Leadership
2023-24 Board of Directors & Staff
Board Members
Kristen Aldrich
Board Member - Kristen is a racial justice organizer, and local food systems supporter living in Roslindale. She is a database administrator for Indigo Ag, an agriculture technology start up based in Boston focused on regenerative practices and carbon sequestration in the agriculture industry. She volunteers with mutual aid, food access and racial equity efforts around the city. She is a theater and comedy performer interested in using art to bring people together in our shared humanity and get in some good belly laughs. She is a novice beekeeper and messy gardener.
Sarah Assefa
Board Member - Sarah has gardened in a victory garden in Worcester MA, and served as a Co-Director at Worcester Roots Project supporting youth entrepreneurs to develop various cooperative businesses, including gardening and toxic soil remediation. Sarah worked with ex-prisoners to establish the Empower Energy Cooperative in Worcester, making biodiesel fuel from waste vegetable oil from restaurants. She lived a while in Ethiopia with her Ethiopian side of the family, where she was involved in an agreocology network, advocating for different aspects of sustainable food systems, including food and seed sovereignty and soil health, and stronger agricultural cooperatives. Now she lives in Dorchester at Columbia Point, and organizes with the Coalition for Worker Ownership and Power (COWOP).
Marcos Beleche
Board President - Marcos has been involved in the community development field at the national and local levels for nearly 30 years. Raised in a farmworker family, his community organizing experience began with the farm- and cannery- worker struggles in California. His personal experience has helped shape his work ethic and professional interests.
Sonia Carter
Board Member - Sonia Carter, MS, LDN, Director of Quality Improvement and Community Nutrition at the Boston Public Health Commission, provides leadership and management for the Division of Chronic Disease Prevention & Control nutrition education and policy/practice change to support healthy eating in diverse sectors. The primary focus is on obesity and chronic disease prevention, prioritizing racial, ethnic, and other inequities in health outcomes through policy and environmental approaches. She leads the division Boston Child Care Initiative Learning Collaborative and Healthy Eating Professional Development Opportunities for Center Based Child Care Centers, Family Day Care, and Out of School Time Educators. She is currently a faculty member at The Urban College of Boston.
Alyssa Melendez
Board Member - Alyssa works as the Operations and Supply Chain Manager for a single origin spice company, called Burlap & Barrel. After earning a B.S. in Environmental Policy, she spent a year in Hood River, Oregon with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, working on food access and outreach programs in collaboration with community leaders, migrant workers, and farmers. From this experience she developed a passion for food sovereignty and ecological justice. This work inspired her to pursue a M.S. in Agriculture, Food, and Environment (AFE) at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, where she gained a deeper understanding of the food system and the injustices that occur across supply chains. Since graduating, she has worked on an organic vegetable farm, as an avocado supply chain manager, and is now excited to continue to create equitable and sustainable supply chains, both locally and internationally.
Eamon Penney
Board Clerk - Eamon works as a Project Lead with the non-profit Partners in Health, He has a long background in community engagement, board governance, and project management. Supporting community participation and engagement has been a passion for Eamon throughout his career. He believes strongly in the way cooperatives and local democratic processes can create platforms that allow communities to cohere, strengthen, and thrive.
Robin Saunders
Board Member - Robin (she/her) brings her executive assistance background in business administration to the Board. She has 30+ years in marketing, A/V and media experience with corporate and non-profit organizations. Robin was a community producer for BNN-TV, and a radio host/producer at WRBB-FM, where she focused on disseminating culturally relevant information to families in Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan communities.
Robin loves cooking for family and friends with garden grown produce, herbs and vegetables.
Jenny Silverman
Board Treasurer - Jenny (she/her) has been involved in the Cooperative movement for more than 35 years, and was one of the founders of the Dorchester Food Co-op. For more than two decades, Jenny was the Sales Manager of Red Sun Press, a printing and design worker co-op in Boston. Jenny has been active with regional and national cooperative associations.
Staff
John Santos
Staff - General Manager - John was born on the Island of Guam. He grew up on the east coast and is the oldest of five. He enjoys cooking and has owned two restaurants. He has many years of experience working in food service with a strong background in perishables. John has managed several stores including multiple locations for Whole Foods Market, Tropical Foods in Roxbury and most recently Urban Greens Food Co-op in Providence. John has a track record of building strong partnerships within the community. This year marks his 46th year in retail and 30th year as a General Manager. There is so much to be done, and John looks forward to the opportunities we will discover together. We look forward to his leadership and are grateful to have him as part of our team!