Our Team

Lauren is a leading expert in culinary diplomacy with a breadth of experience in global culinary exchange, program development, strategic partnerships, and community engagement. She is a sought-after speaker and moderator, delivering presentations and participating in panel discussions with New York University, the University of Pennsylvania, University of Southern California, Smithsonian Institution, Les Dames d’Escoffier International, Atlanta Food and Wine Festival, World Expo Milan, Global Protocol Summit, and more.

Lauren has led The Culinary Diplomacy Project to great success. Key achievements include partnering with The National Governors Association to help U.S. governors and other personnel utilize the power of food to promote their states, as well as working with the Jordanian Government, UNHCR, and Marriott on a trip to Jordan where American celebrity chefs spent time cooking with local Jordanians and Syrian refugees. The organization has also partnered with the U.S. Department of State on multiple occasions, to include the Arts Envoy Program and Expo 2020 in Dubai, bringing four chefs to Dubai over a two-month period to engage in culinary diplomacy programming for the USA Pavilion.

Prior to launching The Culinary Diplomacy Project in 2018, Lauren served as the Director of the Diplomatic Culinary Partnership at the U.S. Department of State. Here, she played an integral role in recruiting high-profile chefs to support and engage in public diplomacy programming with U.S. embassies abroad. Lauren also delivered logistical support for Presidential and Vice Presidential international summits, including the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit, the Nuclear Security Summit, and the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Lauren has been selected to be a Visiting Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perry World House for the 2022-2023 school year, and she serves on the Meridian International Cultural Diplomacy Leadership Council and the Advisory Council of the Livelihoods Innovation through Food Entrepreneurship (LIFE) Project for the Center for International Private Enterprise. Lauren has also been interviewed for various books, press interviews and podcasts, focused on culinary diplomacy and soft power diplomatic engagement.

In addition to 10+ years of hands-on experience in culinary diplomacy, Lauren worked as a public defender representing indigent clients for over a decade and remains a member of the Bars of the District of Columbia and Commonwealth of Virginia. Lauren is based in Washington, D.C. and continues to work toward her goal of strengthening our communities and bridging the cultural divide one bite at a time.

He is a judge on Food Network’s top-rated shows, Chopped and Chopped Junior and has appeared on Guy’s Grocery Games, Guy’s Ranch Kitchen, Beat Bobby Flay, The Today Show, Good Morning America, HSN and the Rachael Ray Show among others.

Today Murphy’s involvement in the industry moves beyond the kitchen and television. He served as the President of the Manhattan chapter of the New York State Restaurant Association from 2014 until 2018. He is both a Food Council & Board Member of City Harvest, New York City’s largest food rescue organization. Murphy also sits on the Leadership Council for Share our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign.

In 2012, Marc joined the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Culinary Partnership, where he took part in public diplomacy programs that engaged foreign audiences abroad as well as those visiting the United States. He traveled to Italy numerous times, China and Turkey as part of program. Today he continues that work through The Culinary Diplomacy Project traveling to global destinations including Jordan and Belgium as a representative of American culture and cuisine.

Marc is the author of Season with Authority: Confident Home Cooking his top selling cookbook and in summer 2019 launched his debut podcast, Food 360 hosted by Marc and produced by iHeartRadio.

Micheline has unparalleled marketing and communications expertise that began in politics in Washington, DC and grew to local and celebrity chefs. Her Deputy CEO experience, overseeing four fast-casual restaurant brands in the United States and around the world, have not only taught her day-to-day operations, but multi-unit growth and support models as well.

Her education in Journalism from Indiana University and master's degree in International Relations from the University of Chicago prepared her to launch Good Stuff Eatery into the limelight. She continued that success with the opening of We, The Pizza and Santa Rosa Taqueria — fast-casual brands that have a combined 16 franchise locations.

Micheline works on every restaurant from inception to opening day, handling franchisee relations, brand strategy and marketing. She plays a major role in the expansion of these brands across the globe. She acts as an advisor to chefs and restaurant owners to help them launch concepts, develop their brands, write cookbooks and is a frequent speaker on panels that highlight industry leaders and experts.

In addition, Micheline serves on the Board of MAPP Impact, a women led organization that advocates for women through advocacy and mentorship. She is a staunch supporter of DC Central Kitchen, an organization that works to eradicate hunger and is a member of Les Dames D’Escoffier, a society of professional women in the hospitality industry. Recently Micheline had the honor of being a founding member of the DC Chapter of Regarding Her, a non-profit devoted to the advancement and empowerment of women restaurateurs.

After college, Zeina spent six years working in marketing in a variety of fields from technology to cardiology. All the while, Zeina’s love of food and hospitality, stemming from her Middle Eastern background, grew so strong that she took a leap of faith and started working in hospitality full-time.

Starting with managing neighborhood restaurants in Washington, D.C., she eventually worked her way up to being the General Manager of the Michelin-Starred restaurant, Maydan. From there she joined the team at Pineapple and Pearls, but within a few months, the pandemic hit, putting the restaurant industry on pause. She continued working in hospitality adjacent industries, until joining the CDP team in the summer of 2022.