SOURCE OF WEALTH: Chef and Restaurateur
FUNDING AREAS: Youth, Global
OVERVIEW: Marcus Samuelsson currently focuses on the Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP), where he is co-chair of the board. He and his wife Maya Gate Haile also founded Three Goats Organization, which seeks to improve the health and well-being of children, young women and families in Ethiopia.
BACKGROUND: Born in 1971 in Ethiopia, Marcus Samuelsson was adopted by a Swedish family and cultivated a deep love for cooking through his grandmother. Samuelsson became an executive chef at New York restaurant Aquavit, receiving multiple awards. He has starred in TV shows Top Chef and The Feed. He opened the Red Rooster Harlem in 2010, and other eateries since.
ISSUES:
YOUTH AND MISC: Samuelsson serves as co-chair of the board of directors of the Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP), which “promotes and provides career opportunities in the food service industry for under-served youth through culinary arts education and employment.” Samuelsson has donated his winnings from Chopped All-Stars to C-CAP. He has also been involved with organizations like Harlem Children’s Zone, World Childhood Foundation and Children’s Storefront.
GLOBAL: Marcus Samuelsson and his wife Maya founded Three Goats Organization, which seeks to improve the health and well-being of children, young women and families in Ethiopia “by providing sustainable access to vital resources such as food and water.” Maya also has Ethiopian roots and serves on the steering committee for UNICEF’s Next Generation. Samuelsson, meanwhile, has been a UNICEF Ambassador since 2000.
Some of Three Goat Organization’s programs include the Clean Water Program and the Sanitary and Nutrient Food Program, which aims to “establish centers in areas of need that will donate cooking utensils to reducing cooking-related contamination.”
OTHER: Samuelsson is involved with City Harvest and sits on the board of the Apollo Theater.
LOOKING FORWARD: Still young and very much engaged in business, Samuelsson and Maya have a lot of time to develop their philanthropy. Expect their native Ethiopia to be a primary focus. Perhaps down the line, they will establish a formal family foundation.
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