Our Team

The people behind the produce.

Founders

Lisa Helfman

Founder & Board Chair

Lisa Helfman is the founder and board chair of Brighter Bites. In the fall of 2011,…

Shreela Sharma, PhD

Co-Founder

Dr. Shreela Sharma is co-founder of Brighter Bites. Dr. Sharma is responsible for operationalizing the Brighter…

National Team

Amy Flaherty

Human Resources Manager

Amy Flaherty is the Human Resources Manager at Brighter Bites, based in Asheville, North Carolina. With…

Amy Priebe

Vice President of Operations

Amy Priebe is the vice president of operations for Brighter Bites. Based in Chicago, IL, Amy…

Azar Gaminian, MPH, CHES

Research Manager

Azar Gaminian, MPH, CHES® is the Research Coordinator at Brighter Bites. In her role, she supports…

Brittany Wilson

Donor Services Coordinator

Brittany Wilson is the Donor Services Coordinator for Brighter Bites. She received her undergraduate degree in…

Christina Maynor

Senior Manager of Programming and Marketing

Christina Maynor is the Senior Manager of Programming and Marketing for Brighter Bites. She received her…

Dana Rizer

Institutional Giving Manager

Dana is the Grant Writer for Brighter Bites. She is also a wellness educator, writer, and…

Gouri Kulkarni

VP, Finance & Human Resources

Gouri Kulkarni is the VP of Finance & Human Resources at Brighter Bites. She is a…

Greg Bounds, MPH

Data Architect

Greg Bounds is the data architect at Brighter Bites. Greg has five years of data management…

Katherinne Rivera

Data Analyst

Katherinne Rivera is the Data Analyst at Brighter Bites. In 2021, Katherinne graduated with a bachelor's…

Lindsay Jenkins

Director of Development

Lindsay Jenkins is the Director of Development at Brighter Bites. Lindsay is a resource development leader…

Lisa Robertson

Grant Manager

Lisa Robertson is the Grant Manager at Brighter Bites. Having lived in three major Texas cities,…

Melanie Button, MPH

Special Projects Manager

Melanie Button is a project manager for Brighter Bites, overseeing efforts to increase earned revenue and…

Mike Pomeroy, MPH

Vice President of Programs

Mike serves as vice president of operations of Brighter Bites, overseeing and directing programmatic aspects of…

Rich Dachman

Chief Executive Officer

Rich Dachman is the Chief Executive Officer of Brighter Bites. Rich comes to Brighter Bites with…

Samantha Rodriguez

Marketing Coordinator

Samantha Rodriguez is the Marketing Coordinator for Brighter Bites. Samantha graduated from Trinity University in San…

Sampada Xu

Research Coordinator

Sampada Xu is the Research Coordinator at Brighter Bites. Her public health journey began at the…

Regional Leadership

Megan Hall MPH, RD

Regional Program Director

Megan serves as the regional program director for Texas. In this role, she manages relationships with…

Shey Hall

East Coast Regional Director

Shey Hall is the East Coast Regional Director in New York City. As a proud Bronx Native…

Alison Rodriguez

Program Coordinator

Alison Rodriguez is a Program Coordinator for Brighter Bites in Bakersfield. Since coming across Brighter Bites,…

Sonia Montoya

Senior Program Manager

Sonia Montoya is the senior program manager for Brighter Bites in Bakersfield. She moved to Bakersfield…

Adela Renteria

Program Coordinator

Adela spent her whole childhood playing soccer until she got a scholarship to a junior college.…

Amanda Ferrer

Program Coordinator

Amanda Ferrer joined Brighter Bites two years ago as a Program Associate and has earned a…

Isabel Games

Program Coordinator

Isabel Games is a passionate and dedicated Program Coordinator for Brighter Bites in Dallas. Born and…

Magaly Solis

Senior Program Manager

Magaly Solis is a senior program manager for Brighter Bites in Dallas. She has a passion…

Maryann Aguinaga

Senior Operations Coordinator

Maryann is a senior operations coordinator for Brighter Bites in Dallas. Maryann has been passionate for…

Sheryl Vicente

Senior Program Coordinator

Sheryl Vicente graduated from The University of Texas at Arlington with a BA in Marketing and…

Yulissa Molina

Program Coordinator

Yulissa Molina graduated from the University of North Texas at Denton with a BA in Philosophy,…

Charmaine Bailey

Program Manager

Charmaine Bailey is the Program Manager in Pennsylvania. With over 20 years of experience as an…

Danielle Orthwein

Program Coordinator

Food is Medicine is Danielle’s personal philosophy. She believes food literacy and sovereignty is a vehicle…

Alexander Rodriguez

Program Coordinator

Alexander Rodriguez is a native Houstonian with a wide array of food service and community outreach…

Anjanette Nikodym

Program Coordinator

Anjanette Nikodym is a program coordinator for Brighter Bites in Houston. She began working with Brighter…

Barbara Segundo

Program Coordinator

Barbara Segundo is a program coordinator for Brighter Bites in Houston. She was born and raised…

Jocelyn Ortega

Program Coordinator

Jocelyn is a Program Coordinator for Brighter Bites in Houston. She began her journey with Brighter…

Jonathan Hernandez

Program Coordinator

Jonathan Hernandez is a Program Coordinator for Brighter Bites in Houston. Born and raised in the…

Juana Flores

Senior Program Coordinator

Juana Flores is a program coordinator for Brighter Bites in Houston. She was born in Mexico…

Katie Degen

Senior Program Manager

Katie Degen is a program manager for Brighter Bites in Houston. She received her undergraduate degree…

Kayla Mizwa

Program Coordinator

Kayla Mizwa is a Program Coordinator for Brighter Bites in Houston. Kayla was born and raised in…

Michael Carpenter

Operations Supervisor

Michael Carpenter is a senior operations coordinator for Brighter Bites in Houston. Michael began his tenure…

Nicole Harness

Community Engagement Coordinator

Nicole is the Community Engagement Coordinator in Houston. Nicole is also a certified Community Health Worker.…

Shaun Peralta

Program Coordinator

Shaun Peralta is a Program Coordinator for Brighter Bites in Houston. Born and raised in Houston…

Thelma Green

Senior Program Manager

Thelma Green is a Senior Program Manager for Brighter Bites in Houston. When she was two…

Tibisay Guzman

Senior Program Coordinator

Tibisay Guzman is a program coordinator for Brighter Bites in Houston. She began her career at…

Jesus Garcia

Program Coordinator

Jesus G. Garcia, MPH, CHW, is a results-driven public health professional with a Master’s in Public…

McKenzie Yazzie-Martin, MPH

Program Manager

Mckenzie Yazzie-Martin is a Navajo public health professional who grew up on a reservation in Northern…

Anna Wyskowski

Program Coordinator

Anna Wyszkowski is a Program Coordinator for Brighter Bites New York City. Anna was born and…

Gina Flores

Senior Program Manager

Gina Flores is the Senior Program Manager for Brighter Bites in NYC. A true New Yorker,…

Iralia Figueroa

Program Coordinator

Iralia was born and raised in Puerto Rico, and moved to The Bronx, NY when she…

Jason Engongoro

Senior Operations Coordinator

Jason Engongoro is a Senior Operations Coordinator for Brighter Bites New York City. Jason is a…

Ricky Delgado

Senior Program Coordinator

Ricky Delgado is a program coordinator for Brighter Bites New York City. Ricky is a proud…

Kathia Cota

Program Coordinator

Kathia Cota is the Program Coordinator for Brighter Bites in Phoenix, AZ.  She was born and…

Nicole Jobson, BSW, CNP

Senior Program Manager

Nicole Jobson is a Senior Program Manager with Brighter Bites. Nicole began her nonprofit management career…

Lorena Perez

Senior Program Coordinator

Lorena Perez is the Senior Program Coordinator for the Salinas Team. Lorena worked in the agriculture…

Adan Tello

Operations Coordinator

Adan was born and raised in San Antonio, TX. Adan graduated from the University of Texas…

Elizabeth Velarde, MPH

Senior Program Manager

Originally from Dallas, TX, Elizabeth moved to San Antonio after completing her MPH degree. Elizabeth has…

Jocelyn Macias

Program Coordinator

Jocelyn was born in Eagle Pass, Texas, and moved to San Antonio to pursue a degree…

Makayla Luzarraga

Program Coordinator

Makayla was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. She graduated from the University of Texas…

Daniel Floyd

Program Coordinator

A San Diego native, Daniel holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from California State…

Danielle Radford

Senior Program Manager

With over 10 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, Dani Radford is a dedicated leader…

Greg McGuire

Senior Program Coordinator

Greg McGuire was born and raised in Dallas, receiving his Bachelor of Science in Geospatial Information…

Wesley Burt

Program Director

Wesley is a mission-driven leader dedicated to developing innovative solutions to complex social challenges. With over…

Corina Camacho de Maisonet

Program Coordinator

Corina Camacho is a Program Coordinator in Southwest Florida. She holds a degree in Food Engineering…

Leidy Vassell

Senior Program Manager

Leidy Vassell is the Senior Program Manager for Brighter Bites. She received a Bachelors of Science…

Geraldine Menjivar

Program Coordinator

Geraldine Menjivar is a program coordinator form Brighter Bites in the Washington, DC metro area. After…

Rajni Sood Laurent

Senior Program Manager

Senior Program Manager Rajni Sood Laurent is a mom, baker, and lover of fresh foods. She…

Sophia Batman

Program Coordinator

Sophia graduated from the University of Maryland (UMD) with a degree in Environmental Science and Policy.…

Board of Directors

Melissa Ackerman

Founder & CEO
Planet Harvest

Gabriela D’Arrigo

VP of Marketing & Communications
D’Arrigo New York

Lisa Helfman

Founder & Board Chair

Marc Isaacs

Retired Executive
Sun Orchard Juicery

Jenny Johnson

Senior VP & Chief Accounting Officer
Sysco

Scott McClelland

Board Member Emeritus

Benjamin Samuels

Director
Samuels Family Foundation

Shreela Sharma, PhD

Professor of Epidemiology
UTHealth School of Public Health

Vic Smith

Chief Executive Officer
JV Smith Companies

The Fruit Loop