Category: People
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Avery & Dylan Edwards are Going Places!
Meet Avery and Dylan Edwards: siblings, Taco Bell team members (at the same location in San Antonio, TX) and Mormon missionaries. We caught wind of Avery’s pending departure from our Culebra Road Taco Bell following her graduation from high school and were instantly curious to learn more. The Edwards are members of The Church of…
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Catching Up with Corey: Ten Years with DDO
When Corey Harris heard we had an Area Coach (AC) opening out in New England, where we bought 30-plus restaurants in 2022, it definitely piqued his interest. From the minute he was first hired 10 years ago, his goal was always to move up wherever he landed. At the time of our New England acquisition,…
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Up Next for John Rose: DDO Signs Off on a Move, not a Farewell!
It didn’t take much convincing to get us to throw a sweet surprise sendoff for ice cream lover John Rose, who’s been our lease management guy for six years. Midsummer, we threw John his very own ice cream social. John has been working closely with Desert de Oro Foods (DDO) leadership on how best to…
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Built to Build: Celebrating 10 Years of Leadership with Chad Burge
Some careers are carefully mapped out, others evolve through a mix of curiosity and a willingness to take on challenges. For Chad Burge, President of Development & Operations at Desert de Oro Foods (DDO), and son of Co-founder Krystal Burge, the path has been anything but conventional. This year marks Chad’s 10-year anniversary with DDO.…
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Walkin’ the Walk: Making Real Connections at DDO
Joaquim “Joaq” Harris accepted the role of Human Resources (HR) Generalist here only a year ago, yet he’s already determined to reframe how team members view the human resources function. “I think that people have this misconception about HR that, you know, we fire people, we’re the ‘gotcha police,’” Joaq says. “What I like to…
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25 Years of Heart: Sandra Soza’s Journey
For Sandra Soza, Desert de Oro Foods (DDO) has never been just a job. It’s been the place where she learned English, built a career, raised her family and discovered just how far hard work can take her. Now, after 25 years with DDO, Sandra’s story stands as a powerful example of resilience and dedication.…
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Ryan Silva: Leading with Heart in San Antonio
For Ryan Silva, leadership isn’t about titles or tenure. It’s about showing up, putting in the work and earning trust, one shift at a time. Today, Ryan serves as a Restaurant General Manager (RGM) for Desert de Oro Foods (DDO) in San Antonio, TX, leading a high-volume KFC multi-brand location. It’s a role he stepped…
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Kamila Merchand: Live Más Launches a Career in Nursing
When Kamila Merchand applied for Taco Bell Foundation’s Live Más Scholarship just before the deadline, she’d convinced herself that the funds were probably already spoken for. For her, the idea of winning felt so out of reach. But her manager at the time encouraged her to apply and then, something incredible happened. Kamila, a first…
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From Pizza Delivery to Management: Kurt Radke Found His Place at DDO
At this year’s Estrellas de Oro reward trip in Mexico, we caught up with Kurt Radke, Restaurant General Manager (RGM) for Pizza Hut in Peoria, AZ. Surrounded by fellow top performers from across Desert de Oro Foods (DDO), Kurt reflects on an unexpected career journey that started with a delivery driver position and turned into…
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Finding More Than a Job: Lasondra Otero’s Journey
At Desert de Oro Foods (DDO), leadership starts with our people. For Restaurant General Manager (RGM)Lasondra Otero, that mindset has guided her journey from a part-time role to leading our Brockton, MA Taco Bell – a position she’s held for the last five years. Lasondra joined Taco Bell as a Service Champion in 2016, looking…