Rafi Taherian

Rafi Taherian, Certified Executive Chef ’95, is Associate Vice President of Yale Hospitality. His work history encompasses more than 25 years of progressive expertise in hospitality leadership. Prior to joining Yale in 2008, Rafi spent 13 years at Stanford University, where he served as executive director for Stanford Dining.

At Yale, his responsibilities include building and developing high-performing teams through focused and benevolent leadership and directing the department’s strategic planning and initiatives focused on ensuring operational excellence in the delivery of over 14,000 meals per day in 31 food service operations. His team is responsible for residential college and graduate student dining, retail, convenience stores, cafés, catering, executive services, a commissary, and a bakery. He has been recognized nationally as a seasoned veteran in piloting various industry leading sustainability initiatives and has received numerous awards for his vision and leadership in conceptualizing and implementing innovative hospitality programs.

Rafi is a member of the Sustainable Business Leadership Council for Menus of Change: The Business of Healthy, Sustainable, Delicious Food Choices, an initiative developed by The Culinary Institute of America in collaboration with the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health.