Meet our board
(left to right)
Jessica Drench, President and Founder
Jess is a passionate career educator, nonprofit leader, and trained chef with decades of experience in her fields. She is the owner of Mama Jean, a licensed home bakery in Melrose, MA that caters to special diets and is expanding operations to include a dedicated gluten-free teaching kitchen in its third year of business. Prior to Mama Jean, Jess served as Executive Director at 826 Boston, a youth writing and publishing nonprofit. In her tenure as ED, she led the organization to triple the annual budget, double the number of students served in a nationally renowned Writers’ Room Program, and expand programs from three to eight sites in the Boston Public Schools and satellite locations. Jess is a teacher at heart, and began her career teaching in ELA and Special Education classrooms in the Boston and New York City public schools. She earned a B.A. in English from Brown University and a M.A. in Teaching English from Columbia University. While working in the nonprofit sector, she received certification from the Institute of Nonprofit Management and Executive Leadership previously hosted by BU, and graduated with honors from Cambridge Culinary School. Jess loves bringing communities together around good food, and in ways that nourish us all.
Lisa Farrell, Treasurer
Lisa is the owner and founder of Food Rev Kitchen, a mission-based shared culinary space located in Stoneham, MA, where she supports food entrepreneurs with a focus on under-represented ownership, plant-forward ingredients, and thoughtful sourcing and use. She has more than 20 years of experience working in the food space and finance in operations and sales, and is passionate about the food system serving as the connection point to drive change in health, the environment, and social inequities. Lisa honed her business skills in the food space from the ground up starting with operations and sales at The Fresh Samantha and Odwalla Juice companies. She worked in investment banking, running the numbers for private equity, and built and ran the sales strategy team as director within the Lipton Unilever/Pepsi Joint Venture. Prior to launching Food Rev Kitchen, she was the founder and CEO of local food start-up Red Apple Lunch, which focused on providing healthy locally sourced lunches to schools and camps. She immersed early on in sustainability at UC Santa Barbara in the first environmental studies program in the United States, and earned an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management. Lisa sees course correcting the food system as a key solution to the cross sectional issues across equity, health and the environment, and works to create spaces that encourage initiative and growth in an equitable way.
Nandini Talwar, Vice President
Nandini is a self-taught, enthusiastic and creative home chef and an organic gardener who enjoys the thrill of using seasonal home grown produce in fresh and nourishing farm-to-table cuisine. Professionally, she is trained as a physician with specialty training in Pediatrics, Adult Psychiatry and Child Psychiatry. She got her BS at the University of CA in Irvine, her medical degree at the Medical College of Wisconsin and then completed her triple board residency and fellowship training at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. When she is not in her kitchen or garden or feeding her friends and family, she serves as the Medical Director for Child, Youth and Family Services at the Department of Mental Health. She is an Assistant Professor at Harvard University through the Cambridge Health Alliance and also an Assistant Professor at UMass Medical School where she has been an avid educator in training the next generation of Child Psychiatrists throughout her career. Nandini is one of the founding members of Melrose Organizes for Real Equality, an organization committed to celebrating diversity while affirming the democratic values that unite us, and to recognizing the innate value of each human being. She is a fierce social justice warrior and a strong believer in mutual aid and is passionate about ensuring the availability of healthy food to people who struggle with food security. As an immigrant to the United States from India at age 17 and with her decades long career in public service, her mission has always centered around supporting communities, serving others and protecting the rights and interests of the public.
Manassah Bradley, Clerk
Manassah brings more than 25 years of experience as a senior business advisor, educator, and entrepreneur to Community Meal Prep Club. Throughout his distinguished career, he has specialized in guiding organizations through every stage of development—from startup to maturity—empowering thousands of business owners, CEOs, students, and entrepreneurs to reach their goals. As a Senior Business Advisor at the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center in Boston, Manassah is renowned for his dynamic facilitation skills and his ability to deliver innovative, strategic solutions to complex challenges. An original thinker with expertise spanning a wide array of business disciplines, he has helped leaders accelerate growth, drive innovation, and achieve transformative results. Manassah holds an MBA in Entrepreneurship from Babson College and a B.S. in Economics from Northeastern University. His commitment to building inclusive, supportive communities extends to his role as a Board Member of the Massachusetts LGBT Business Network, where he champions collaboration and shared resources to uplift diverse voices. He believes that when we come together around food and shared purpose, we create not just meals, but lasting bonds that strengthen our entire community—transforming the simple act of meal prep into a catalyst for connection, wellness, and mutual support.