EXECUTIVE BOARD

 Melissa is from the Capital Region and is the WIC Program Manager at the Commission on Economic Opportunity. She has worked for WIC for 13 years and is the Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors. Melissa also serves on the Finance Committee and is Co-Chair of the Conference Committee. She decided to become a board member to become more active in the WIC community and to broaden her professional development.  

 Helene has been promoting good nutrition and wellness for more than 20 years having worked as a nutritionist in community, clinical, corporate and retail environments. Helene joined the WIC community eight years ago, first as a high-risk nutritionist and then as WIC Director in New York City. Three years ago, Helene joined the WIC Association of NYS’s Board, and now serves as both a Provider for the MARO region and Secretary on the Executive Committee.  When not working, Helene enjoys long hikes and practicing yoga.  

I've been working in the WIC Program for 8 years as a Coordinator for Delaware Opportunities Inc.  I live in a rural area of Delaware County with my husband and two children.  In December 2016, I was elected to serve as a Provider for the Capital Region.  I became the Chair of the Finance Committee in January 2018. I'm also a member of the Legislative Committee.  As a Board member of the Association, I've been able to advocate for local agencies, and have seen positive changes in the program as a result.   

My appreciation of the WIC program started when my two sons were “on WIC”.  I never thought that our family would be eligible.   I was pleasantly surprised to be enrolled and learn about all the good things besides food supplements that WIC had to offer.   It is a great program with its health benefits and nutrition support.

When our Washington County WIC Coordinator asked me if I would be interested in serving on the Board, it was a quick reply because it made sense to give back.   I started out as a Consumer on the WIC Association's  Board and later moved to an Advocate position.   I hope my story helps Legislators understand the powerful benefits of the WIC program for all women, infants and children.   It is easy to spread the good word about a program that makes such a difference in the lives of so many families.

Today I work on our family farm and for the Southern Adirondack Child Care Network as Coordinator. 

Megan has been serving WIC families for nearly seven years as both a Nutritionist and Site Manager in Northern New York as part of the Central Region. Since 2015, she has been attending many state-wide meetings and training's in anticipation of the NYWIC Rollout. Since then, she has served as the local agency expert, helping to train and support her staff in NYWIC. Megan enjoys being able to represent the Central Region as a WIC Association Provider since December of 2016; and has been a member in both the Nutrition and Breastfeeding, and Marketing and Membership committees. She currently serves as the co-chair of the Consumer/Vendor committee. Megan continues to expand her professional development and passion in order to lead her WIC team in successfully supporting and serving our families.

 Interested in becoming a Consumer  board member, download an application (link below).  Submit application to email address on the form .
 

 Interested in becoming a Provider  board member for the Metro Region, download an application (link below).  Submit application to email address on the form .

Tommi-Grace Melito has worked in the public and nonprofit sectors for over a decade. She is currently the Regional Economic Resiliency Programs Manager at the Health & Welfare Council of Long Island where she works closely with WIC and other human service providers create innovative solutions to complex social issues. She joined the Board of Directors in January 2020 and is absolutely thrilled to continue to work closely to elevate the WIC Program in New York.  

 Interested in becoming a Consumer  board member for the Metro Region, download an application (link below).  Submit application to email address on the form  

Bio and Picture coming soon

Sarah is an Advocate in the Western New York Region.

She is a former WIC recipient and has firsthand experience with food and nutrition insecurity. Sarah has a professional background in food as a chef, a grocery worker, a co-op board member and a food banker. She has BA in Sociology from UC Davis with a focus on social welfare systems and a Master’s in Public Policy from Mills College where she studied anti-poverty and anti-hunger policies. She was also an academic fellow at the Western Center on Law and Poverty, the Advocacy Manager at the California Association of Food Banks, Director of Programs at the Berkeley Food Network, and am currently the Programs and Partnerships Services Manager at the Food Bank of the Southern Tier. 

In Sarah's current role at the Food Bank of the Southern Tier she is working on refocusing their programmatic strategy to support community-led solutions. They are phasing out one-size-fits-all food bank-led delivery models to building programs that get food to more people in the Southern Tier who need it by building our network's capacity and partnering with existing direct-service providers working with under-resourced populations. This includes fostering and supporting innovation, while working to address and eliminate old narratives and myths about hunger and food/nutrition insecurity in our communities.

She has a deep understanding of barriers to program participation, social safety net programs, and a strong desire to improve programs meant to help the most vulnerable and historically marginalized community members. Moving forward, Sarah's hope for WIC is that other community-based organizations begin promoting WIC services more regularly and that WIC coordinators do the same for other local anti-hunger programs—that program collaboration becomes the norm and WIC consumers are able to receive additional support more fluidly.

Hi! Currently, I do not work for a local WIC agency, but throughout my career I have worked in several capacities for the WIC program.  I continue to be passionate about promoting the mission of the WIC program and everything it does for Women, Infants and Children.