Board Spotlight: Introducing Julia Mirak Kew
In March, Food Link welcomed its newest board member, Julia Mirak Kew. From sitting on the boards of several non-profits to serving as vice president of her family business, Julia is an active voice in our local community. Our admin assistant Darcy sat down with Julia to chat about her impressive background and passion for Food Link.
Sitting on the board for six non-profits while running a family business and foundation is no easy feat. However, if you ask Julia Mirak Kew how she manages all her responsibilities, she will tell you, “the busier you are, the more you can get done.”
And Julia certainly gets a lot done. Not only is she the vice president of Mirak Properties in Arlington, she is also a trustee of her family’s foundation, an advisory board member of the Arlington Children’s Room, and a board member of the Boch Center, the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, the Armenian Cultural Foundation, and The Armenia Tree Project. Oh, and she joined Food Link’s board in March.
Despite her busy schedule, Julia still finds the time to advocate for women's issues and causes around the world and enjoy cooking and gardening.
Image Description: A photo of Food Link’s hub in the snow.
So how did Julia cross paths with Food Link?
Julia found out about Food Link roughly ten years ago when both she and Food Link’s co-founder DeAnne Dupont served together on the board of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce. While Food Link was renovating its Hub, Julia attended one of our socials. “I was fascinated,” Julia recalled. Following the event, she kept up with our news and achievements, and a few years ago, began supporting Food Link financially through her family’s foundation.
She met with our Executive Director Rachel in 2022 and was further captivated by the diligence imbued in all of our programs and operations. “Every little step of your process has another hundred steps behind it.”
Image Description: A photo of a person holding two bread loaves in their gloved hands.
Last Fall, Julia and her daughter volunteered at our Hub. This experience confirmed all that Julia had gleaned about Food Link. While packing bread, Julia was astounded by how attentive a fellow volunteer was to sorting and customizing deliveries for our recipient organizations. She explained to Julia, “Well, this one is for a senior center, so they don't want a lot of nuts and seeds or chewy Iggy's bread. They need softer things.” For a children’s program, the volunteer instructed Julia to set aside white bread and rolls.
“It never occurred to me,” Julia said when harkening back to this moment, “that you have to figure out what kind of bread goes to which organization.”
When their volunteer shift concluded, Julia’s daughter asked her, “Mom, do you have any idea the logistics that go into what they do here?” Julia replied, “I can only imagine.”
Julia knew that after this informative experience, she simply had to get more involved with Food Link.
Now that she is a board member, Julia plans to bring her “straight shooter” attitude and decision-making expertise to Food Link and leverage her extensive Arlington network to further support our mission. Her experience supporting food security and poverty reduction initiatives in Armenia will also guide her counsel.
When asked what advice she would give to fellow business leaders looking to get involved locally, Julia emphasized the necessity of embracing your passions.
“Don't volunteer for some organization where you're not interested in what they do. You're not going to get anything out of it, and you're probably not going to be a very good volunteer, right? You have to be passionate about what you give your time to. Focus on one, two, or three things that really speak to you and go deep.”
We are so grateful that Julia has chosen to go deep with Food Link!
Image Description: A photo of a person holding out a box full of apples.
Are you interested in getting involved like Julia? We encourage you to sign up to volunteer on our Get Involved page. You can also donate to us online, subscribe to our newsletter, and follow us on social media. If you have any questions, email us at info@foodlinkma.org or call us at 781-819-4225.