Staff

The Metro Team is dedicated to “learning, connecting and engaging to achieve Healthy People and Healthy Places.” Our bilingual staff reflects the multicultural landscape of the San Joaquin Valley and showcases a diverse set of backgrounds, including city planning, community organizing, environmental justice, community food systems, public relations and communications.

Administration

Keith Bergthold

Position: Executive Director
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

“Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.” ― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

Chanel Ruiz-Mendez

Position: Deputy Director
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

"I’m proud to be a part of a team that believes in our community and recognizes that EVERYONE has skills, knowledge and passions to contribute. Metro’s vision for Fresno and the Valley is bright… I’m honored to be a part of this catalyst for change!"

Nora Chandara

Position: Fiscal and Operations Manager
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

"Working for Metro allows me to practice my belief of self-empowerment… rather than giving people fish, I work toward teaching them how to fish."

Programs

Food to Share

Song Vang

Position: Food to Share Project Manager
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

"Fresno Metro Ministry is such an amazing place to work because we are here to empower others and nurture the skills of our community members to have a voice of their own and create lasting change. As the saying goes… Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

Chris DeLeon

Position: Community Gardens Coordinator
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

"I'm excited to work for Metro because the mission resonates with my personal vision for our community. I am committed to addressing community health in Fresno and truly believe that hunger and food insecurity can be greatly reduced through education, community building, and empowering community members."

Vue Vang

Position: Food to Share Lead Driver
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

"I’m honored to be a part of the Fresno Metro Ministry team. I’m very proud of our vision to connect the community’s needs and passions to solutions for change."

Nellie Bigovich

Position: Food to Share Driver
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

"It’s not just a job, it’s an adventure! I love what I do here at Metro and I am honored to be part of a team that is so driven to achieve such positive results for our community. It’s amazing to see the impact food has and the connections we make to change lives for the better."

Stacy Franklin

Position: Food to Share Driver
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

"I am beyond grateful and honored to work for Metro. Being part of an organization that proactively reduces food waste to help create a healthier community is just incredible and so rewarding."

Better Blackstone Initiatives

Ivan Paz

Position: Better Blackstone Co-Project Manager
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

"There are three things that I love about Fresno Metro Ministry: our team is diverse and driven; our vision and mission are practical; and we are engaged in a network of many personal stories, which together, make up a larger story about Fresno’s advancement. I am grateful to participate in this story."

Kelsey McVey

Position: Better Blackstone CDC Project Manager
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

"I joined the Metro team because of the organization’s innovative methods of community development. Metro recognizes the need to elevate the conversation on improving Fresno with an approach that is inclusive and focuses on everyone’s talents and opportunities to produce real change."

Luis Hernandez

Position: Community Builder
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

"I want to be a facilitator for change... My work at Metro allows me to do so and remind people that we have not reached our final frontier and we need to work together to push the envelope for a better Fresno."

Community Engagement

Christian Gonzalez

Position: Project Coordinator
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

"I’m excited to join in the great work Metro does, to build bridges in our community and amplify the voices of the unheard. In the words of the Prophet Jeremiah, ‘we work and pray for the well-being of our city,’ or neighborhood, trusting that if the entire community does well and prospers, then we will also prosper."

Lee Her