Tracie Killar

Tracie Killar is the Founder and Director of the South End Children’s Café, a program dedicated to addressing food insecurity and equality, along with academic achievement, and overall wellness, of children residing in the South End of Albany.

Since opening the Café, Ms. Killar, along with a dedicated team of staff and volunteers, has served over 120,000 healthy meals to children and their families, 50,000 of which were served since March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the community. Each day, fresh fruit is available to the children for a snack and a salad accompanies a healthy dinner prepared from scratch. In addition, one-on-one homework help, enrichment programs and exercise is offered before dinner, in a technology-free program for children ages four and up.

Ms. Killar loves the South End Children’s Café, and the many beautiful, wonderful, kind and giving people who help make the Café a possibility. She is passionate about her community and encourages everyone to consider how they can help address food insecurity, equality, and justice.

Ms. Killar is a member of the 10th Ward in Albany and participates on a number of committees focused on serving the South End and the City of Albany.

Ms. Killar was inducted into the 2020 Albany High School Hall of Fame and has earned other honors including the Women United Perfect Pitch Award, Vaughan Family Changemaker Award by the Albany Fund for Education, Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year Award, PBS Extraordinary Neighbor recognition, the Rotary People of Action Award, and she was a 2016 Jefferson Award Medalist.

A proud graduate of Albany High School and The College of Saint Rose, Ms. Killar has six children and six grandchildren.

One of her favorite quotes is by Margaret Mead, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”