Our Founder

Our Advisors

Our Founder

Kathleen Foley-Hughes
Palo Alto

Kathleen Foley-Hughes has over 25 years of experience as an event planner, fundraiser, and professional caterer. She is the founder of two vocational food service programs for students with disabilities within the Palo Alto Unified School District. Kathleen holds a B.S. in Business Administration from St. Francis University in Pennsylvania.

Recommendation: Our blueberry scone and a cappuccino

Our Team

Anna
New York City, NY

Anna is a native of New York City and has moved here full-time to works at Ada's. She likes swimming, biking, and spending time with family. She finds work at Ada’s to be exciting as she gets to meet customers and spend time at the kitchen, while learning to be Independent. She believes that Ada's has played a big role in instilling a work ethic in her.

Recommendation:  Blueberry Lemonade

Charlie
Palo Alto

A certified Giants fan, Charlie likes to watch games with his friends and family. At Ada’s, Charlie likes speaking to customers and making coffee, especially lattes. He also enjoys working alongside his brother and other co-workers. Charlie mentions that since Ada's has opened, he gets recognized a lot more in the community.

Recommendation: iAmy salad

Dawn
Cupertino

Dawn enjoys shopping and swimming. She credits Ada’s with giving her financial independence and helping her have the ability to live as an independent woman. At Ada's, Dawn enjoys baking, catering and working with the other employees. Dawn wants her customers to know that she is an honest and happy person who likes to serve them.

Recommendation: Frozen yogurt

Jeremy
Sunnyvale

 According to Jeremy, the best thing about working at Ada's is that he gets to do hard work with his friends. He likes watching movies, playing board games and at Ada's, loves making quesadillas. His message for the world is that everyone should try to be positive and not perfect.

Recommendation: Hot chocolate

Elsa
San Jose

Elsa is a Salsa dancer who enjoys cooking and exercising. Her experience working at Ada’s kitchen has been very rewarding. Working with employees with disabilities has made her appreciate her life, and develop a lot of patience and empathy. She is extremely proud of the employees and looks at them as her own children. She hopes that people treat each other with respect and love.

Recommendation: Austin salad

Erin
Mountain View

Erin likes collecting coins, knitting and meeting new people. She likes working as a cashier and credits Ada’s with helping her learn how to create a healthy work-life balance, and be proud of her work. One thing she would like to tell her customers about herself is that she is a huge Giants and Warriors fan.

Recommendation: Sweet Henry sandwich

Guy
Palo Alto

Guy is a recent immigrant from Tel Aviv, Israel, and works primarily as a Barista at Ada's. He is passionate about music and especially enjoys rock. He says that for the first time in his life, he looks forward to showing up for work, largely, because of the team. Guy has a lot of fun at the cafe and finds that people are very welcoming and open to him.

Recommendation: Wonderful Wendy sandwich

Jennifer
Santa Cruz

Jennifer is a student at UCSC studying Business Management and Economics. She works part time as a team leader at Ada’s. Jennifer enjoys working and learning with her co-workers. She is proud of all the employees and loves to watch their progress.

Recommendation: Caprese sandwich

John
Palo Alto

An avid gardener, John is extremely passionate about the environment and hopes to have more trees planted. At Ada’s he enjoys working at the cash register, meeting customers and values the time he spends with his co-workers. He would like to tell customers that he is intelligent and very easy going. In a stressful situation at the cafe, John always finds something funny to say.

Recommendation: Scones and frozen yogurt

Karina
Mountain View

A native of Ireland, Karina makes jewellery in her free time and enjoys taking long walks. She also spends time helping take care of her nieces and nephews. At Ada’s, Karina is proud of the skills she has picked up: working the register, making coffee, and working with groups of people.
Karina hopes that gun violence decreases and that people learn to live harmoniously.

Recommendation: Wonderful Wendy sandwich

Linda
Santa Clara

Linda has been involved with Ada’s cafe for about five years and has experience working for the catering and cafe business. The best part of her work is to help Kathleen change the catering menu. Linda says this makes her feel empowered. At Ada's, Linda enjoys making sandwiches and working with the rest of the team. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking and camping.

Recommendation: Any of the sandwiches!

Maria
San Jose, CA

Maria is a proud grandmother of two. She works in the kitchen and provides assistance to all her co-workers. She says that the employees with disabilities are like angels who help her be more positive. She credits Kathleen with setting the example of being patient and dedicated. In her free time, Maria likes watching cooking shows.

Recommendation: Caprese sandwich

Paige
Palo Alto, London

Paige is a student at Texas Christian University who works at Ada’s during the summer and over college breaks. She enjoys water polo, listening to music, and doing community service. At Ada’s, Paige finds herself connecting with the mission and has had positive experiences working and bonding with all the employees. Paige says that working at Ada’s has been an honor and she hopes to build on her many wonderful memories.

Recommendation: Blueberry scones

Peter
Palo Alto

As a native Californian, Peter loves everything that the SF bay area has to offer in terms of food and culture. Peter graduated from Duquesne University ('13) and has been working at Ada's since the beginning as a co-founder and current Deputy Director. 

Peter enjoys working with all employees to train, educate and empower through one common bond- delicious food!

Recommendation: Hummus plate with organic vegetables and housemade pita chips

Philip
Cupertino

A Tai Chi enthusiast and fine artist, Philip spends his time exercising and making paintings. At Ada’s, Philip likes talking to his customers and learning skills like working the cash registry. His skill at counting money and handing out change have significantly improved since he started working at Ada’s.

Recommendation: Wonderful Wendy sandwich

Powell
San Jose

Powell is your go to science fiction guy, who also likes keeping track of current events and hopes to have a more diverse society which accepts people with special needs. At Ada’s, Powell is driven by the contribution he makes as a team member and likes working at catering events.

Recommendation: Wonderful Wendy sandwich

Sivan
Palo Alto

Sivan enjoys gardening and spending time with her friends. Since joining Ada’s, Sivan has been able to afford living by herself for the first time. She is extremely thankful to Ada's for giving her the freedom to be independent. At the cafe, Sivan finds her job to be rewarding and engaging. The best part of her job is receiving positive feedback from her customers.

Recommendations: Any of the cookies

Advisory Board

Stephanie Batties
Designer

Swiss-born Ms. Batties attended the Basel School of Design where she studied interior design, product design, and architecture. An award-winning designer, Ms. Batties is the owner of Right Touch Designs, and is a Partner and Lead Designer for both the Palo Alto and San Francisco locations.

Recommendation: Blueberry scone 

Bertil Chappuis
Business Consultant

Mr. Chappuis is a Senior Partner with McKinsey & Company in Palo Alto, and serves several leading high tech companies in Silicon Valley. He has deep expertise in business strategy, operations, and finance. Mr. Chappuis has also provided extensive pro-bono support to the PAUSD over the past three years to develop its 10-year strategic plan. Mr. Chappuis is a graduate of MIT and Stanford University.

Tony Hughes
Investment Banker

Mr. Hughes is a co-founder of Ada's Cafe. He works as a Management Director at Barclays Capital in San Francisco, CA. He has worked in municipal finance for nearly 30 years. Through Ada’s he has developed his cooking and baking skills as a volunteer sous-chef for Kathleen's catering events.  Mr. Hughes volunteers his time helping develop Ada's fundraising and financial planning.

Recommendation: Wonderful Wendy sandwich

Eric Tashman
Attorney

Mr. Tashman is a Partner with Sidley Austin Brown Wood. Eric, a graduate of NYU Law School, lives in Atherton.