OUR TEAM

Derek Almeida, Finance and Development Manager

Derek joined the Root team in August 2023 to assist the development and finance teams. He fell in love with the restaurant industry at a young age and has 20 years of experience in front-of-house positions, management, and operations of notable Boston area restaurants (Bar Mezzana, Spoke Wine Bar). His emphasis on equity, transparency, and growth in management has been very successful throughout his restaurant career.

He has a robust background in technology and software specifically geared towards running food service operations. Derek is a long-time musician, and you can catch him playing at venues in both Boston and Salem. He attended Tufts University, specializing in computer science and economics.

Allison Caffrey, Executive Director

Prior to joining the Root team, Allison worked at Let's Get Ready, a national college access and success organization where she started as the executive director for the New England region and then served as national director of development.

Allison started her career as a founding faculty member at Esperanza Academy in Lawrence, where she taught, coached, and mentored girls in grades five through eight. She later served as a trustee at the school, as well as the director of development. Allison has significant experience in working with nonprofits and foundations on education and youth development, including serving as a philanthropic advisor at the Boston Foundation and running the national grant-making program for the US Soccer Foundation.

Allison earned her BA from Dartmouth College and her MEd from Harvard University.

Jennifer Eddy, Founder

Jennifer Eddy is a graduate of St. Lawrence University with a degree in French and History. After graduation, she worked in corporate lending and bond sales and trading for 13 years before leaving to focus on her growing family. Jennifer has always had a passion for cooking and went to the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts where she earned a Professional Chefs Certification. Jen went on to work in accounting and special events at Love Noodle and Havana restaurants in Salem, MA. While traveling in Cambodia in 2014 she visited a training restaurant called Haven, that provided orphans transitioning to adulthood experiential culinary and life skills training that resulted in job placement at local restaurants. Haven was the initial inspiration for Root, and led to DC Central Kitchen and Liberty’s Kitchen in New Orleans, which also informed the launch of Root.

A resident of the North Shore for over 25 years, Jennifer has volunteered and served on the board of several nonprofits in Essex County including Hospice of the North Shore, Wellspring House, Windrush Farm, Essex County Trail Association, Appleton Farms, and Three Sisters Garden Project. Jennifer is the mother of 3 and lives on a farm in Ipswich with horses, dogs, bees, chickens and a vegetable garden. She is active in the equestrian community and loves to travel, bake (and eat!), hike and ski.

Faith Emerson, Director of Development and Communications

Throughout her career, Faith’s aim has been to make a positive impact on the communities in which she lives.  After leaving an initial career in real estate to focus on her family, she became a committed volunteer at a variety of organizations that support youth and families, broaden access to education, and foster the development of the building blocks necessary for lifelong success.

Over the past twenty years, she has served in both leadership and support roles on boards and committees across the non-profit sector, including Wellspring House, Brookwood School, the Town of Manchester, the Bucks Harbor Yacht Club, and The North Shore United Way.  Faith graduated from Middlebury College with a degree in Political Science.

Michelle Graczyk, Development and Communications Manager

Michelle joined the Root team in the Fall of 2022 to support the Communications and Development efforts. Her background includes leading Marketing Communications at Gartner Group, a Fortune 500 company in the USA and the UK. In addition, she has been a leader in the classroom at various colleges and universities where she has taught marketing and communications, including a focus on job acquisition skills.

Michelle is passionate about helping students develop their skills and confidence and recognize the resources available to pave pathways to meaningful employment. Recently she has partnered with North Shore Community College and local corporate and nonprofits through teaching ESL to improve literacy for immigrant women, high school students and hospital employees who need to assimilate more easily with living here in the United States.

She also has a passion for food and being in the kitchen; while living in London, Michelle earned a Cuisine Diploma at the Cordon Bleu. For the past two summers, she worked with the uniquely talented group of chefs at Talise Restaurant in Annisquam Village in Gloucester, MA, where she was responsible for making all the fresh pasta and performing kitchen prep work for nightly dinner service.

Michelle holds a BS in Management from Providence College and an MBA in Marketing from Northeastern University.

Sam Hunt, Director of Social Enterprise

Noted North Shore chef Sam Hunt brings his talents to Root as Director of Social Enterprise.  

Hunt, who holds a BA in industrial design from Syracuse University and an associate culinary degree from Scottsdale Culinary Institute, worked for four years as Operations Manager at The Wild Horse in Beverly, managing all aspects of 120-seat restaurant.  Prior to that he served for four years as Chef/General Manager at 15 Walnut in Hamilton, overseeing the redesign, relaunch and expansion to an award-winning restaurant which earned multiple awards under his direction including BONS: Best New Restaurant, Best Burger; Yankee Magazine: Top Pick; Top Chef North Shore.  Sam began his career in 2003 first as line cook and then as sous chef at No. 9 Park in Boston.  From there he moved to Westside Lounge in Cambridge where he managed the daily operation of the kitchen and 60-seat restaurant.

In addition to his culinary experience, Sam developed the mobile web application, OUI Chef APP, to empower independent restaurants by delivering a communication platform for both internal and external needs.

Samantha Johanson, Events and Facilities Manager

Samantha joined Root in March 2023 as Facilities and Events Manager. Samantha brings several years of experience with nonprofits, including The Salem Pantry (one of Root's community partners), managing events, facilities, and volunteers. She also led the project for the Pantry to become certified as a Service Enterprise (SE) organization, which strategically leverages volunteers to achieve operational efficiency and greater social impact. She is excited to join the team supporting Root's mission of Feeding Opportunity and Community mission.

A North Shore resident for over 16 years, Samantha has been organizing events for many years, including the Scout Troop 58 in Danvers as their Advancement Chair. She has a B.A. in Mass Communications from Westfield State University and looks forward to creating memorable events at Harborpoint.

Samantha loves exploring different cuisines while traveling with her teenage son. Most recently, on a trip to New Orleans, they both got to try and learn more about Cajun and Creole foods. 

Jesse Lauden, Manager, Culinary Training Program

Jesse joins Root as Manager of the Culinary Job Training program, where he’ll impart industry knowledge and expertise from his 20 year food & beverage career to our trainees.

Starting as a cook and dishwasher, he’s held diverse roles at award-winning restaurants in Vermont, Minneapolis, and Boston, where his love of hospitality and cocktail talent saw him studying under Jackson Cannon at Garrett Harker’s trio of Kenmore Square restaurants (Island Creek Oyster Bar, The Hawthorne, Eastern Standard). Jesse brings to Root his passion for collaboration, mentorship, and his deeply entrenched belief in the power of good food to nourish, educate, and empower.

A native New Englander, Jesse is an avid home cook and White Mountains hiker. He holds a B.A. in Applied Environmental Studies from Tufts University where he specialized in Food Systems & Nutrition.

Merlinda Marseille Philippe, Director of Programs

Merlinda has spent her 20+ year career working in the nonprofit sector, specializing in youth development. She’s bilingual and brings a wealth of lived experience and direct service experience to her leadership of the program team at Root.

Most recently she served as the Director of Youth Services at Life Scene Family and Children's Services, a partner organization of Root, where she oversaw “youth first” programs including a job training and career development program for young adults ages 14-22, combining educational enrichment and hands-on experience.

She has a BA in Psychology (Georgia State) and a MEd in Counseling (Cambridge College).

Keith Seeber, Culinary Director

Chef Keith Seeber joined Root as Chef Educator in September 2021. A North Shore resident, he has been a chef on the North Shore of Boston for the better part of the last decade.

Keith has experience in almost every facet of the hospitality industry. He has opened and managed restaurants as both an Executive Chef and General Manager, managed wedding and event catering, led large foodservice outfits, and has experience in recipe research and development. Throughout his career, Keith has used education as a tenet of team building and development for the organizations he has been a part of.

Keith is an avid gardener and enjoys canning/preserving what he grows. He holds a Culinary Nutrition degree from Johnson & Wales University and a Masters of Management in Hospitality from Cornell University.

Kellie Silva, Chef de Cuisine

Kellie joined the Root team in the winter of 2021 to support Root’s growing Community Catering program and quickly became an indispensable part of the team. Her passion for cooking, experience in professional kitchens, and natural leadership made her a perfect fit for the role of Kitchen Manager, supporting Root’s alumni kitchen team members and managing the increasing production in Root's kitchen.

Kellie graduated from North Shore Community College with an Associate's Degree in Culinary Arts. Her first job after high school was with the Salem Summer Meals program in 2011, working in the Salem High School kitchen, and she has continued to work in the industry ever since, most recently at the Salem Waterfront Hotel and Suites, where she served in nearly every position from hostess to banquet server to line cook to kitchen supervisor. 

Mihail Vasilev, Alumni Services Coordinator

Mihail joined the Root team in October 2023 to support Root’s Alumni Services. Mihail formerly worked in youth development and young adult career services at LifeScene, loves food, and is pursuing his master’s degree.