Dr. Allison Padilla-Goodman Named to Out of Hand Theater Advisory Board
ATLANTA, GA (May 11, 2026) – Out of Hand Theater has announced that Atlanta community leader and Giving Kitchen CEO Dr. Allison Padilla-Goodman has joined its Community Advisory Board.
Out of Hand Theater’s Community Advisory Board is comprised of civic, nonprofit, business, arts, education and public health leaders. Their collective expertise supports Out of Hand’s connection to the Atlanta community and helps advance its mission of using theater as a tool for social change.
In addition to serving as the CEO of Giving Kitchen, Padilla-Goodman is an active member of the Atlanta community. She is an alumna of Leadership Atlanta, a member of the International Women’s Forum and the Atlanta Civic Collaboratory, and has served on multiple nonprofit boards, including Atlanta Way 2.0, the World Affairs Council of Atlanta, and the Howard School.
“I’m thrilled to be joining Out of Hand’s Advisory Board,” stated Padilla-Goodman. “Their performances have deeply moved my thinking on topics that impact Giving Kitchen’s clients and community regularly—like homelessness, immigration detention, and more. I have deep appreciation for their impact, courage, and community-building, and I look forward to contributing to their continued success.”
Prior to Giving Kitchen, Padilla-Goodman spent many years in academia where she did research on the racial politics of repopulating post-Katrina New Orleans and on the internally displaced people of Colombia, as well as teaching Sociology courses. She also led the Anti-Defamation League’s work across the American South, spent years in public education in New Orleans and abroad, and worked as a community organizer with the New Orleans arts community.
Giving Kitchen is a national organization founded in Atlanta that supports food service workers in crisis. As the backbone of the nation’s second largest employment sector, food service workers face crises every day and often lack the resources to get through them. For over a decade, Giving Kitchen has provided emergency assistance to food service workers through financial support and a network of community resources. Named The James Beard Foundation’s 2019 Humanitarian of the Year, Giving Kitchen is proud to have supported tens of thousands of food service workers across the nation.
“We’re delighted to welcome Allison to the Out of Hand Advisory Board,” said Out of Hand Theater Co-Executive Director Ariel Fristoe. “Her deep experience across civic, community and cultural spaces, paired with her commitment to equity and creative expression will be invaluable as we seek to expand Out of Hand Theater’s impact and reach.”
About Giving Kitchen
Giving Kitchen (GK), recipient of the James Beard Foundation Humanitarian of the Year Award, is a national nonprofit organization with its headquarters in Atlanta, Ga. that provides emergency assistance to food service workers through financial support and a network of community resources. Since inception in 2013, GK has served over 39,000 food service workers and provided over $17 million dollars in financial assistance. For more information about Giving Kitchen, visit givingkitchen.org and follow @givingkitchen on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Food service workers in need of assistance should ask for help at givingkitchen.org/help.
About Out of Hand Theater
Out of Hand Theater works at the intersection of art, social impact, and civic engagement, using performance to spark dialogue and drive change. Since 2001, the organization has collaborated with dozens of community partners to produce programs that combine art to open hearts, information to open minds, and conversation to inspire action. Now in its 25th anniversary season, its programs include Shows in Homes, Community Collaborations, Creative Kids, and the Community Impact Lab. Its focus is based on addressing Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s triple evils of war, poverty, and racism, and they take place in homes, schools, businesses, houses of worship, public spaces, and online.
More information can be found at https://www.outofhandtheater.com/
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