Our Story

Marena Lin applies her training in data and climate science and understanding of food security systems in India to the operations of Project Restore Us. She completed her postdoctoral research at the University of California, San Diego researching climate change and human migration, with past work focused on climate change and food security. She was a 2013-2017 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, and she completed her Ph.D. at the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University.

Prior to this, Lin completed a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she completed a thesis on perceptions of climate change, cropping decisions, and India’s Public Distribution System in the Uttarakhand Himalayas. She completed her undergraduate degree at Harvard College, and she is highly proficient in Urdu-Hindi and proficient in Spanish. Lin was previously a staff organizer with the Harvard Graduate Students Union - UAW.

Tracy Chang is the chef/owner of PAGU restaurant in Cambridge, MA. Before Covid-19 she employed 35, of which 83% were POC immigrants. During Covid-19, she co-founded Off Their Plate (OTP), a grassroots initiative to feed frontline healthcare workers while restoring restaurant jobs and livelihoods. In 12 weeks, OTP expanded to 9 cities nationwide, raised $5.8M+, served 578,000+ meals, and restored $2.8M+ in wages. 

Chang is a 2020 James Beard Foundation nominated chef for Best Chef Northeast. She previously worked at O Ya restaurant in Boston and 3 Star Michelin Martin Berasategui in San Sebastian Spain. For the past decade, she has been a teaching fellow and advisor with Harvard University’s Science and Cooking program. She is a graduate of Lexington High School, holds a B.S. in Finance from Boston College, and certificates in pâtisserie from Le Cordon Bleu Paris. She is fluent in Mandarin and Spanish. 

Irene Li operates Mei Mei Restaurant in Boston, where her work centers around ethical sourcing and fair employment practices. Along with her team of 25, she practices open book management - a groundbreaking training program that provides transparency in to the business financials. Irene piloted Off Their Plate’s first grocery initiative at the Boston Hope COVID-19 Hospital; she and her team delivered over two tons of groceries to frontline medical workers. She is a six-time James Beard Foundation Rising Star Chef semi-finalist, and has advanced on to become a 2020 finalist. Irene is a graduate of The Mountain School, Milton Academy and Cornell University.

Irene serves on the board of several community organizations including the Haley House, Lovin’ Spoonfuls, Project Bread, and CommonWealth Kitchen.

Lily Huang is the director of Mass Jobs with Justice. She has helped the organization expand its geographic reach and develop educators, parents, and students into movement leaders. 

In the summers of 2010 and 2011, Huang led two-week vigils in front of the MA State House against proposed anti-immigrant amendments. She also built a coalition of more than 40 community organizations for the DREAM Act. She also serves on the Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance (MEJA) steering committee. She has deep organizing experience in the cities of Boston, Framingham, New Bedford, Fall River, Taunton, Worcester, and Fitchburg. Huang speaks Spanish, Toisanese, Cantonese, Mandarin, and English.

Huang studied Political Geography at Vassar College and spent two years abroad at the US-Mexico borderland where she deepened her passion for migrant justice.