Valerie Stone Hawthorne, the Stevens Park resident who volunteered to serve on several City of Dallas boards, including the Dallas Animal Services commission, received honorary recognition at City Hall recently.
While many of us were hunkering down because of the pandemic, Hawthorne sprang into action, working nonstop for weeks to help keep the North Texas Food Bank’s emergency food relief efforts humming.
As the food bank’s government relations director, Hawthorne coordinated with local agencies, nonprofits and churches to orchestrate enormous food pick-up events that often drew hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of people.
Hawthorne, who has a doctorate in cancer and cell biology from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, started with the food bank in 2017 after relocating from Houston, where she worked for the Houston Food Bank.
“Hawthorne provided invaluable advice to City Council members regarding food deserts during her tenure,” the special proclamation from Mayor Pro-Tem Chad West states.
She also served on the Dallas Public Facility Corporation for six months and was a board member for the City of Dallas EcoDev Dallas Development Fund for three-and-a-half years.
Hawthorne and her family — husband, Jason, and twins Zane and Lily — are moving back to the Houston area, but she will remain on staff with the North Texas Food Bank, “working to advocate for the food bank’s legislative priorities.”
