Our Mission
Person to Person supports families and individuals as they move toward stability with healthy food, clothing, housing assistance, and a path to economic opportunity.
Our Vision
Thriving, hunger-free homes.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
At Person to Person, we are steadfast in our commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive organization and culture. We pledge to regularly assess and enhance our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives through global benchmark reviews, staff engagement surveys, and efforts to increase volunteer diversity. We cultivate a culture of learning by providing training on values and behavior for staff, volunteers, and board members, along with ongoing education opportunities. Our commitment extends to incorporating the voices of those we serve through pulse surveys, client councils, and feedback mechanisms. We prioritize talent attraction and retention by establishing robust pipelines of diverse staff, broadening board diversity, and activating volunteer pipelines. Embracing diversity is at the core of our mission, and we invite all stakeholders to join us on this journey, working collaboratively to create an equitable and welcoming environment for everyone at Person to Person.
Who We Serve
P2P currently serves approximately 28,000 individuals in lower Fairfield County, including the towns of Darien, New Canaan, Norwalk, Stamford, Weston, Westport, and Wilton.
Each person we have the opportunity to serve has a unique story. Whether it’s a single mother struggling to work enough hours to provide for herself and her children, an elderly man living alone on disability, or a young family looking for guidance to navigate housing expenses in Fairfield County, each person has a unique reason for calling on P2P and we are here to serve them all, no questions asked.
Our Impact
Strategic Plan
Following a nine-month engagement of stakeholders and strategic conversations, P2P unveiled its 2023 – 2025 Strategic Plan which includes the following goals:
- Programs: To be responsive to emergent community needs, post-pandemic:
- Strengthen the Financial Opportunity Center
- Add a second mobile food pantry in Stamford
- Transition the Scholarship program to other outside partners
- Talent Acquisition & Retention: To cultivate a robust and engaged volunteer corp sufficient to achieve P2P’s mission, and foster a diverse and inclusive organization and culture.
- Maintain Financial Sustainability : To ensure P2P has the financial resources to sustain programmatic and operational needs today and in the future.
- Marketing & Communications: To broaden community awareness and support with branding and messaging strategies to support all of P2P’s programs and services.
Meet the Team
P2P Leadership
Nancy Coughlin, Chief Executive Officer
Nancy joined Person to Person in June of 2019, bringing expertise and experience in food insecurity, anti-poverty, and women’s and children’s issues. Prior to joining P2P, Nancy served for seven years as the Executive Director at Neighbor to Neighbor, a Greenwich-based organization dedicated to providing food and clothing to low-income families and children, and prior to that, practiced employment litigation with Baker McKenzie in NYC. Ms. Coughlin received a BA in psychology from the University of New Hampshire, and a J.D. from the Suffolk University Law School.
Greg Dobbs, Senior Site Director/Stamford Site and Food Manager
Greg coordinates the activities of the four food pantries and our clothing center, and ensures efficiency and effective communication between site managers, who report directly to the SSD; also serves as the Stamford Site Manager. His duties include food procurement, inventory, cost, and quality control, volunteer training and management, invoice management, organizing food drives, and collaborating with outside agencies. Greg came to us from Cowen & Co. in Stamford, where as the Office Services and Facilities Manager, he oversaw inventory, purchasing, vendor expenses, shipping & receiving, print production, equipment leasing contracts, and shipping & receiving. Greg earned a BA in Social Welfare from Valparaiso University, where he also played varsity basketball. He served his local community by coaching boys’ HS varsity basketball for 29 years.
Lauren Franciamore, Chief Programs Officer
Lauren Franciamore, LCSW is responsible for the overall supervision of the Financial Opportunity Center, Scholarship, and Campership Programs. She supervises P2P casework staff, oversees the implementation and success of the agency’s Emergency Assistance program, and is SIFI certified. Lauren works with school counselors in the Stamford public schools to find the best matches for Campership recipients. She came to P2P in 2017 from Community Centers, Inc. in Greenwich, where she worked for 10 years as a social worker and later as its Executive Director. Lauren received her Masters in Social Work from New York University, and her Bachelor of Arts in Social Work from Sacred Heart University, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude.
Juri Garone, Chief Community Relations Officer
Juri is responsible for the volunteer program and community relationships. She joined Person to Person in September 2019, at which time she also had oversight of the food and clothing programs. Prior to that, Juri worked in the Library Learning Commons at Weston High School for 7 years, and co-chaired the Weston Domestic Violence Task Force advocating for local victims and raising money for the Domestic Violence Crisis Center. Juri spent a decade in broadcast journalism, working as an Emmy Award-winning television news anchor and reporter in Westchester, New York, and Bergen County, New Jersey.
Julie Moeller, Interim Chief Philanthropy Officer/Corporate Engagement Officer
Julie joined Person to Person in July 2023 as their Corporate Engagement Officer. She remains in that role in addition to the Interim Chief Philanthropy Officer. Prior to joining P2P she worked at the National Football League for 21 years in business development both domestically and internationally. Prior to the NFL, Julie worked for Scotiabank in Costa Rica. Julie attended James Madison University where she received her degree in Business Administration and Spanish. Julie currently lives in Darien with her husband and 3 children.
Corey Paris, Chief Impact Officer
Corey is responsible for P2P’s individual major giving and legacy giving programs, strategy, advocacy, and fundraising events. Corey is also a CT State Representative for the 145th District (Stamford), where he serves as Vice Chair of Appropriations and serves on the Education and Higher Education Committees. He is the Vice-Chairman for the Mayor’s Multicultural Council for the city of Stamford and serves as a member on the Board of Directors for the Association of Fundraising Professionals of Fairfield County, the Stamford Partnership, and the Ferguson Library. He graduated from Western CT State University, where he served as Vice President of the Alumni Association and as a national trainer for Young People For – People for the American Way program. He previously served as Chief Development Officer for the Children’s Learning Centers of Fairfield County (CLC).
Debra Ritchie, Chief Operating Officer
Debra joined Person to Person in early December 2022 as the Interim Chief Operating Officer, and accepted the role on a permanent basis in April of 2023. Her responsibilities include supervising the Finance Associate, and overseeing the financial and site operations of P2P. Deb graduated from Villanova University in 1991 with a degree in Finance. After working in corporate banking covering Media and Telecommunications companies for nearly a decade, Deb served as an elected official in Darien for 12 years including four years on the Darien Board of Education. Deb has volunteered in many capacities, including Board of Directors for the Darien Nature Center, The Community Fund Allocation Panel, Co-Chair of Council for Darien School Parents, Town of Darien Youth Commission, Volunteer for YMCA Darien/Norwalk, and St. Thomas More Parish.
Staff
DEVELOPMENT AND MARKETING DEPARTMENT
Ruta Pakstas Cole
Development Officer-Grants
Courtney Galvan
Director of Marketing and Communications
Sarah Lippman
Development and Salesforce Manager
Leonie Fillingham
Gift Entry Associate
FINANCE DEPARTMENT
Janeen Eckert
Finance Associate
OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT
Christina Mason
Executive Assistant
Sarah Demark
Volunteer Manager
Lorena Gonzalez
Client Receptionist
Darien Site Staff
Patty Salgado
Darien Site Manager
David Garcia
Darien Assistant Site Manager
Stephen Colley
Clothing Center Manager
Kenny Cabrera
Site Associate
Norwalk Site Staff
Steve Callow
Norwalk Assistant Site Manager
AJ Jackson
Norwalk Site Support Associate
Stamford Site Staff
Ernesto Uquillas
Stamford Driver & Delivery Services Coordinator
Trevor Atkins
Stamford Site Support Associate
Alba Mercedes
Stamford Site Associate
Sherita Little Bald Eagle
Stamford Site Associate
Dordy Crevecoeur
Stamford Mobile Pantry 2 Driver and Site Associate
PROGRAMS DEPARTMENT
Flor Gonzalez
Program Manager
Deborah Arrieta
Case Manager/FOC Specialist
Natasha Ducasse
Case Manager/FOC Specialist
Patricia Obando
Case Manager/FOC Specialist
Sandra Canales
Casework Admin Coordinator
Kislene Bosse Belizaire
Caseworker
Tania Parrales
Caseworker
Shirley Vega
Caseworker
Board 2024-2025
Christina Johnson Wolff
Board Chair
Mike Riccardi
Vice Chair
Caroline Gillespie-Greer
Vice Chair
Norman LaCroix
Treasurer
Betsy Wilson
Secretary
Yakut Akman
Russell Chapman
Celeste Cox Baldwin
Shawn Cummings
Allison Gagliardi
Mimi Griffith
Jeffrey Houle
Michelle Lappas
Todd Lindvall
Lauren Matthiesen
Angela Riley
Lucia Rilling
Holly Schulz
Christopher Willis
James Winter
Ex Officio: Nancy Coughlin
Directors Emeriti
Harry Geller
Wilder Gleason
Judy Kilmartin
Jutta (Judy) Nemec
Patricia Phillips (deceased)
Per Sekse
Jan Smith
William Taggart
Avery Whidden
Rebecca Wilson
History
Following the assassination of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, the rector of Saint Luke’s Parish in Darien, Connecticut – The Rev. Dr. Robert Nelson Back, who had attended seminary with Dr. King – met with parish member Jean Sherman to discuss how caring people in Darien could express their concern about and respond to the assassination as well as growing civil rights issues. In a letter dated April 18, 1968, Dr. Back announced the formation of Person-to-Person and named Jean its first director.
Financials
P2P offers services to people with limited resources to help them meet the challenges of daily life. We are able to do so because we have the support of individuals, businesses, community organizations, schools, congregations and foundations, and leverage every financial and in-kind donation to reach over 28,000 people annually. For every $1 donated, P2P provides $5 worth of food.
You can see our most recent annual reports and financial statements below.