Board of Directors

JuPong Lin is a climate justice artist/activist, poet and educator
with decades of experience in the cooperative movement. She holds a
strong belief that racial justice, environmental justice (land
justice), and food justice are all related—in the broader movement to
dismantle colonialism. As a faculty member in the MFA in
Interdisciplinary Arts program at Goddard College, she co-founded the
Cooperative Studies Working Group that created a series of webinars
with experts in the field addressing how to transition a college to a
cooperative model. JuPong currently serves as a partner on the
Hampshire County Food Policy Council on the Vision Circle and the
Circle that founded the Fort River Community Garden.

Madeleine Charney worked as a cashier at the food coop of her university from the start of her freshmen year. The place (and the people) became her second home as she fell in love with the generous spirit of the cooperative movement. In her 30+ year career as an academic librarian in the Valley, she co-founded two thriving groups: The National Sustainability Round Table: Libraries Fostering Resilient Communities and Blue Marble Librarians, a Massachusetts-based group that develops programs to support social resilience in response to climate change. Joining the Board of Common Share Food Coop allows her to direct her passion for community engagement and empowerment on a meaningful micro-local scale, in solidarity with nearby friends and neighbors. One of her favorite pastimes is crafting herbal remedies from her home garden and responsibly foraged plants. Madeleine lives in Amherst with her husband (a former organic farmer), their spunky teenager and a sweet feline friend.

Mark has lived in the Pioneer Valley for the past 25 years.  He and his family left Boston and landed in idyllic Leverett, where he has fond memories of cashier Glen playing banjo on Saturday mornings at the Leverett Food Coop.  After Leverett, Mark joined the Sirius Community in Shutesbury, which provided a good education on how decision making works in a community setting.  He has lived in Amherst since 2010, working as a software engineer and volunteering as treasurer for his neighborhood association.  He believes a vibrant and healthy food coop could reduce packaging waste (bulk food options), support local agriculture with another retail outlet, increase resilience by reducing the dependence on national (and global!) brands, and strengthen community engagement and ownership in their town.

Sue Morrello has always been a big fan of co-ops, for the way they both create community and keep profits local. Her first co-op membership was in Boston in the early 80’s and she belongs to several locally. She originally moved to the area over 30 years ago to raise her three kids, but now that they’ve all grown and flown the coop, she says she’s not going anywhere. Over the years she has been involved in a range of community and environmental initiatives, including working to ban styrofoam food packaging as a member of the town recycling committee, serving as chairperson for the Fresh Air Fund, and starting the town’s summer ultimate frisbee league (SULA). In her free time she loves reading, gardening, movies at Amherst Cinema, and swimming in Puffers. She was previously a board member. 

 Paige Shaffer brings a deep commitment to the Amherst community in support of the Co-op’s mission. She believes that a community-owned food cooperative is an essential part of a healthy, connected, and resilient community. 

Paige has worked in public health for 14 years and is dedicated to advancing equitable access to fresh and nutritious foods. From a public health perspective, she is particularly passionate about food equity as a protective factor that can improve health and mitigate risks both directly and indirectly. 

Paige moved to Amherst from Boston in 2018 with her family and is thrilled to be actively involved in local community initiatives. She is a faculty member at UMass Chan Medical School in the Division of Health Systems Science. In her free time, Paige enjoys cooking, gardening, practicing yoga, spending time in nature, using herbal remedies, reading, and being with her husband (Eric), two sons (Jack and Noah), and their dog, Millie.