What Does It Take to Build a #1 Team? Leadership, Innovation, AI, and the Common Good with Ken Toong

What Does It Take to Build a #1 Team?: Leadership, Innovation, AI, and the Common Good with Ken Toong

A Leadership in Action Conversation

What does it take to build and sustain a high-performing team—not just for a year, but over time?

Join us for a conversation with Ken Toong, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Auxiliary Services at UMass Amherst, about leadership, teamwork, innovation, organizational culture, and what it means to lead for the common good.

This guest lecture is part of the Leadership in Action series of PUBPOL 394LI: Leadership for Social Impact, which brings students into conversation with leaders working across sectors to explore how leadership is practiced in real organizations and how it can advance social impact and the public good.

Under Ken Toong’s leadership, UMass Dining has been ranked #1 for Best Campus Food by The Princeton Review for 10 consecutive years. Today, it is the largest collegiate dining program in the United States, serving more than 50,000 meals each day. His leadership philosophy, “Food for the Common Good,” connects organizational excellence with health, sustainability, culture, community, and the student experience—while raising a broader question of social impact: How can public-serving institutions create value not only for their organizations, but also for the communities and public good they serve?

UMass Dining has also incorporated AI and data-driven tools into its operations, offering a real-world example of how leaders can use emerging technologies to improve service while staying grounded in people and purpose.

In 2026, Toong received the Theodore W. Minah Distinguished Service Award, the highest honor of the National Association of College & University Food Services, recognizing nearly three decades of leadership and contributions to collegiate dining. He has also been recognized as a White House Campus Champion of Change and has helped shape the field nationally through innovation, collaboration, and mentorship.

The conversation will explore questions including:

• How do you stay #1 for a decade? How do you keep a large, complex organization innovating after achieving national recognition?

• How do you build a team that people describe as a “family”? How do you motivate and develop people—and intentionally create opportunities for women to advance into leadership?

• How do you know what students actually want? How does UMass Dining use student feedback, data, and changing expectations to improve menus, spaces, and the dining experience?

• Where do AI and technology genuinely add value? What is UMass Dining using AI and data to improve, and where do human judgment and relationships remain essential?

• How can dining become a vehicle for public good? How can a 50,000-meal-a-day operation use its purchasing power, partnerships, sustainability efforts, and student reach to advance health, community well-being, and the regional food economy?

Come hear the leadership lessons behind one of UMass Amherst’s most visible success stories—and consider how they apply to your own leadership, public service, and social impact.

Featuring Ken Toong
Assistant Vice Chancellor of Auxiliary Services
University of Massachusetts Amherst

Moderated by Viviana Wu, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, School of Public Policy
Director, Community for Impact Lab
University of Massachusetts Amherst

Monday, November 16, 2026 | 2:30-3:30 p.m.
Student Union, Cape Cod Room (upstairs)

Open to the UMass Amherst community. Free food and refreshments will be provided.