How many times have you spoken with a BronxWorks staff member and you can just see the passion for their work, their expertise, and their ambition, almost manifesting physically? It is what makes BronxWorks so important – our staff and their stories. In writing these profiles, we always ask our staff: “What motivates you?”

For Jairy Padro, Nutrition Educator for the BronxWorks SNAP-Ed Nutrition Education & Obesity Prevention Program, her motivation is rooted in a personal experience. When Jairy was 11 years old, she had her gallbladder removed.

I had to change how I ate, but it was also a whole family effort. We had to change the way we cooked, to stop frying things. That’s when I started getting into nutrition and health. The doctors gave me a list of things I could eat, but I was unfamiliar with a lot of the items, so I had to do my own research.”

-Jairy Padro, Nutrition Educator, SNAP-Ed

Jairy was born in Puerto Rico and came to New York when she was three years old. She has lived in the Bronx ever since. Jairy earned her Bachelors Degree in Health Education and Promotion with a focus on Community Health and Nutrition from Lehman College. She originally joined the Community Health programs at BronxWorks in 2019 as an intern and was offered a full-time Nutrition Assistant position after she graduated.

When BronxWorks opened its SNAP-Ed program in November 2019, Jairy took on a Nutrition Educator position. She was a crucial part of the startup phase of the program, especially in March 2020 when New York State went into the PAUSE lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Jairy and the SNAP-Ed team had to confront the challenge of safely providing nutrition education amidst a global pandemic. The team quickly adapted to a virtual platform, creating videos and setting up virtual workshops.

These days, the BronxWorks SNAP-Ed program is back in the community offering live and in-person nutrition workshops. Jairy and the SNAP-Ed team employ a curriculum that targets school-age children, adult caregivers, and older adults. The goal of the program is to promote consumption of nutritious foods, decrease the consumption of sugar sweetened foods, increase physical activity, improve food management and preparation skills, and increase access to affordable and nutritious food options.

Farm stands are my absolute favorite. I love them because it’s time outside and we get to be creative with our curriculum and how we engage participants.”

You can typically find Jairy running nutrition and wellness workshops with partner programs at BronxWorks and organizations throughout the Bronx. She also hosts grocery tours at supermarkets and bodegas to show participants how they can shop for fresh and nutritious foods on a budget and gives cooking demos with fresh ingredients at the BronxWorks Farm Stands.

Outside of work, Jairy likes to try out many different hobbies. Last year she was into kickboxing, this year she is into salsa classes. She just bought a bike. Jairy loves working out at home and watching fitness videos or going out with friends, soaking in the sun, or watching the city skyline.

How many times have you spoken with a BronxWorks staff member and you can just see the passion for their work, their expertise, and their ambition, almost manifesting physically? It is what makes BronxWorks so important – our staff and their stories. In writing these profiles, we always ask our staff: “What motivates you?”

For Jairy Padro, Nutrition Educator for the BronxWorks SNAP-Ed Nutrition Education & Obesity Prevention Program, her motivation is rooted in a personal experience. When Jairy was 11 years old, she had her gallbladder removed.

I had to change how I ate, but it was also a whole family effort. We had to change the way we cooked, to stop frying things. That’s when I started getting into nutrition and health. The doctors gave me a list of things I could eat, but I was unfamiliar with a lot of the items, so I had to do my own research.”

-Jairy Padro, Nutrition Educator, SNAP-Ed

Jairy was born in Puerto Rico and came to New York when she was three years old. She has lived in the Bronx ever since. Jairy earned her Bachelors Degree in Health Education and Promotion with a focus on Community Health and Nutrition from Lehman College. She originally joined the Community Health programs at BronxWorks in 2019 as an intern and was offered a full-time Nutrition Assistant position after she graduated.

When BronxWorks opened its SNAP-Ed program in November 2019, Jairy took on a Nutrition Educator position. She was a crucial part of the startup phase of the program, especially in March 2020 when New York State went into the PAUSE lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Jairy and the SNAP-Ed team had to confront the challenge of safely providing nutrition education amidst a global pandemic. The team quickly adapted to a virtual platform, creating videos and setting up virtual workshops.

These days, the BronxWorks SNAP-Ed program is back in the community offering live and in-person nutrition workshops. Jairy and the SNAP-Ed team employ a curriculum that targets school-age children, adult caregivers, and older adults. The goal of the program is to promote consumption of nutritious foods, decrease the consumption of sugar sweetened foods, increase physical activity, improve food management and preparation skills, and increase access to affordable and nutritious food options.

Farm stands are my absolute favorite. I love them because it’s time outside and we get to be creative with our curriculum and how we engage participants.”

You can typically find Jairy running nutrition and wellness workshops with partner programs at BronxWorks and organizations throughout the Bronx. She also hosts grocery tours at supermarkets and bodegas to show participants how they can shop for fresh and nutritious foods on a budget and gives cooking demos with fresh ingredients at the BronxWorks Farm Stands.

Outside of work, Jairy likes to try out many different hobbies. Last year she was into kickboxing, this year she is into salsa classes. She just bought a bike. Jairy loves working out at home and watching fitness videos or going out with friends, soaking in the sun, or watching the city skyline.

Danielle has lived in the Bronx for her whole life. Born and raised in the Boston Road area, she attended Morris High School and then went on to earn her Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Monroe College.

Danielle joined BronxWorks in December 2016 as a receptionist at the Administration office. As the receptionist, Danielle provided a variety of support for different administrative and operational functions, including fielding incoming communications; processing payments and orders; purchasing supplies; filing and organizing agency documents; completing preparations for trainings and meetings; assisting HR with new hire orientation; assisting Fiscal with audits; and data entry.

In September 2019, Danielle joined the Development Department as the Development Assistant. In her role, it is difficult to fully explain all of the ways Danielle supports the Development team. In everything Development does, Danielle plays a vital part. Her regular responsibilities include tracking, entering, and organizing donor information; creating acknowledgement letters; receiving and registering in-kind donations; purchasing supplies; planning and working events; assisting with social media; assisting with weekly income summaries; and much more.

Fundraising is different than anything I’ve ever done. It can be stressful and overwhelming, but it feels good to know we are putting these events together and raising money to benefit the community. The outcome is always worth it.”

Most recently, Danielle was invaluable toward the success of the BronxWorks 2022 Evening Reception at the Bronx Zoo. Behind the scenes, she quietly helped with all of the arrangements for the event and served as the primary liaison with the Zoo and other vendors. During the event, you likely saw Danielle welcoming you at reception, or helping at check out for the silent auction. Danielle is level-headed, cool under pressure, and a constant source of calm during the frenzy that is common to event planning.

It feels really rewarding to see the outcome of all the work we put in, to hear the testimony of our participants and see how grateful they are to have BronxWorks as a resource.”

Outside of work, Danielle loves to spend time with her family and her son, Carter, traveling and trying different foods. She loves to share new experiences with Carter and watching him respond and grow

Danielle has lived in the Bronx for her whole life. Born and raised in the Boston Road area, she attended Morris High School and then went on to earn her Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Monroe College.

Danielle joined BronxWorks in December 2016 as a receptionist at the Administration office. As the receptionist, Danielle provided a variety of support for different administrative and operational functions, including fielding incoming communications; processing payments and orders; purchasing supplies; filing and organizing agency documents; completing preparations for trainings and meetings; assisting HR with new hire orientation; assisting Fiscal with audits; and data entry.

In September 2019, Danielle joined the Development Department as the Development Assistant. In her role, it is difficult to fully explain all of the ways Danielle supports the Development team. In everything Development does, Danielle plays a vital part. Her regular responsibilities include tracking, entering, and organizing donor information; creating acknowledgement letters; receiving and registering in-kind donations; purchasing supplies; planning and working events; assisting with social media; assisting with weekly income summaries; and much more.

Fundraising is different than anything I’ve ever done. It can be stressful and overwhelming, but it feels good to know we are putting these events together and raising money to benefit the community. The outcome is always worth it.”

Most recently, Danielle was invaluable toward the success of the BronxWorks 2022 Evening Reception at the Bronx Zoo. Behind the scenes, she quietly helped with all of the arrangements for the event and served as the primary liaison with the Zoo and other vendors. During the event, you likely saw Danielle welcoming you at reception, or helping at check out for the silent auction. Danielle is level-headed, cool under pressure, and a constant source of calm during the frenzy that is common to event planning.

It feels really rewarding to see the outcome of all the work we put in, to hear the testimony of our participants and see how grateful they are to have BronxWorks as a resource.”

Outside of work, Danielle loves to spend time with her family and her son, Carter, traveling and trying different foods. She loves to share new experiences with Carter and watching him respond and grow

Merrinda Caesar is the Payroll Manager at BronxWorks. She was born and raised in the Bronx and earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from Mercy College. Merrinda started her career in accounting at ADP. She has worked in payroll ever since.

Merrinda joined BronxWorks in April 2017 and continues managing payroll for every staff member of BronxWorks today: over 900 pay checks every two weeks. But the real work comes in the days in between, making sure the payroll is accurate, up to date, and complete before payday arrives.

Payroll is process of gathering, verifying, and entering information received from internal and external sources daily. All of that information comes together to be able to process the payroll and get everyone paid.”

For a company with 960 employees and growing, there can be a lot of information changing on a daily basis. Merrinda handles the task with a calm and steady demeanor. Among the information she accounts for is new hire information, promotions, terminations, leaves of absence, and any change of status that will affect an employee’s paycheck.

Merrinda went into accounting because she loved math and numbers. When she started focusing on payroll, she found that it provided an avenue to interact more with employees and learn the nuances of different departments. More importantly, working for a nonprofit like BronxWorks allows Merrinda to have an impact that goes beyond her work.

BronxWorks impacts so many lives, and even though I’m not working on the front line, if I can ensure that employees are confident in the payroll process, that takes a burden off of them and allows them to focus on the work they need to do.”

Outside of work, Merrinda enjoys spending time with her family. She has two adult children and three grandchildren. “A set of twins and an older grandson,” Merrinda says, “We love to travel and do everything together as a family, and it’s the best time.”

Merrinda Caesar is the Payroll Manager at BronxWorks. She was born and raised in the Bronx and earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from Mercy College. Merrinda started her career in accounting at ADP. She has worked in payroll ever since.

Merrinda joined BronxWorks in April 2017 and continues managing payroll for every staff member of BronxWorks today: over 900 pay checks every two weeks. But the real work comes in the days in between, making sure the payroll is accurate, up to date, and complete before payday arrives.

Payroll is process of gathering, verifying, and entering information received from internal and external sources daily. All of that information comes together to be able to process the payroll and get everyone paid.”

For a company with 960 employees and growing, there can be a lot of information changing on a daily basis. Merrinda handles the task with a calm and steady demeanor. Among the information she accounts for is new hire information, promotions, terminations, leaves of absence, and any change of status that will affect an employee’s paycheck.

Merrinda went into accounting because she loved math and numbers. When she started focusing on payroll, she found that it provided an avenue to interact more with employees and learn the nuances of different departments. More importantly, working for a nonprofit like BronxWorks allows Merrinda to have an impact that goes beyond her work.

BronxWorks impacts so many lives, and even though I’m not working on the front line, if I can ensure that employees are confident in the payroll process, that takes a burden off of them and allows them to focus on the work they need to do.”

Outside of work, Merrinda enjoys spending time with her family. She has two adult children and three grandchildren. “A set of twins and an older grandson,” Merrinda says, “We love to travel and do everything together as a family, and it’s the best time.”