When Vicki Escarra left Atlanta for Chicago in 2006, she departed at the top of her game.
In a career that lasted more than 30 years, the former flight attendant had risen through the ranks to be chief customer services officer at Delta Air Lines and later the company's chief marketing officer.
But today, Escarra, who also is a past chairwoman of the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, is exploring fresh territory as chief executive officer and president of Feeding America, one of the nation's biggest hunger-relief charities.
And, ironically, flying is one part of her old life that she has not left behind.
"Since I left, I am traveling more than I did before when I worked at Delta," she said, explaining that she now flies 200 days annually. She added that because Chicago is not a hub for Delta, she doesn't get to fly her home airline as much as she would like.
But, Escarra said, "I'm so happy. I love what I'm doing."
What she does is help coordinate supplies, create awareness and raise funding for food to be distributed to a network of more than 200 food banks across the nation, including the Atlanta Community Food Bank.
Her efforts have created partnerships with the charitable arms of the TV shows "American Idol," "The Biggest Loser" and "Celebrity Apprentice."
Funding has grown 25 percent each year of her tenure and more than 1 billion pounds of new food has been collected over the past three years, Escarra said.
"We have been really fortunate that we have had so many great donors who support what we're doing," she said.
A native of Decatur, Escarra graduated from Georgia State University with a degree in psychology. She later completed the Columbia University Executive Management Program and the Harvard University Executive Leadership Program.
Escarra had worked for Delta for 31 years when she retired from the airline in 2004, the last of the top executives under former CEO Leo Mullin.
At the time, Delta was undergoing a top-echelon overhaul amid a deepening financial slump and fallout from a controversy over bonuses and special pension protections for executives, including Escarra.
After Delta, Escarra devoted herself to volunteer activities, including working as chairwoman of the ACVB and taking a leadership role in Brand Atlanta, a group of civic, corporate and city leaders devoted to repositioning Georgia's capital as a tourist and business destination.
Escarra said she learned a lot during that period, especially working with former Mayor Shirley Franklin, who demonstrated how to get things done by influencing people rather than by telling them what to do.
After taking the Chicago job, one of Escarra's first challenges was renaming the charity. When she arrived, Feeding America was called America's Second Harvest.
"Virtually no one knew what we were doing" she said. "America's Second Harvest didn't resonate with the public."
The new name has increased awareness and giving, she said.
Escarra said she believes her years at Delta "perfectly prepared me for this job."
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