Jen Faigel is a co-founder of the former CropCircle Kitchen, now CommonWealth Kitchen, and stepped in as Executive Director in 2014. Jen is responsible for setting organizational strategy, raising funds, wrangling staff and businesses, developing and managing strategic partnerships, and generally managing the chaos. Jen's background is in real estate and community economic development. She was the lead real estate consultant for the $15 million Pearl project, which is now home to CWK's flagship kitchen operation. In her career, Jen has developed more than 400 affordable homes and over 225,000 SF of commercial real estate - worth over $200m - as a means to create jobs and economic opportunity. Her motto in life is- "If you can't ride two horse at the same time, then you shouldn't be in the circus!" Jen's all-time favorite food is white clam pizza from Pepe's in New Haven. 

jen@commonwealthkitchen.org

Jill is Director of Workforce, Supplier, and Diversity Development at the Commonwealth’s Gaming Commission. Jill is the former Director of Economic Development Programs at The Boston Foundation. Previously, Jill worked for more than a decade in Boston Mayor Menino’s administration, including as Assistant Director of Economic Initiatives.

A food industry entrepreneur and community organizer, Biplaw brings his business savvy to issues of social justice and empowerment. He grew up in Nepal, graduated from Truman State University, and earned his MBA at Hamline University. A longtime citizen of Boston, he is co-owner/operator of Dudley Cafe in Roxbury and serves as a Trustee for the Grove Hall Trust in Dorchester. He is especially passionate about food sovereignty and sustainability. Always finding the light in dark situations, Biplaw has a powerful conviction that every community is gifted with the talent and resources needed to improve life for everyone.

Biplaw has a B.A in political science from Truman State University and a Masters in Business Administration with specialization in Negotiation and Conflict Management from Hamline University. He is also a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. Biplaw speaks three languages- English, Nepali, and Hindi.

He resides in Dorchester, MA with his fiance Nyacko and their two furry friends: Moxie and MoMo.

Brad oversees culinary operations at both Dorchester and Jamaica Plain, as well as culinary and business technical assistance. And chief dishwasher. Brad spent a decade running Community Servings’ kitchen. Previously, Brad worked for almost 30 years in fine dining, including over a decade as Executive Chef for Todd English.

Brad joined CCK in 2013 as a consultant to advise on the design and operations for the Pearl facility and the CCK kitchens. He was hired in 2014 to run all day-to-day operations of both the Jamaica Plain and Dorchester facilities. Brad is responsible for ensuring all business operations are conducted in accordance with all applicable codes and regulations. He provides technical assistance to businesses on recipe development, scaling, packaging, and LEAN manufacturing. He also manages CCK’s commissary operations. 

Prior to joining CCK, Brad spent 7+ years running Community Servings’ kitchen operation, which provides over 9,000 scratch-made meals each week to 900+ home-bound people suffering from an acute, life-threatening illness. Brad supervised a staff of 20+ professional chefs, trainees and volunteers. Previously, Brad worked for 25+ years in fine dining, including over a decade as Executive Chef for Todd English in his Figs, Olives, and other restaurants.

Brad loves local food but really does miss wild ramps from West Virginia, eggs & white truffles from Italy, and extra virgin oil from Liguria.

brad@commonwealthkitchen.org

Irene Li co-owns and operates the Boston-based food truck, restaurant and shipping container enterprise collectively known as the Mei Mei Group. Founded with her two older siblings, their award-winning food businesses merge modern techniques and genre-bending creativity with sustainable practices and tech-savvy communications. Irene’s background of living on an organic farm, working the restaurant line, and organizing for social justice inform her leadership of the food and sourcing elements of the company.  She recently graduated from Cornell University with a BA in Food Systems and Cultural Studies, received two James Beard Rising Star nominations and an Eater National Young Gun award.

Kingdell is the newest member of the CommonWealth Kitchen team and brings an impressive background in data management and analysis. Kingdell graduated from Bates College in 2019 with a degree in Physics and Astronomy. He worked in a galaxies research lab for two years, spent time working in various dining services, and served as a youth counselor in his hometown of Lawrence, MA. His experience working in various dining services puts him in a familiar environment at Commonwealth Kitchen. His favorite food is homemade brown rice with roman beans, lean ground beef, fried plantains, and a side of mixed salad. 

king@commonwealthkitchen.org

Liz joined CommonWealth Kitchen in August as a part-time receptionist. No stranger to the food business, Liz previously worked for Slade Gorton (a wholesale fish company) and Cambridge Brands (Tootsie Roll subsidiary) and has lived in Dorchester for the past three years. Liz has four children and four granddaughters. Her favorite hobby is reading murder mysteries, especially James Patterson, and her favorite foods are a Cape Verdean dish called Kachupa and a rice called Jag.

Melissa joined CommonWealth Kitchen as a consultant, spearheading their first members-only trade show. In August 2019 she joined CWK full time as Business Development Manager, putting her background in marketing and project management to work supporting access to retail and other opportunities for member businesses.

Sherina is a local Dorchester resident that was brought onto the management staff in 2015 to help with the day to day management of CWK which includes bookkeeping, payroll, grants management and marketing services just to name a few.  She served on the Board of Directors of Dorchester Bay EDC for the past 10 years and chaired the Small Business Loan Committee reviewing small business loan applications. Previously, Sherina provided a similar role at YouthBuild USA and Interise. Her favorite taste at CWK is the Jerk Pork from Fort Hill Jerk and the toasted coconut ice cream from Beckon.

sherina@commonwealthkitchen.org

Bonnie has worked at the intersection of media and social change for over two decades. She has been a fan of CWK since its inception and is thrilled to join the team as CWK's first Director of Communications. Prior to joining CWK, Bonnie launched the communications department at The Melville Charitable Trust, the largest foundation in the U.S. exclusively devoted to ending homelessness, and at Keshet, where she helped a small local organization grow into a national changemaker in the Jewish community.

In addition to her work in the nonprofit world, Bonnie has served as the editorial coordinator for outreach campaigns for several PBS series and as a freelancer worked as a researcher, associate producer, and sound recorder for documentary films. She's convinced that a well-told story has the power to change hearts and minds. 

Bonnie graduated from Tufts University with a degree in International Relations and Women’s Studies, received a certificate in non-fiction writing from the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies, and a master's degree in Media and Philanthropy from Suffolk University where she received the Waterston Fellowship, sponsored by actor Sam Waterston. She lives in Jamaica Plain with her partner, daughter, and an old black lab and runs the Anson Street Community Garden. She is happiest eating ramen in the winter, raspberries in the summer, and cheese all year round. 

bonnie@commonwealthkitchen.org

Colin Roy was hired in May 2014 to assist with the opening and operation of the Pearl facility in Dorchester. Colin assists Brad in managing all daily operations of all of CWK’s kitchen facilities. He also manages business scheduling to ensure efficient use of kitchens, provides regular one-on-one support, and coordinates all of the food truck operations.

Prior to joining the CWK team, Colin spent three years working for a food truck that operated out of CWK’s Jamaica Plain facility. He brings tremendous experience and first-hand knowledge of working in a shared kitchen. Previously, Colin had experience in a wide range of food businesses, from country club to restaurant and has a degree in culinary arts. 

colin@commonwealthkitchen.org

Dinora came to the US from Fogo, Cape Verde in 2012. She warms the kitchen every morning as she preps for SmartLunches with CWK. When Dinora gets home from work, she makes incredible Cape Verdean food, including the best dessert: pudim, made from milk and caramelized sugar.

Meg Tallon is the Director of Community Outreach for East Boston YMCA’s Teaching Kitchen, where she facilitated the creation and permitting of the kitchen, launched programming for all ages and created the Urban Farm to Kitchen program. Tallon’s expertise as a chef and gardener give her special insight into how to teach people to put fresh and healthy food on the table in their everyday life. A graduate of the Cambridge School in Culinary Arts, Tallon has worked as a chef and baker and taught business and cooking classes. She joined the board of  CommonWealthKitchen in 2014, previously she assisted with the opening of the new CWK Pearl shared used kitchen commissary and culinary business incubator.

Roz is the first person you’ll see when you contact CWK as an entrepreneur. She helps entrepreneurs get their businesses up and running with CWK, organizes our events and educational programs, and develops and manages our partnerships with job training programs and business planning organizations. She loves saying yes, which sometimes gets her into trouble, but also means she does all the random things you wouldn’t think of, from coordinating labels for our farmer value-added program, to hand-painting signs for our events. Roz has a background in sustainable agriculture and ecology research.

roz@commonwealthkitchen.org

If you google Seth you will find a number of amazing articles about his time as the Chef/Owner of The Gallows in South End and rave reviews of his work at Vee Vee in JP, his recipe for Snappy Lobster in The Boston Homegrown Cookbook: Local Food, Local Restaurants, Local Recipes (Homegrown Cookbooks) and many more. Chef Seth is an experienced culinary professional that has been working in Boston for over 15 years. His long-lasting relationships with local farmers, fish mongers, specialty food providers, and distributors enables him to get some of the best quality items, as well as the best of what's in season. Today besides helping manage CWK commissary contracts Seth's latest venture is Farm and Feast Tours which will bring customers on "tasting trips" to specialty farms in the area.

seth@commonwealthkitchen.org

Martha began working at CWK summer of 2016. She is in charge of the kitchen prep work in the commissary kitchen. Martha is a key part of setting up our larger scale equipment and getting things moving and operating smoothly, from our automatic filler, to the dough depositor. You'll often see Martha peering over the edge of a giant kettle, making sure that everything is operating properly. She likes everything about CommonWealth kitchen and likes being part of the family.

Ronald came to CommonWealth Kitchen through the Urban Farming Institute. At CWK you can find him pitching in wherever he can. One day he may be roasting bananas for Batch Ice Cream, and the next day he may be prepping ghost peppers for salsa or making garlic scape pesto for a local farmer. Ronald loves the Jerk Chicken from Fresh Food Generation and solving riddles.