Young Culinary Masters’ leaders are young ingénues with diverse backgrounds bringing experiences, talents, energy, and a variety of perspectives and fresh ideas to the organization. They are community activists with strong commitment to serving underprivileged constituencies. To this end, they have developed innovative and interactive ways of tackling one of the major pandemics facing underserved communities: poor nutrition.

Nadege Fleurimond
Co-Founder and Executive Director

Nadege Fleurimond is the Founder and Executive Director of Young Culinary Masters. It was indeed a long and precarious road to Young Culinary Masters, but Ms. Fleurimond has always remained true to her dreams and her commitment to her community. With varying interests in business, government, and social issues, Ms. Fleurimond has taken it upon herself to follow all her dreams. She graduated with a Political Science degree from Columbia University and upon graduation, she worked for the New York City Council serving as a project manager and community Liaison. However, she also had a strong love of cooking. That love led her to start her own catering company, Fleurimond Catering, Inc. Her catering firm has catered numerous functions for clients such as Wyclef Jean, the Manhattan Borough President, New York Times Best Selling Author, Jill Nelson, Ann-Hauser Busch, The American Council on Science and Health and various other individuals and institutions throughout the New York City and Tri-State area.

A strong community activist, Nadege gives much of her time to social causes especially those dealing with the Youth. Young Culinary Masters is a marriage of both her passion for her craft, cooking, and her self-inflicted need to create social change in her environment. Ms. Fleurimond wanted to bring the joys of cooking and the culinary arts to the young. Thus decided to open up a facility where they could come and learn and have fun. But looking around her at the unhealthy eating options that young kids are faced with on a regular basis, Ms. Fleurimond decided that simply teaching kids to cook would not suffice. It is essential that inner city and urban young adults understand the ramifications of their eating patterns. To that understanding, Young Culinary Masters, aim to truly educate young people and bring about positive change in their eating and fitness lifestyles.

Ms. Fleurimond brings to YCM both breadth and depth of knowledge. She is also the founder and CEO of Roar Communications, a management consulting company providing entrepreneurs and small businesses with strategies for success. Ms. Fleurimond is an experienced business manager and community activist. With her at the helm of Young Culinary Masters, the organization is sure to reach great heights. She has gathered support from various political figures for her organization. Congresswoman Yvette Clarke has called the program a much needed resource for the youth.

Waheedah Joefield
Co-Founder and Managing Director

Waheedah Joefield comes to Young Culinary Masters with several years of experience working in underserved communities. As a product of the inner-city herself, Ms. Joefield has witnessed the consequences of poor nutrition first hand—malnutrition, (morbid) obesity and death—which are prevalent in the inner city neighborhood where she resides, and thus, understands the importance of nutrition education among underprivileged adolescents. Ms. Joefield’s community work includes her work assisting the Executive Director of the Caribbean Women’s Health Association, (an organization which provides comprehensive and culturally sensitive healthcare services to Brooklyn and Queens’ underprivileged) and working with adolescents at Madison Square Boys and Girls’ Club, where she assisted at-risk youths with building confidence, developing character and acquiring the skills needed to become productive and responsible adults. Her previous community affiliations, coupled with her work as the Marketing Director at Fleurimond Catering make her a wonderful asset to Young Culinary Masters. Furthermore, Ms. Joefield currently works as a Research Manager for a financial consulting firm in New York City. Her ties with institutional investor clients and hedge fund employees will prove to be a valuable asset to Young Culinary Masters as it attempts to gain momentum in its first and most primary year. Ms. Joefield earned her B.A. in both Literature and Psychology at Georgetown University and is currently in pursuit of her MBA.

Cindy Peters
Youth Liaison and Office Administrator

Cindy Peters joins Young Culinary Masters with over five years of youth development experience. As a Youth Organizer with Youth Organizers United, Ms. Peters played a vital role in educating youngsters about the health epidemics, both sexually and reproductively related, which are prevalent in their community. She understood the importance of the role that youngsters play in solving these problems. As a Teen Volunteer with the YMCA, Ms. Peters served as a Fundraiser and Event Planner; she organized a variety of entertaining, yet educational events, which served as both a learning platform and an outlet for the youth in her community. Through her volunteer work with community organizations and government institutions, Ms. Peters hoped to serve as an example, showing adolescents that empowerment begins with civic education. Prior to YMCA, Ms. Peters participated in the Explorer program at Brooklyn’s 67th Precinct, a program which enables Police Officers to act as role models to the youngsters in their community; and as a result, Ms. Peters recognizes the important role everyone can play in the edification of adolescents.