Motivation
In a release, Gale attributed her interest in the House of Bread to professional goals of empowering people to live up to their potential and building community.
“Food, shelter and community are certainly some of the most basic building blocks in empowering people. Food and community abound at House of Bread,” she said.
She also lauded the nonprofit’s reputation in her community, and said her decision was made when she volunteered one day at House of Bread.
“The sense of community I experienced among the guests, the volunteers and the staff was amazing. My decision was made,” she said.
Previous experience
Gale’s most recent position was working as the director of College Credit Plus and scholarships for Dayton Public Schools from 2021 to the very beginning of 2025.
Before that, Gale said that her work as a pastor in Dayton and Cincinnati would help her in her new position.
From 2004 to 2008, she served as the pastor of Nast Trinity United Methodist Church in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati, the release said. She said that church had a small congregation but a large feeding program, serving breakfast and dinner every Sunday for three to four hundred guests.
“The day-to-day faith of people who do not know where their next meal may come from or when they may have a roof over their heads, the community support of one person taking off one of her two pairs of socks and offering it to another person who needed a pair – these are gifts of faith and community beyond what most of us have every really experienced,” she said.
Then from 2008 to 2020, Gale served as pastor of Grace United Methodist Church at Salem Avenue and Harvard Boulevard in Dayton. She said while she was there the church began hosting a Children’s Defense Fund Freedom School during the summer, and started Dayton Cooks!, a culinary arts training and feeding program.
Gale said that she was able to work with many other organizations in Dayton like the City of Dayton Human Relations Council Board, the Montgomery County Re-entry Policy Board and the City of Dayton Community Police Relations Council.
“Each of these opportunities has helped me connect with the people and organizations of the Greater Dayton area. I am looking forward to incorporating some of these connections and relationships into our work at House of Bread,” she said.
Feelings about Dayton
Gale had a lot of compliments for the Gem City.
She said that Dayton is “big enough to have plentiful opportunities, but small enough to navigate very easily,” specifically pointing to “The arts, the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance, the universities, sports, libraries, parks … all provide more opportunities than I can possibly take advantage of.”
Gale also said that the people are generally friendly, and the cost of living is low.
As far as struggles in Dayton, Gale said that the city suffers from problems that most urban areas face like race relations and community-police relations, as well as generational and socio-economic divides. More immediately, she pointed to the impending closure of St. Vincent de Paul’s men’s homeless shelter.
“I hope we will begin taking more time to listen to one another, take a genuine interest in ‘the other’ – the one who seems so different from us. I think it is the only way we will grow to value one another and live together in community and abundance,” she said.
Excitement for the future
Speaking about the coming year, Gale said that she several things to be excited about, from getting to know the staff, volunteers and guests to connecting House of Bread more closely with other organizations.
“I can already tell we have great people making up the House of Bread. I am eager to get to know each person and helping each person use his/her gifts and skills for the good of the whole,” she said.
Spreading hope
Gale said that she hoped that while she was director that the House of Bread would be “a supportive community for our guests, volunteers and staff.”
“Even as we are sharing the nourishment of food – nourishing bodies, I hope we are also nourishing minds and spirits,” she said. “I hope everyone leaves House of Bread feeling better (body, mind and spirit) than when they entered. I hope that as our guests, volunteers and staff move throughout our city the positivity of our House of Bread shared community experience here on Orth Avenue begins to spread across our city”
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