DOVER – Carrie Leishman has championed Delaware’s restaurant and hospitality industry for decades as the president and CEO of the Delaware Restaurant Association (DRA) and now, she gets to continue framing workforce development on a national stage.
In January 2026, Leishman was elected as the chair of the Board of Trustees for the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF). It is an influential national body focused on education, workforce development and career pathways in the restaurant industry.
This appointment is historic, Leishman told the Delaware Business Times. She is the first state restaurant association CEO in more than a decade to serve as chair of NRAEF.
Leishman’s journey to national leadership began with deep roots in Delaware’s restaurant ecosystem, something she credited for her election as chair after five years on the board and roles such as treasurer and committee chair.
“It’s really because of the work we do in Delaware. We are actively engaged, especially through the foundation, with all of the workforce programs of the National Restaurant Association and it’s been so good for Delaware because we’ve been able to access national programs and bring them to Delaware.”
She highlighted the ProStart program which connects high school students with culinary and hospitality careers. In Delaware, this program reaches roughly 6,000 students statewide through partnerships at 26 high schools and the department of corrections.
“I’m not the only state who’s engaged in ProStart. All of our states are engaged. We just are a model because we penetrate so deeply,” she said, adding that Delaware is now a model for other states and that helped position Leishman as a persuasive voice in national workforce strategy discussions.
Her leadership at NRAEF now places her at the helm of the industry’s response to critical workforce challenges as they work to modernize education pathways and promote credentials that meet the evolving needs of the industry while understanding how local labor-market realities meet national policy and program development.
“It’s a big deal for Delaware. It allows me to take national perspective and data and bring it to life here in Delaware,” she told DBT. “I do think that that this role also goes a long way for me, too. It helps inform our state in general as we look at workforce development and the value of the hospitality industry as an economic engine. I think it also helps to inform the state on priorities around career and technical education which is so important to me and should be to the state, and it gives us also a glimpse at what’s working in other states.”
But she said it works the other way around, too – her leadership puts Delaware at the forefront of future industry growth.
“What happens in some cases is these national organizations, they’re in DC, but they really need to hear about what’s working from local labor markets, local connections, local education systems. And that’s really why the voice of someone like me becomes so important,” she said. “These are incredible organizations that are dedicated to the next generation of our industry, but they’re listening to what Delaware is doing. I think that’s pretty cool.”
