Food Bank of Western Massachusetts Welcomes New Board Members
January 17, 2025
Media Contact: Deb Ondo, Communications and Engagement Manager, Food Bank of Western Massachusetts debo@foodbankwma.org Phone: 413-419-0170.
Food Bank of Western Massachusetts Welcomes New Board Members
[January 17, 2025, Chicopee, MA] – The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts is pleased to announce the addition of three distinguished community members to its Board of Directors: Amy R. Rome, Dr. Olivia Aguilar, and Maureen James. Each brings a wealth of experience and a shared commitment to addressing food insecurity in our region.
Amy R. Rome
With extensive expertise in fundraising across health, education, performing arts, international and faith-based organizations, Amy has held key roles at institutions such as Lincoln Center, Cancer Care, and the William J. Clinton Foundation and Union Seminary. She has also consulted on initiatives for the Guggenheim Museum and the Episcopal Divinity School at Union. A Leominster, MA native, Amy moved to Northampton in 2019 and has actively contributed to the Food Bank’s Development Committee since March 2022. Beyond her professional accomplishments, she has served on the Board of the Academy of Music and leads the Banned Book Initiative for the League of Women Voters in Northampton.
Dr. Olivia Aguilar
Dr. Aguilar, Director of the Miller Worley Center for the Environment at Mount Holyoke College, is a nationally recognized expert in environmental education and community-based learning. A first-generation college graduate, she has earned degrees from Texas A&M University and Cornell University, with research focused on inclusivity in environmental and science learning communities. Her work explores intersections of community, race, and transformative education. Dr. Aguilar’s dedication to equity aligns with the Food Bank’s mission to create inclusive and sustainable solutions to hunger. Her upcoming book, Remembering, Resisting, and Reimagining: The Latinx Outdoor Experience, will be published in 2025.
Maureen James
A Chicopee native and Cathedral High School alum, Maureen brings legal and community service expertise to the Board. After earning degrees in Political Science and English from Boston University and her law degree from Suffolk University, she has specialized in employment defense and insurance law at Skoler, Abbott, and Presser, PC in Springfield. Since returning to Western Massachusetts in 2015, Maureen has become deeply involved in her community, chairing Wilbraham’s Commission on Disability, and, this year, started serving as Vice Chair of the Baystate Health Foundation Board. Her dedication to community empowerment complements the Food Bank’s vision for a hunger-free region.
A Stronger Future Together
“We are thrilled to welcome Amy, Olivia, and Maureen to our Board,” said Food Bank Board President Charlotte Boney. “Their diverse expertise and deep commitment to our mission will strengthen our ability to provide more nutritious food as we forge long-term solutions to the causes of hunger.”
About the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts: Since 1982, the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts has been a community partner to end hunger. We provide nutritious and culturally responsive food directly through our Mobile Food Bank and Brown Bag: Food for Elders distribution sites and through the food assistance network in Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden, and Hampshire counties. This network comprises more than 190 independent food pantries, meal sites, and shelters that are on the front lines, providing nutritious food and resources to individuals, families, seniors, children, veterans, and people with disabilities so they may lead healthy and meaningful lives. The Food Bank works to create lasting changes by partnering on public education and advocacy to address systemic barriers that cause hunger. We believe everyone has a right to healthy food.