Changing the Way Los Angeles Students Eat in Schools: David Binkle at TEDxManhattan

Born in Ontario, Canada, David Binkle has served as Director of Food Services at Los Angeles Unified School District since July 2012. He oversees a program that provides over 650,000 meals daily by a team of 4,000 employees. Prior to joining the District, Binkle was Director of Dining Services at California State University, Fresno.

Binkle holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration from California State University, Northridge Tseng College and a Bachelor's of Science degree in health from Oklahoma Panhandle State University. As a Certified Executive Chef (CEC), Certified Executive Pastry Chef (CEPC) and Certified Culinary Administrator (CCA), Binkle brings over 30 years of industry experience from fine dining, hotels, country clubs and institutional food service.

A Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow and longtime member of the American Culinary Federation (ACF), Binkle was awarded the 2011 Los Angeles Chef of the Year and was a 2010 recipient of the ACF Presidents Award National Medallion of Honor and 2013 Presidential Coin.

Binkle has been featured on CNN, NBC, ABC and CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, US News & World Report and Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. He featured in a documentary Our Food Chain to be released in the fall of 2013. He will also appear in the critically acclaimed series Food Forward, a 13-episode PBS series on people who are changing the way Americans eat.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)