Our Founder

Our Advisors

Our Team

Our Founder

Kathleen Foley-Hughes

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

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 of Ada's Café at the Mitchell Park Community Center.

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 the co-founder of Ada's Cafe. He works as a Management Director at Barclays Capital in San Francisco, California.  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.

Eric Tashman
Attorney

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

Our Team

Andres Hernandez, 22
San Jose

Andres likes cooking, playing sports and spending time with his friends and family. He also likes fixing things and working on cars. At Ada’s, Andres welcomes the opportunity to meet new people, work with a great team and give back to society. His fondest memories at Ada’s include winning the 2015 Chili cook-off and catering for a big wedding.

Recommendation: Wonderful Wendy Sandwich

Anna Rubinfien, 19
New York City, NY

Anna is a native of New York City and works at Ada's every summer.
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: Lemonade

Charlie Hughes, 27
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 Latte’s. 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 Sepideh Vahdat, 35
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 associates. Dawn wants her customers to know that she is an honest and happy person who likes to serve them.

Recommendation: Frozen Yogurt

Emily Woods, 23
Palo Alto

Emily, is a creative soul who loves to make all types of art. She enjoys making ceramics like plates and mugs and also takes classes at a local art college. Emily says that at Ada's, she likes working the cash registry and interacting with customers.  She believes that the skills she has picked up at Ada's will help her live a fuller life.

Recommendation: Wonderful Wendy Sandwich

Erin Caia Fishman, 29
Mountain View

Erin likes collecting coins, knitting and meeting new people. She likes working as a cashier and credits Ada’s for helping her learn how to create a 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

Elsa Guzman, 46
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 associates with disabilities has made her appreciate her life, and develop a lot of patience and empathy. She says that she is extremely proud of the associates and looks at them as her own children. She hopes people treat each other with respect and love.

Recommendation: Anything Mexican!

Hain-Sing Hsueh, 31
Mountain View

Hain-Sing has been working at Ada's for almost a year and his favorite thing to do is waiting on customers. He is extremely proud of his work and says that the team at Ada’s makes him feel good about himself. He wants his customers to know that he is friendly and outgoing and hopes that a Disability History month is celebrated.

Recommendation: Peanut Butter Cookies

Ian Robinson, 45
Mountain View

Ian is primarily involved with the kitchen and catering events at Ada’s. He enjoys spending time outdoors, biking, hiking and running. Ian finds his work at Ada’s fulfilling and engaging. He often stays late after work on the days when the associates with disabilities work in the kitchen. Ian says that the extra time helps him bond with the associates and he ends up learning a lot from them.

Recommendation: iAmy salad

Jared Hayes Stanley, 17
Palo Alto

Jared previously worked at the Baylands ball park Snack Shack with Kathleen and continued to Ada’s. He enjoys water polo and spending time with his friends and family. He likes the environment at Ada’s and  has learned a lot from his co-workers. Jared hopes that there is increased funding for public education and universal healthcare. Fun Fact: Jared makes amazing coffee art!

Recommendation: Arnold Palmer

Jennifer Lynn Snodgrass, 20
Santa Cruz

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

Recommendation: Caprese Sandwich

Hayden Nelson, 26
Menlo Park

Hayden likes to watch movies and attend 'Furry conventions', where he likes to put on his custom made suit! At Ada’s he is proud of the fact that he makes homemade food and gets a chance to try out new recipes. When asked if Hayden could change anything about the world, Hayden says that he wishes there were no flying insects.

Recommendation: Chocolate chip scone

John Patrick Collins, 52
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 his 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

Jeremy Matthew Teter, 31
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

Joaquin Guzman, 17
San Jose

Joaquin likes working in the kitchen with his co-workers, whom he says are like family and support each other all the time. One of his fondest memories at Ada’s has been catering for a wedding, where the entire team worked extremely efficiently. Joaquin hopes that more places like Ada’s open to provide employment and support to disadvantaged groups.

Recommendation: Wonderful Wendy

Juan Lopez, 21
San Jose

Juan loves making latte art, which he taught himself to do while working at Ada’s (his favorite design? A teddy bear.) He enjoys working at Ada’s because the café is gives back to the community, rather than just making money. Ada’s opened up Juan’s vision as to how hard it is to live with a disability, and has helped him understand and work toward the Café’s mission everyday.

Recommendation: Muy Bien Breakfast Burrito

Karina Nolan, 40
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's 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

Linda Sue Linker, 54
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!

Luis Calata, 25
San Jose

Luis is a devoted father who loves to spend all his free time with his young son. At Ada's, Luis works in the kitchen and loves interacting with his co-workers. He says that Ada’s is like family where everyone looks after each other and supports each other. He wishes that there was no animal cruelty and that people treat animals with compassion.

Recommendation: Bonanza Sandwich

Marcos Alfredo Figueroa, 31
Milpitas

Marcos enjoys working at the kitchen at Ada’s and likes spending time with his co-workers. He enjoys watching anime, paying video games and enjoys all tyes of music, except country!
He is extremely passionate about photography, especially wildlife photography. He wants people to have more compassion for animals in the wild and urges everyone to donate to www.wildlife.org.

Recommendation: Wonderful Wendy on the French Roll

Maria Calata, 48
San Jose, CA

Maria is a proud grandmother, who has the opportunity to work with her son Luis at Ada’s. She works in the kitchen and provides assistance to all her co-workers. She says that the associates 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

Matthew Capelouto, 17
Palo Alto

Matthew grew up with Kathleen’s youngest son and has fond memories of eating Kathleen’s food. He is extremely passionate about cooking and baking and has been training in the kitchen at Ada’s for the summer. He enjoys spending time with his co-workers and has learned a great deal from them. He likes competing in Magic the Gathering tournaments and playing tennis and soccer.

Recommendation: Chocolate Chip Cookies

Meghan Burke, 30
Palo Alto

Meghan’s favorite thing to do is play with her 3 year old daughter. She also enjoys taking walks, listening to music, and writing. She appreciates that everyone at Ada’s has a calm, helpful, and forgiving demeanor. Meghan would like customers to know that disabilities come in all different forms, and patience and a caring attitude can go a long way.

Recommendation: Cinnamon rolls

Melanie Reilly, 18
Palo Alto

Melanie enjoys making sandwiches at Ada’s panini bar, spending time with her friends, and drawing. The Café’s supportive environment, where mistakes are nothing to be ashamed of, helped foster a sense of initiative in her, and Melanie now volunteers to perform all tasks around the café. This has led her to take more initiative in all aspects of her life, particularly with her time management.

Recommendation: Caprese Sandwich

Paige Maclaren Reed, 16
Palo Alto, London

Paige is a high school student working at Ada’s for the summer. 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 the associates. Paige says that working with Ada’s has been an honor and she will take with her many wonderful memories.

Recommendation: Blueberry scones

Peter Hughes, 27
Palo Alto

Philip Ma, 31
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. He specifically mentions that his skills for counting money and handing out change have significantly improved since he started working at Ada’s.

Recommendation: Wonderful Wendy

Powell Warren Gaynor, 19
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 Audrey Kaiser, 26
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

Will McKenna, 31
Atherton

An avid sports fan, Will enjoys following soccer, baseball, football and basketball. His favorite teams include FC Barcelona, Giants, Warriors and the Argentinian soccer team. His favorite player is Lionel Messi. Will enjoys working with his co-workers and his most memorable memory at Ada’s was winning the Chili cook-off in 2015.

Recommendation: Bonanza Sandwich