Rebecca Kelly-Manders is a classically trained chef and has been a professional in the food service industry since 1997. In 2011, she opened the award-winning food truck Street Chefs, founded the Tallahassee Food Truck Association, and worked with the City of Tallahassee to open the Food Truck Court in 2013.

Knowing the struggle to obtain employment with a criminal background, Chef Kelly-Manders founded the REfire Culinary training program in 2017. REfire is a peer-run training program for individuals who have felony convictions to empower them to obtain employment in the hospitality industry. The REfire program has helped over 100 individuals obtain certifications and employment and currently has a recidivism rate of just 9% among its graduates.

She is a 2014 25 Women You Need To Know honoree, the Oasis 2017 Trailblazer Award winner, the 2019 Small Business Development Council Community Champion Award winner, the 2019 New Leaders Council Askew Non- Profit Leader Award winner, the 2022 Vice-Chairman of the Public Safety Coordinating Council, the 2023 National Association of Reentry Professionals Pace award winner, as well as a devout NY Mets fan and a connoisseur of hamburgers.