2 in 2002 to $110 million over the last three years.

The food bank is now on track to provide 90 million nutritious meals a year by 2025.

"It was just raw and ready for growth, and Jan [Pruitt] was the kind of person who saw that," Brinkmann said of Jan Pruitt, the food bank's CEO who passed away of cancer in 2017.

Brinkmann credits Pruitt with the non-profit's transformation in developing its identity and attracting new volunteers and donations. The two women worked together on many projects.

"She gave me the freedom to innovate and experiment. She was always there for me," Brinkmann said.

Brinkman is now on to her next endeavor. She's written a book called "Moonshot Leadership."

"What I mean by 'moonshot' is achieving the seemingly unachievable," she said.

Sharing what she learned at the North Texas Food Bank, so other nonprofits and companies can make change for good.

"To truly make sustainable transformational change for good in this world, you have to be fearless. You have to be fearless," Brinkmann said.

Brinkmann is donating a portion of sales from her book to the North Texas Food Bank, alongside food banks in Chicago and Atlanta.