Simca manages the Farm to School Network and provides procurement assistance and workshops to food service professionals, farmers, food distributors, and community advocates in eastern and southeastern Mass. Simca has worked in a variety of non-profit organizations in the Boston area that focus on food and agriculture, including three years as a farmer and farm-based educator at a community farm and two years running a shared use community kitchen for culinary entrepreneurs. She holds an M.S. in Food and Agriculture Policy from the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. In her free time she loves making desserts out of vegetables.
As the Co-Director, Lisa works with farmers, food service operators, food distributors, and farm to school advocates in central and western Massachusetts to assist in local food procurement efforts. Growing up on a farm in the Hudson Valley, Lisa spent her free time milking cows, selling pumpkins, and picking beans. After successfully transitioning to urban life in Boston, while attending Boston University for degrees in Environmental Policy, Lisa decided to return to agriculture by earning an M.S. in Agriculture and Nutrition Policy from the Tufts’ Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. Before joining the Mass. Farm to School, Lisa worked for the Mass. Department of Agricultural Resources for five years where she coordinated the Department’s nutrition programs, the Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program (FSMIP), and various other marketing initiatives within the Division of Agricultural Markets.
Dena is responsible for making sure everyone is aware of the great work that Mass. Farm to School is doing. She is a graduate of Tulane University and has previous non-profit experience at the Essex County Greenbelt Association, Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts, and the American Institute of Architects, New York Chapter. Born and raised in Los Angeles, she is continually adapting to living in cold weather. She enjoys gardening, sharing recipes with her sister, reading, and spending time with her family.
As Education Program Manager, Dinah oversees the Harvest of the Month for Educators program, the Institute, professional development offerings for educators and supports a broad range of programmatic efforts to strengthen school partnerships. As a middle school Social Studies teacher for 18 years, Dinah's career has been rooted in public education. She holds Masters degrees in both Education and Cultural Anthropology, is the author of two books, and has worked as a freelance curriculum writer, technology integrationist, and K-12 teaching coach. In her free time, Dinah enjoys hiking, growing flowers and food, traveling, building things and being around dogs.
Abby focuses on supporting prospective & current grantees of the MA Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education's MA FRESH Grant and Northeast Food for Schools program by connecting with school districts, early child care centers, food hubs, and farmers to support local food purchasing, professional development, and more. Abby has been working on food access, justice, and systems work in Massachusetts for well over a decade and is motivated by the work to bring nourishing, local foods to everyone-- especially kids. Prior to joining Mass. Farm to School, she worked with Springfield Public Schools food service department for five years bringing about student learning opportunities and student choice to the breakfast and lunch programs, supported the Healthy Incentives Program's state-wide launch at the Department of Transitional Assistance, served as a policy advocate for The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, and has previously worked for Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture, and Pioneer Valley Grows Investment Fund. Abby received her MBA from Fitchburg State University and lives in Western Massachusetts with her husband, daughter, and dog.
Brittany Chloe (BC) Tope-Ojo works part-time with Massachusetts Farm to School as the Communications Assistant. From Tennessee, she has a Bachelor's degree in Child Development from Vanderbilt University, and is currently a second-year graduate student studying Nutrition and Public Health at Tufts. She is passionate about community health, local food systems, food security, and regenerative agriculture. Though she is not yet certain what she will do after graduating, she has worked in the nonprofit sphere for many years and would be glad to continue doing so. She started with MFTS in October 2022 and has learned a lot in the months since, working on data entry, social media management, interviewing, profile writing, and other tasks! In her free time, BC enjoys cooking and baking for loved ones, hosting movie and game nights, working on various fermentation projects, traveling, and learning different languages.
| Name | Organization | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Alden Cadwell | Commonwealth Kitchen | Business Development Specialist |
| Justine Cruz Corchado | Jaebird Farm | Owner |
| Mark Patrick Duffy | Plymouth Public Schools | Dir. of College, Career & Technical Education |
| Barrett Grazioso | Belchertown Public Schools | Food Service Director |
| Mellissa Honeywood | City of Boston, Office of Food Justice | Deputy Director |
| Sam Icklan | Project Bread | Dir. of Community Nutrition Services |
| Catalina Lopez-Ospina | Project Bread | VP of Engagement |
| Tracy Skelly | Little Cocoa Bean | |
| Yvonne Tang | Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA | Dir., Corporate Citizenship & Business Integration |
| Liz Wills-O'Gilvie | Springfield Food Policy Council & Mass. Food System | Director & Steering Committee Member |
Past Committee Members
Noli Taylor, Community Food Education Director, Island Grown Initiative
John Waite, Executive Director, Franklin County Community Development Corporation
Phone: (413) 253-3844
Email: info@massfarmtoschool.org
