Board Bios

Maureen Miller, Executive Director

Maureen Miller earned an MBA from Boston College, and has 15 years of experience in Finance and Accounting for the Avery Corporation. She is currently Business Manager for St. Joseph Church and School in Wakefield, and has been with the Food Pantry since 2005. She started as secretary for the Board of Directors, and the next year assumed the duties of Operations Director. Under her leadership, the number of volunteers has grown from a handful to more than 60, and the location has moved from a closet in the First Baptist Church to a small but well-stocked grocery store in the Americal Civic Center. Married with four children, Maureen has lived in Wakefield since 1992.

Doreen McGowan, President

After pursuing a BS in Marketing at Bentley University, Doreen McGowan served in administrative positions at Cambridge Trust Company, Campbell and Associates law offices before becoming a home-based travel agent for Cruise Brothers. Her volunteer positions have included terms as president of the Greenwood School Parent-Teacher-Organization, co-chair of the Greenwood School Playground Committee, treasurer of the Wakefield Memorial High School Parent-Teacher-Student-Association, and parent representative on the Greenwood and Galvin School Councils. She has volunteered at the Food Pantry for 7 years, serving on the board for the past four. A mother of two and grandmother of two, Doreen lived in Wakefield for 34 years before moving to Reading.

Steven Doherty, Treasurer

Steven Doherty earned a Master’s in Accountancy from Bentley University after obtaining an undergraduate degree in Biology from Merrimack College. His career included 37 years in Advertising, serving in accounting, finance & operations positions, and since 2000 as an owner and Senior Partner/Chief Operating Officer of Connelly Partners in Boston. Steven lived in Wakefield for 26 years, coaching his son in the Wakefield Soccer, Basketball & Baseball town programs. After moving from Wakefield to the South End of Boston in 2020 and retiring in 2021, he now spends his time volunteering at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston, Community Servings and Habitat for Humanity.

Rose Finn, Clerk

Rose Finn pursued a career as a Commercial Lender after earning a BS in Finance from Bentley University and an MBA from Campbell University. She has worked for large national banks and most recently for a small non-profit. Married with three children, Rose has lived in Wakefield for > 25 years. She is a member of the Wakefield Sons and Daughters of Italy and a long-time parishioner of her church where she has been involved with many different outreach programs.

Melissa Lowry, Director of Board Advancement

Melissa Lowry earned a BSN at Washington State University and moved to Massachusetts to take a job as a Cardiac Nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital. After 6 years as a nurse, she attended Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health graduating with an MS in Health Policy and Management. Afterward, Melissa entered a year-long Administrative Fellowship at UMass Medical Center. She has worked for health plans, hospitals, physician groups and for a consulting firm. Melissa currently works at Beth Israel Lahey Health. She has been a volunteer at the Food Pantry since 2012, holding various board positions. The mother of two grown children, a son in Chicago and a daughter in Washington, D.C., Melissa has lived in Wakefield for more than 26 years.

Catherine Dhingra, At-Large Director

Catherine Dhingra holds a BA from Denison University and an MS in Human Service Management from the University of Massachusetts-Boston. With more than 20 years of experience in human services and community based public health, she is currently Director of the Wakefield Health Department’s Wake-Up Coalition, where she works across multiple town sectors to implement programs that provide access to mental health care and substance use treatment. She is active in her church, Wakefield Alliance Against Violence, Wakefield Rotary, Wakefield Senior Night Committee, the Food Pantry, and other community groups. The parents of two boys attending Galvin Middle School, Catherine and her husband, Vake, have lived in Wakefield since 2006.

Nancy Delaney, At-Large Director

Nancy Delaney graduated with a BA in Spanish from Holy Cross in Worcester, MA. She worked in international transportation for a number of years before joining the global anti-poverty organization Oxfam, where she worked for 30 years. As Director of Brand & Engagement, Nancy was responsible for helping connect the US public with Oxfam’s life saving work. Nancy and her husband moved to Wakefield in 1987 where they raised their two sons. In addition to volunteering at their sons’ schools, Nancy was elected to the Beebe Library Board of Directors and served from 1997-2015. She joined the Wakefield Food Pantry in 2022.

John Zaya, At Large Director

John Zaya, a graduate of Villanova University, has 20 years of experience advising multinationals, startups, and pre-IPO companies across multiple industries in financial planning and analysis, business development, and strategy, including 5 years as an expatriate in Europe. John currently works for Takeda, a biopharmaceutical company in Cambridge, and Massachusetts’ largest life science employer. John is actively engaged in community development through various non-profits he supports. John currently resides in Boston with his wife, Carrie, who is a doctor at a Boston hospital.