Team

President

Board President Liane Cassavoy brings more than 20 years of experience as a communications, fundraising, and project management professional to support the work of The Food Drive. Liane works as a Senior Project Manager at Mystic Valley Elder Services and previously was the Outreach Coordinator for the Melrose Alliance Against Violence. A journalist and author of two business start-up guidebooks, Liane holds a master’s degree in journalism from Boston University and a bachelor’s degree in English from Boston College. She lives outside of Boston with her husband, three children, and two pets. In her spare time, Liane can be found biking, reading, or driving her children to and from their various sporting events.

Treasurer

Beth Blatchford, Board Treasurer, is a long-time Melrose resident with her husband Jim and daughters Emily, Elizabeth, and Lillian. A Human Resources professional, Beth has dedicated her career to making connections and building workforce development programs to better the lives of employees. Beth especially loves her outings with the Melrose Running Club, reading the latest book club selection, and spending time in her beloved Ocean Park, Maine. Community service comes naturally for Beth through her family background growing up in Malden; in fact, her parents Richard and Doreen, spent decades volunteering for Bread of Life. A lifelong advocate for food security, Beth has been a champion of The Food Drive’s work from the very beginning.

Secretary

Tracey Cruickshank has lived in Melrose with her wife, Sandy since 1999. Together with her 17-year-old son Gabe she has spent many weekend mornings delivering rescued food to local pantries or cooking meals for Sunday distribution. Tracey has been a middle school teacher for 32 years! She has been active in the Melrose community, founding and facilitating local organizations MORE (Melrose Organizes for Real Equality) as well as EPiC (Educators and Parents in Communication). For fun, Tracey enjoys being in the woods, pretending to have read the book at Book Club, or spending time with extended family on Mount Desert Island in Maine.

Clerk

Jennifer Manning is proud to be a part of the Board of Directors for The Food Drive. Her entire family proudly volunteers for The Food Drive every Sunday morning to distribute meals for the Community Freezer Program. A graduate of Boston University, Jennifer is currently Executive Assistant to the CEO and Director of Events at Leading Edge Real Estate. Jennifer was born in Boston and grew up in Melrose, where she and her husband Brian are now raising their two children, Aidan (17) and Katelyn (12). In her spare time, Jennifer enjoys spending time with family and friends and planning her next epic family vacation

Board Member

Hilary Viola is the Director of Community Programs at Minuteman Senior Services Inc., an Aging Service Access Point and Area Agency on Aging, based out of Burlington, Massachusetts.  Hilary believes very strongly in helping to support older adults faced with food insecurity.  Hilary has worked for Minuteman Senior Services in a leadership role for over 25 years including oversight of their Meals on Wheels Program.  She received her BA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and lives in Melrose with her husband and two daughters. If she could, Hilary would spend every day at the beach, winter and summer.

Board Member

A writer and editor specializing in educational publishing, Kate House has volunteered with the Food Drive for several years. Her many experiences driving food to people and communities who need it make her even more passionate about the organization's mission and future. Kate has called Melrose home for over 15 years and is mom to Aura—now a college student!—and Jax, a middle-schooler and frequent Food Drive volunteer. When she is not fixing up paragraphs or driving produce and hot meals, Kate can be found baking, reading, hiking, dragging her family to weird museums, and walking Poppy, her husky mix who very obviously runs the household.

Co-Founder, Executive Director

Executive Director and Board Member Jana Gimenez oversees the daily operations of The Food Drive, in collaboration with her husband and co-founder Tony Gimenez. The cause of food security has been a lifelong commitment -- from serving meals at shelters with her parents, to planning events for Rosie’s Place, to joining the Board of Directors of Bread of Life in 2020. An Alabama native from a minister’s family, she was taught to use resources wisely from a young age, as her mother was well known for promoting the use of a half-napkin and recycling meals into new experiences. Jana enjoys reading, walking in beautiful places, cooking, game night, music, and going to museums and watching movies with her husband and daughter.

Designer, Photographer, & Intern

Ell Gimenez drew The Food Drive’s logo at the age of 13 and has helped us with design and photography ever since. Now 17, Ell is the student intern for The Food Drive. A creative spirit, Ell enjoys art, singing, playing the guitar and piano, reading, writing, thrifting, academics, and building her strength at Alta Performance. A junior at Melrose High School, Ell is a member of the Student Action Board for Melrose Alliance Against Violence (MAAV), the Honors Chorus, the “Imprint” MHS newspaper staff, the Environmental Club, the Compost Initiative, and is Assistant Coach of the Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School volleyball team. Her favorite place to be is with the family dog Rocky.

Co-Founder, Program Director

Program Director and Co-Founder Tony Gimenez ensures hyperlocal impact for The Food Drive by overseeing our systems, and brings with him the work ethic of a classical musician for 30 years and the depth of experience from process, systems, and technology management positions at Berklee and MIT. Tony grew up in Southern California and Idaho and moved to Boston to attend the New England Conservatory of Music in trumpet performance. A committed activist for social justice, Tony created The Food Drive’s Community Freezer program, which provided 2500 meals in 2023. Tony enjoys gardening, bonsai, music, cooking, movies, his aquariums and spending time with his family.