In 2023, Firestone started organizing a fundraiser sponsored by a nonprofit she started after her husband died of cancer. Firestone found O’Connor’s name online and called. She explained in a voicemail about her organization and its mission to raise money for cancer patients.
O’Connor returned the call, and they met for coffee within a few weeks. As the chief executive officer of the Weld Food Bank, O’Connor has valuable insight on operating a nonprofit.
Firestone’s organization, Frank Gale Faith Not Fear, is up and running. Its fourth Ninja Warriors Challenge will be held in March to raise money for the University of Northern Colorado Cancer Rehabilitation Institute. Firestone continues to tap into O’Connor’s expertise and she now counts him among her dearest friends. O’Connor’s wife, Karen, died not long before meeting with Firestone, and they shared an understanding of grief.
“I’ll say, ‘Here’s my goal for this year,’ and he’ll say, ‘You can’t have that goal, and here’s why,’ ” Firestone said. “I don’t make any big decisions without consulting Bob.”
Bob O'Connor, the outgoing executive director of the Weld Food Bank, speaks at his retirement party at the Weld Food Bank in Greeley on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer)Firestone’s story on her relationship with O’Connor aligns with others who have worked with him since he arrived at the food bank 27 years ago. O’Connor, 74, is seen as a community-wide leader who’s sincere, determined and kind with a belief in volunteering and collaboration. He’s retiring by early 2026 after 12 years as a highly accomplished chief executive officer.
The food bank board of directors is conducting a search for a new CEO. Board President A.J. Roche said the job posting will be open until early January. O’Connor’s official retirement date was to be Dec. 31, but he’ll stay on into the new year to help with the leadership transition.
Well-recognized for his work at the food bank, O’Connor also has concern for and interest in other philanthropic organizations in the county.
“I felt like if we partnered, our common goal — and it was always a common goal for everybody I spoke to — was to make this community a better place to live,” O’Connor said. “And to do that, those partnerships have to be intact.”
The Weld Food Bank has a long-standing alliance with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Weld County to help feed children through multiple programs. The food bank also works with DoorDash providing more than 700 food packages a month to homebound senior citizens, O’Connor said.
Connecting with other organizations and nonprofits helps O’Connor and the food bank develop an awareness of the community and resources. If the food bank is connected locally, the organization can do a better job of helping the neighbors who visit in search of assistance. Those seeking help at the food bank are neighbors, not clients.
O’Connor said he’s learned hunger doesn’t happen in a vacuum. There are countless reasons. He’s also learned not judge anyone who comes through the doors asking for help.
“I want to not only make sure they have food on the table, because, to me, that’s a major staple,” he said. “There are other things that are impacting that that we can work with other nonprofits to get to make that person more whole.”
O’Connor recalled meeting a family early in his career at the food bank. The visit to the family home changed his vision of the food bank’s work. The home was located in a tough area, leaving O’Connor to wonder how anyone might live in there. Inside, the family had a large and beautiful piano. Questions ran through O’Connor’s mind about the piano, the family and where they lived, he said.
The piano was a cherished item because their 9-year-old daughter played before she died of cancer. The family moved their residence and sold items to help with bills, but they refused to sell the piano. O’Connor said he left the house and pulled his car to the side of the road. He scolded himself for the internal questions.
“You don’t know what somebody’s going through,” he said. “We’re here to stabilize their lives that they’re back on their feet. Do not judge.”
O’Connor’s interest in the whole person led him to reach out to another new nonprofit leader more than a decade ago.
Debby Baker is one of the founders of the Community Grief Center on West 20th Street in Greeley. Baker said O’Connor called her to learn more about the center’s work. He wanted information so that he might recommend the center to the neighbors who came into the food bank.
“People are in need, and they’re impacted by death,” said Baker, who is a clinical psychologist with a doctorate in mental health. “It shows his foresight and thoughtfulness.”
Bob O'Connor, the outgoing executive director of the Weld Food Bank, speaks at his retirement party at the Weld Food Bank in Greeley on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer)A native of Queens, a borough of New York City, O’Connor came to Colorado because he needed a change. O’Connor’s professional background is not dissimilar to important work at the food bank. He had business experience in procurement, purchasing, logistics, distribution and finance when he spoke with Jim Riesberg about a job as operations manager in 1998.
O’Connor said Riesberg, who was later a state representative, told him he was overqualified for the job. O’Connor didn’t have experience in nonprofits, but the business skills gave him a perspective he thought to be valuable. O’Connor later held three other titles, including interim executive director when predecessor Leona Martens stepped away while being treated for cancer. O’Connor became CEO in 2012 after a national search ensued following Martens’ death.
Martens led the food bank for more than 20 years. O’Connor called her an amazing mentor. Two months into O’Connor’s work at the food bank, Martens sent him out on an assignment to gather information on other food banks in Colorado. He returned with the information Martens expected.
The former location on 11th Avenue was insufficient. A capital campaign was launched, and the organization raised about $2 million toward the current building on H Street. Weld County donated the land, and the food bank received breaks from contractors on the building construction.
Another campaign was later started to raise money for a commercial kitchen, which was Martens’ dream. The organization pulled in $1.2 million, and the kitchen was dedicated to Martens not long before her death.
The growth of the food bank has been extraordinary in the nearly 30 years since O’Connor was hired. The organization website says 1 in 4 people are hungry in Weld County. For children, the numbers are 1 in 3 — coming out to more than 88,000 total and 26,000 children in need.
The food bank had six employees when O’Connor started. Today, there are 32. The four to five programs for food assistance has increase to eight direct-service programs and more than 70 nonprofit agency partners. Students from University Schools, Sonya Macedo, on the left and Samantha Gomez, right, both laugh while they sort peppers for emergency food assistance at the Weld Food Bank in Greeley on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer)
Revenue and total expenses both have more than doubled to $24 million since O’Connor became CEO, board of directors vice president Jeff Nagle said during an early December retirement ceremony for O’Connor. The amount of fresh produce distributed has increased almost 173% to 6 million pounds a year. The total food distribution is up 90% and the food bank serves an average of 5,000 people per day and approximately 100,000 a year.
“You see lines out the door and you realize the impact,” Nagle said, thanking O’Connor on behalf of the board of directors. “I hope you can reflect back on your impact.”
What O’Connor didn’t see or realize during his interview with Riesberg and Martens was the effect the work would have on him.
“Once you see people coming in, needing help and see the need, and know that we could make a difference in somebody’s life,” O’Connor said. “Not just the bottom line in a spreadsheet. It really touched me in a way I could never be touched again.”
Collectively, the food bank staff has a big heart and is willing to commit to his requests to help more, O’Connor said.
Former board of directors member Karen Trusler said O’Connor’s heart is one of gold. O’Connor’s vision and focus was always set on finding food for those in need. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic challenged food banks across the nation. Person-to-person contact was limited or nonexistent and food prices then began to rise.
“He was relentless,” said Trusler, a longtime K-12 educator, administrator and school board director in the Greeley area. “We got food with connections he built. We would not stop. Everything closing down did not stop us.”
Current food bank board member Doug Jones said O’Connor not only does his job, but he commits to other groups and asks colleagues and board members to do the same. O’Connor has been involved with Kiwanis International at the local and state levels. He’s a board member of Feeding Colorado, an association of the state’s five Feeding America food banks including the Weld organization.
“He shows what it’s like to be a leader in the community,” said Jones, who does pricing for retailers and food service at JBS. “You engage every day and you’re part of a community and not a Lone Ranger.”
How to help
The Weld Food Bank has a number of ways to volunteer and always welcomes donations. For more information, go to weldfoodbank.org.
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