Chapter President

Hello. I am Chef Anna Smith, the President of ACF Harrisburg. I got my associate's degree in culinary arts in 2018, but I have worked in kitchens for over 20 years. I've done everything from dish pits, fast food, restaurant line work, food trucks, and catering. I found my passion with catering. I worked with JDK for many years as a culinary lead and supervisor. Now I am the Director of Campus Dining for Harrisburg Area Community College.

Chapter Vice President

Collin Klenske is a talented chef with a passion for culinary arts. He graduated from HACC Culinary Arts in 2020, honing his skills and knowledge in the kitchen. Currently, Collin works at John Gross, a full-line food service distributor, where he applies his expertise to support food service operations. His dedication to the culinary industry and experience with food distribution allows him to contribute to both cooking and behind-the-scenes logistics, making him a well-rounded professional in the food industry.

Student Representative

My name is PJ Swanson and I am a student in culinary arts at HACC. As a Pennsylvania native

I’ve had the opportunity to see the food industry within the central PA area grow. The way good delicious food brings people together with smiles and laughter is what drives me to be a chef.

With having a passion for food since I was a young girl I am ready and excited to start my career in the culinary field.

Chapter Treasurer

I grew up in Greece, NY a suburb of Rochester and earned my BS in Chemistry at Clarkson University in New York. After my undergraduate education, I moved to Maryland receiving a MS focusing on environmental/nuclear/analytical chemistry at the University of Maryland College Park and furthered my research using isotope tracing (carbon dating) in the Atmospheric Chemistry group at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). While in Maryland, we started a family and packed up to move to Harrisburg. For the next 15 years, I worked a variety of part-time jobs (chemist at Bayer, recruiter at OnAssignment Staffing, and Lab Technician for Dairy Farmers of America, DFA) and raised our now two boys. I also volunteered often, acting as the treasurer and team manager of my sons’ travel soccer teams (yes, all 10 years of it). As my boys entered high school, I knew I wanted to return to work full-time and thought a R&D chef would be a good fit. I enrolled at HACC in the culinary program part-time. Chef Chad and Chef Mo helped me get my first internship at Devon in Hershey. It was tough working at DFA Monday-Thursday, at Devon Friday - Sunday, and taking classes, but while I primarily worked prep, I was regularly moved to the baker station and realized that baking and pastry was the perfect blend of chemistry and culinary education. I enrolled in the baking and pastry program. After 6 months of working 7 days a week, I gave up my DFA position and worked at Devon as the baker until my next internship, securing it at the Hotel. After I graduated with both the culinary and pastry degrees, I continued to work at the hotel until late 2022 when I transferred to Entertainment Complex, where I work as a lead pastry cook in the pastry kitchen supporting Hersheypark, Chocolatier, Giant Center, Hershey Theatre, and more. I became a student member of the ACF while at HACC. I regularly attended meetings becoming more involved, and competed in the ACF Knowledge Bowl in 2018 & 2019. This allowed us to attend both Regional (Silver medal) & National (Bronze Medal) conferences. I feel privileged to serve as your treasurer, especially to give back to the chefs that have helped me along my journey and the students that are just beginning their careers.

Chapter Secretary

I earned my Bachelor's Degree from Johnson and Wales University in 2010, with a major in Pastry Arts and a minor in Wine Studies. Since then, I have worked in various bakeries, restaurants and sports venues. During my career, I have been fortunate enough to work for chefs such as Bobby Flay, and also to work in major league stadiums such as Fenway Park and Citi Field. While I began on the pastry side of the business, over time I have built my savory skill set and developed an understanding of all aspects of the kitchen. In 2020, I competed on, and won Chopped Sweets. Since then I began a part time job with HE&R, moving up to a FT Supervisor position, followed by Executive Sous Chef and eventually my current role as Executive Chef of the Hershey Country Club.