Board of Directors


Board of Directors

Mass Local Food currently has a seven-member Board of Directors, including five officers and two at-large members. The co-op community elects the members of the Board at the annual meeting (usually held in February). Incoming Board members will each serve a three-year term.

The Board of Directors meets once a month, usually on the second Thursday after Distribution Day. This is a closed meeting.

We are pleased to introduce our Board of Directors.

Kelley O’Connor, President

Kelley O’Connor has a BA in Math from Bowdoin College and 22 years’ experience in software engineering and technical support. She grew up on a small farm in Harvard and has fond memories of life on the farm. Kelley learned about peak oil in 2005 and became very interested in food security. When the Oklahoma Food Cooperative announced it was giving away its software in 2006, she decided to start a similar local food cooperative in Massachusetts. Kelley attended the Food Co-op workshop hosted by the Oklahoma Food Co-op in May 2007, where she learned about the Oklahoma co-op’s history and how it works. Since January 2007, Kelley has worked toward gathering local “foodies” who are interested in participating in a local food cooperative. After a couple of false starts, she found the necessary enthusiasm and commitment in Kerrie Hertel and Sheryl Vaillette to form a planning committee.

Kerrie Hertel, Vice President for Producers

For many years Kerrie Hertel worked as a software engineer at Digital Equipment Corporation and Simplex Time Recorder. In 2002 she left engineering to spend time with her children. She and her husband, Andy, purchased Maple Heights Farm in 2007 and are working to return it to a viable farm. Kerrie contacted Kelley O’Connor in 2008 after reading about Kelley’s efforts in the newspaper, and has been working with Kelley ever since.  Kerrie is an organizer of the Westminster Farmers’ Market and a member of the Westminster Agricultural Commission.

Sheryl Vaillette, Vice President for Customers

Sheryl Vaillette has a degree in education from Fitchburg State College and taught at the elementary and preschool levels for seven years. She was the Central MA Coordinator for Massachusetts Parents Anonymous (now Parents Helping Parents) for fourteen years. Sheryl completed the Expanded Food and Nutrition Program offered by the UMass Extension Service and also taught a puppet-based, hands-on nutrition curriculum while working at the preschool. She currently serves as co-chair of the local chapter of the MA Green-Rainbow Party and developed and implemented a “Buy Local” campaign for North Central MA with the Nashua River Green-Rainbow chapter. Most recently, Sheryl helped start the Westminster Farmers’ Market.

Sheryl became aware of Mass Local Food while co-planning the Westminster Farmers’ Market. At that time, she was growing increasingly concerned about our food system, climate change, globalization, peak oil, and social isolation. She was intrigued by MLF’s plan to utilize local, sustainable growers and to implement a small-scale distribution system. Because she is passionate about good food, informed customers, and the right to choose a local delivery system over a global one, Sheryl thinks volunteering for Mass Local Food is the perfect fit for her.

News and Alerts (Feb/Mar)

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day locally
Mass Local Food producers have all you need for corned beef and tasty leftovers. Check out the Shop page for suggestions.

Welcome University of Massachusetts Medical School
The latest Mass Local Food pick-up site in Worcester opens this month.

A local gift that keeps on giving
For that special locavore, how about a gift certificate for membership in Mass Local Food? You can find gift certificates on your order form. We will include the certificate with your order and the cost will be added to your invoice.