Hispanic Heritage Month: Project Bread Celebrates Staff

Liliana Torres joined our team January 2022 as a Registered Dietitian and Nutrition Services Coordinator for our Health Care Partnerships program. She provides patients with nutrition counseling and food resources to help them manage severe diet-related diseases.

Born in Juarez, Chihuahua in Mexico, Liliana’s parents brought her to California when she was about 1 year old. The opportunities her parents opened up for her led her to Project Bread.

“There are a lot of barriers that prevent the Hispanic community from accessing food resources such as the language barrier, resident status, and lack of inclusive spaces and resources. Project Bread supports our community by working to remove these barriers and offering tailored programs that meet our clients’ needs. It is incredibly rewarding to be able to communicate with clients in their preferred language and offer them a range of customizable services.”

Diego Alonso Calderon joined the Project Bread team in February 2020 and is a Manager for our Health Care Partnerships team. For Diego, Hispanic Heritage Month is a celebration of all Latino/a and Hispanic people that bring diversity, culture, and innovation to all aspects of our everyday life. A first generation immigrant from Peru, Diego has wanted to help others ever since he was young.

“I became a teacher to support young minds and teach them the value of empathy. During my 10 years of working as a teacher and an administrator, I realized I could do more. I wanted to give back the support and love my family and I received by so many in our life.”

As Diego has lived experience of food insecurity, Project Bread’s mission is dear to his heart, and he shares this passion with his mother and brothers.

“Now that I’m a part of this amazing organization, I do everything in my power to help as many people as I can every single day.”

Yui A. Chang Chusan has been a Nutrition Services Coordinator since April 2021 for our Health Care Partnerships team. Yui is both Chinese and Ecuadorian. She was born and raised in Guayaquil in a lower-income area. Her upbringing was similar to being a foster care child, and she experienced food insecurity before she could fully understand it.

“When I skipped meals because there was nothing in the fridge, or when I made plans with friends to go to their homes so I could eat a home-made hot meal, I was experiencing food insecurity. I was looking for a job where I could tackle nutrition from a policy level and in which I could respectfully help families that – like mine at one point – have language barriers and less access to nutritious foods and opportunities.”

Zaida Ayala is a Senior Nutrition Services Coordinator who has been with Project Bread since October 2020.  She recently started leading cooking for the nutrition classes the Health Care Partnerships Team provides and enjoys sharing a range of healthy, cultural recipes with her clients.

Originally from El Salvador, Zaida has been living in Boston for 15 years. She speaks both English and Spanish, and enjoys helping her Hispanic community every day at Project Bread.

"I work directly with clients that speak my native language, Spanish. I understand and have had personal experience with the economic, language, and food-related barriers that clients experience when they come to the USA. Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates our culture, food, language and who we are. Project bread’s mission is so important and offers a lot of support to our community to reduce food insecurity. I’m so excited to be part of a program to make a change to reduce hunger in Massachusetts."

Adriana Mendes-Sheldon joined us in July 2022 as our new Director of Community Partnerships. She develops relationships with organizations across Massachusetts so we can work together to end hunger in their communities. Her background in management consulting and education has shown her the systemic injustice and its impact on families generation after generation. Originally from Brazil, Adriana sees Hispanic Heritage Month is an opportunity to authentically celebrate differences and spread multicultural awareness and acceptance.

“Project Bread's mission inherently impacts the lives of countless individuals and families who are minorities. It feels good to be part of an organization that makes the world a better place.”

Valentina Silva joined us in 2022 as our Graphic Design Manager. She brings to the communications team inclusive design thinking aligned with the different cultures we serve. Valentina was born in Chile, with Mapuche ethnicity - Lived in London, Australia and France. After high school, she spent four months traveling through Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, and Peru. She studied Multimedia and Communications at Pontificia Universidad Católica, in Santiago, Chile. Got her master's in Human Centered Design Psychology at Pace University, NYC.
After all the cultural exchange and learning she decided that she didn’t want to design to sell products that people don’t need.

“In the world of non-profits, I find the opportunity to contribute positively through my work. I design in an inclusive way, aligned to the values of different communities. I am so excited to be a part of Project Bread and communicate visually to combat today's pressing issues. That gives meaning to my work.”

Douglas Flores, joined Project Bread in July 2020 and is our Chief Operating Officer. A Mexican-American, he has more than 27 years of experience in the nonprofit sector and served in the Peace Corps in Central America! At Project Bread, he leads our Human Resources department, IT, and manages our East Boston office. He has long worked for missions where he’s had a personal passion, including the elimination of health disparities in marginalized communities, and safe and affirming schools for LGBTQ youth.  He also has personal experience with food insecurity and sees the need to solve it permanently.

“It gives me great pride to be at an organization that recognizes the disproportionate impact that hunger has on many in my community and centers them in their work.” Douglas finds Hispanic Heritage Month to be “a time to reflect and give thanks to my ancestors whose courage, sacrifices, and support have laid the groundwork for me to be able to have the life I have and the ability to work on the issues where I have great passion.”