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

National Team

Amy Priebe

Director of Strategy and Partnerships

Amy Priebe is the sourcing manager for Brighter Bites. Based in Chicago, IL, Amy works closely with…

Azar Gaminian, MPH, CHES

Research Coordinator

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

Christina Blick 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

Grant Writer

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

Gouri Kulkarni

Director of Finance

Gouri Kulkarni is the Director of Finance at Brighter Bites. She is a finance professional with…

Greg Bounds, MPH

Data Architect

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

Jacqueline Noyola

Manager of Education and Outreach

Jacqueline Noyola is the Brighter Bites manager of education and outreach. In her role, she collaborates…

Katherinne Rivera

Data Analyst

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

Lisa Robertson

Grants Administrator

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

Melissa McDonald

Director of Development

Melissa comes to Brighter Bites after many years with The Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a…

Mike Pomeroy, MPH

Vice President of Operations

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…

Stephanie Cox

Human Resource Generalist

Stephanie Cox planted herself in the HR field 20 years ago and has worked both in…

Regional Leadership

Katherine McMahon

Regional Program Director

Katherine McMahon is the regional program director in Los Angeles for Brighter Bites. Katherine received an…

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…

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.…

Briana Compton

Senior Program Coordinator

Briana Compton is a program coordinator for Brighter Bites in Dallas. She received her undergraduate degree…

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

Program Coordinator

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

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…

Déjà King

Program Coordinator

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

Gabby Halliday

Operations & Procurement Supervisor

Born in Durham, North Carolina into a Caribbean family and raised in Columbia, Maryland, Gabrielle’s life…

Jackie Delagarza

Program Coordinator

Jackie Delagarza is a program coordinator for Brighter Bites in Houston. Jackie was not only born…

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…

Tessa Sweeney

Program Coordinator

Tessa Sweeney is a program coordinator on the Houston Brighter Bites team. She began her Brighter…

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…

Angelica Dominguez

Program Coordinator

Angelica is a program coordinator for Brighter Bites Los Angeles. She double majored in Nutrition and…

Jazmin Lopez, MPH, CHES

Program Coordinator

Jazmin Lopez is a program coordinator for Brighter Bites Los Angeles. Jazmin completed her Master’s in…

Tami Chipeco

Senior Program Manager

Tami Chipeco is the program coordinator for Brighter Bites in Los Angeles. After receiving her Bachelors…

Anna Wyskowski

Program Coordinator

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

Carlos Terrones

Program Coordinator

Carlos Terrones is a program coordinator in New York City. Carlos spent the early years of…

Gina Flores

Senior Program Manager

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

Jason Engongoro

Senior Operations Coordinator

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

Ricky Delgado

Program Coordinator

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

Nicole Jobson, BSW, CNP

Senior Program Manager

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

Alicia Blanco

Senior Program Manager

Alicia is the Senior Program Manager for Brighter Bites based out of the Salinas Valley in…

Lorena Perez

Program Coordinator

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

Nancy Bernal

Program Coordinator

Nancy Bernal is a Program Coordinator with the Salinas team. Having discovered Brighter Bites during an…

Adan Tello

Program 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…

Mallory Nicole Bove, MPH

Program Coordinator

Mallory Bove is a native San Antonian. She recently moved back after living in the Austin…

Clarissa Sarsama, MPH

Senior Program Manager

Clarissa is a program coordinator for Brighter Bites in Southwest Florida. She has worked in rural…

Leidy Vassell

Program Coordinator

Leidy Vassell is a program coordinator for Brighter Bites. She received a Bachelors of Science from…

Natalie Zamudio

Program Coordinator

Natalie Zamudio is a program coordinator for Brighter Bites in Southwest Florida. Upon receiving her Bachelor…

Geraldine Menjivar

Program Coordinator

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

Leane Balbuena

Program Coordinator

Leane Balbuena is a Program Coordinator on the Brighter Bites Washington, D.C. team. Leane has always…

Rajni Sood Laurent

Senior Program Manager

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

Board of Directors

Melissa Ackerman

President
Produce Alliance (PA)

Faiyaz A. Bhojani, MD, DrPH

Chief Executive Officer
MRZ Medical Group, PLLC

Gabriela D’Arrigo

VP of Marketing & Communications
D’Arrigo New York

Joel Grade

Executive Vice President, Business Development
Sysco

Steven Graubart

President & CEO
Community Hospital Partners

Lisa Helfman

Director of Public Affairs, Houston
H-E-B Grocery Company

Scott McClelland

Board Member Emeritus

Benjamin Samuels

Director
Samuels Family Foundation

Manolo Sánchez

Director
Fannie Mae

Shreela Sharma, PhD

Professor of Epidemiology
UTHealth School of Public Health

Sue Smith

Executive Vice President
Craig and Galen Brown Foundation

Vic Smith

Chief Executive Officer
JV Smith Companies

The Fruit Loop