Leadership

Nick is an engineering manager at Wistia by day, and by night a budding food co-operator based in Watertown. Nick has long been a leader in the open-source community and ran a coworking space in Buffalo, NY from 2013-2018. Nick is a proud member of Lexington Co-op Market and Assabet Co-op Market, as well as a shareholder at worker-owned co-operative bakery Breadhive.

Melissa had been a third generation Russo’s shopper and is still an avid consumer of fruits and vegetables. When she’s not helping to start a food co-op, she is an Associate Director of Product Management in warehousing technology at Wayfair. She has been doing product management for 20 years, which means that she is well versed in user experience design, product strategy, project management, market research, and asking good questions. She has professional experience in supply chain, including in the grocery industry, and has previous board experience with the Boston Product Management Association.

MSE in Computer Science from Penn. Retired after 46 years of working with computers large and small. Involved with consumer cooperatives since 1970:

Co-Founded and operated a natural food coop in Sarasota, Florida, 1971-72.
Member and on the Board of Directors of Ecology Food Coop in Philadelphia, 1973-78.
Founder, publisher of a regional Consumer Cooperative Viewpoint newspaper 1977-78.
Member and on the Finance Committee of the Boston Food Coop, 1978-82.
Member of the Rutland Area Food Co-op, in Rutland, Vermont, 2004-2016.
Member of the Shrewsbury Co-op at Pierce’s Store in Shrewsbury, Vermont 2008-2016.

Kathryn moved to Watertown in 2020, after living throughout the Boston area for many years. She brings extensive experience in finance and nonprofit operations to the board. She is a lifelong volunteer in community-oriented organizations, and has long been interested in food equity. When she's not working on co-op matters, you'll find her exploring art and local nature, traveling, and appreciating great food. Kathryn is also a member of the Dorchester Food Co-op.

Term: 2023-2026

Christina discovered food cooperatives while living in New Hampshire in 2018 and was immediately enchanted by the variety, quality produce, and commitment to sustainability she found at the Upper Valley Food Co-op. Christina’s day job is in higher education, but she discovered an enduring love for local, sustainable food in the Upper Valley, and brings that interest to her work on the Charles River Co-op board. Outside of her work with the co-op, Christina is most excited about all things history and experimenting with new tomato varieties (nine at last count) in her garden.

Scott has lived in Waltham since 1985. His interest in food
production and distribution began in 1990, and he was involved in starting the Waltham Farmers' Market and the GROW community gardens. Scott sits on CRFC's marketing committee, serving as a writer for our monthly newsletter.

Term: 2023-2025

Joelle is a recently graduated Boston College alumna and currently a working marketing professional who grew up in Newton, but now lives in Watertown. As the daughter of Indonesian immigrants, food was an important part of how she learned about her cultural heritage and has been an important part of her life ever since. She grew up shopping at Russo's with her parents so when this opportunity arose, she jumped at the chance to not only give back to her parents, but also be a part of building up the food community in the Charles River area.

Term: 2023-2026

Ally first moved to Boston in 2018 but her family's roots in the area go back 100+ years when her great-great-grandfather was a farmer in Newburyport. She is an avid foodie and loves grocery stores in all forms. She also has a Social Impact MBA, and is interested in alternative business structures like coops that diversify business goals and align them with community goals. Professionally, she works in IT strategy and governance at Harvard Business School.

Term: 2023-2026

Sonya has a background as a librarian and supporting tech startups. Rooted in the soil of a midwestern family farm, her love of dirt and produce lead her to find city garden space where she’s lived in Eastie, Cambridge and now Arlington. She can be found reading, sharing seeds at her local library, and dyeing and spinning wool. Her freezer is currently stocked with this summer’s tomatoes, collards, and fennel — and meat from Chestnut Farms.

Term: 2023-2025

Chanthal leads Waltham Black Future Fund, a collective hub for efforts to eradicate poverty, build generational wealth, preserve Black Culture, and celebrate the incredible resilience of the Black community in Waltham.

Waltham Black Future Fund centers work around uniting across movements and multiracial strategy, encouraging youth led mass engagement, abolishing mass incarceration, and addressing economic disparities and factors that allow the school to prison pipeline to exist.

Jacob is the Charles River Food Co-op’s Brand Designer. He is also one of our first member-owners, and a Visual & Interaction designer specializing in brand design & experience.

JQ is the Assistant Director of the Food Co-op Initiative and specializes in the development of training and content to empower startup food co-op organizers to lead in their communities.

Bonnie leads Co-operative Development for the Neighboring Food Co-op Association (NFCA), a co-operative federation of more than 45 food co-ops and startup initiatives with a combined membership of more than 150,000 people across New England and New York.