Finding Her Niche: Felecia’s 26-Year Journey with Summerwood
For Felecia M., Taco Bell has been more than a place to work. It’s been the backdrop for a 26-year career filled with growth, meaningful connections and plenty of memorable moments. She even met her wife, Attice, on the job!
Felecia’s Taco Bell journey began at 16, when she walked into a restaurant because it was her favorite fast food restaurant growing up. Her first team member job led to roles as a Shift Leader, Associate Restaurant General Manager (ARM), Area Coach (AC), Restaurant Training Manager and Restaurant Support Coach.
Today, Felecia is a Loss Prevention Coach at Summerwood, where she continues to work in the field, train new leaders, and most importantly, look out for the people and restaurants that make the company what it is.
“I want to make sure that safety stays first.” – Felecia M., Loss Prevention Coach
From Team Member to Leader
When Felecia joined Summerwood as a team member at one of our Taco Bells, management worked with her school schedule, allowing her to stay throughout her college years while continuing to grow.
One of Felecia’s most meaningful chapters came when she returned to our City Line Avenue Taco Bell in Bala Cynwyd, PA (where she once worked as the ARM) to help open the new location. That’s also where Felecia worked alongside the late John Monte, who became an important mentor throughout her Taco Bell career.
“He was a really great leader,” Felecia says. “He really made you feel important, made you feel understood and challenged you when he needed to.”
Felecia says John M. had a talent for seeing qualities in people that they might not recognize in themselves. That approach left a lasting impression on her own leadership style.
Making Every Experience Count
Over the years, Felecia continued finding new ways to grow. She spent two years as an AC during the challenging days of the COVID pandemic before helping develop a new Restaurant Support Coach role.
In the support coach position, she worked with two locations that needed additional support, helping newer managers build confidence.
“They had an opportunity to make mistakes but still had that backup to be able to recuperate,” Felecia says.
The experience reinforced something Felecia has carried with her throughout her career: great leadership isn’t about doing everything for someone, it’s about giving people the support they need to grow.
That people-first mindset also came into play when Felecia was asked to spend six months in Pittsburgh, PA following one of Summerwood’s acquisitions. There, her role was to help the new team acclimate to the Summerwood best practices.
For Felecia, that meant more than teaching processes. It meant showing a new group of team members what it feels like to be part of the Summerwood family.
“Summerwood really cares about their people. They’ll assist you in any way that they can.” – Felecia M., Loss Prevention Coach
Finding Her Place
After returning to Philadelphia, Felecia moved into our Loss Prevention Department. It turned out to be a natural fit.
Coincidentally, John, the mentor who had played such an important role in her career, had also started in Loss Prevention.
“I guess I still followed in his footsteps,” Felecia says.
She says her current role brings together many of the things she’s always enjoyed most about her work: being in the field, meeting new people, training team members and helping leaders grow.
Protecting What Matters Most
After two and a half years in loss prevention, Felecia has no plans to slow down. In fact, she can see herself staying in her role until retirement.
She has one goal: help people understand just how crucial loss prevention is to the business.
“It is a very important part of the business and it protects [it],” Felecia says.
For Felecia, that means looking out for everyone — from the people working behind the counter to the guests on the other side of it.
And that’s how Felecia plans to help Summerwood rule the world in 2026 — one safe restaurant, supported team and meaningful moment at a time!