Project Bread, Massachusetts
Erin McAleer is the President and CEO of Project Bread, Massachusetts’ leading food security organization. With strong leadership experience and expertise in government affairs and nonprofit management, Erin was named the 2020 “Bostonian of the Year'' by the Boston Globe for her guidance in fighting hunger throughout the pandemic. Her background in health, human services and public policy have informed Project Bread’s person-centered approach, and during her 8-year tenure, Erin has grown the organization and launched new initiatives critical to permanently solving hunger. This includes the integration of food access into health care, engagement of people with lived experience with food insecurity, and expanded research and data analysis. This work has directly led to the passage of free school meals in Massachusetts, an invitation for Erin to attend the 2022 White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, an advisory role appointment on the transition team for the Healey-Driscoll gubernatorial administration, and a Co-Chair position on the MA Commission for Poverty Subcommittee on Access. In 2024, Erin led the organizational launch of a massive, first-of-its-kind collective impact movement to address food security statewide – the Make Hunger History coalition – working in partnership with policymakers, service providers, businesses, and people with lived experience to drive lasting systems change in Massachusetts.
Previously, Erin worked as Director of Opportunity Boston, for Be The Change, Inc., to improve opportunities for children in poverty. She has held several senior roles as a member of Governor Deval Patrick’s administration, including serving as Director of Cabinet Affairs, Legislative Director for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, and Chief of Staff at the Department of Transitional Assistance. Additionally, she has served as Senior Associate and Government Affairs Consultant at Charles Group Consulting; Fiscal Policy Analyst in the Executive Office of Administration & Finance; and Research Analyst for State Legislature’s Joint Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse.
Erin holds a B.A. in History from Holy Cross and an M.S.W. in Community Organizing, Public Policy and Administration from Boston College.
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