Allston Brighton Health Collaborative Taps Chelsea Nonprofit Leader as New Executive Director

Priyanka Rangadass, a Chelsea nonprofit leader, began serving Monday as the executive director of the Allston Brighton Health Collaborative, taking over after the coalition’s longtime head stepped down last year.

Rangadass most recently worked as development operations manager at GreenRoots, an environmental justice and public health organization based in Chelsea. Originally from Texas, she has lived in Allston for the past five years.

She will now lead the collaborative, a network of 34 local and regional nonprofits working to expand residents’ access to transportation, food resources and climate initiatives. As executive director, Rangadass will help set the coalition’s strategic direction, oversee fundraising, and guide the expansion of its programming.

“I’m filled with so much joy and gratitude for this opportunity,” Rangadass said in an interview. “I am so passionate about the work that ABHC does, and I’m really excited to jump in and see how we can continue growing the organization.”

Rangadass succeeds Anna E. Leslie, who stepped down in December after more than a decade leading the organization. During the transition, steering committee member Samilla Quiora served as interim director for about a month.

The search for Leslie’s successor drew roughly 25 applicants, according to Jo-Ann Barbour, chair of the organization's steering committee. Twelve candidates advanced to interviews with a search committee.

Barbour said the committee evaluated candidates based on experience in organizational leadership, fundraising and financial oversight, relationship-building, and work in equity and justice initiatives.

The search process was “deliberate and thorough,” according to Barbour. She conducted the search alongside three other steering committee members and one staff member.

“It’s an intensive process, and it’s something that we took very seriously and wanted to do it well,” she said. “We made sure that folks understood immediately if they weren’t going to be invited for an interview and why.”

The committee unanimously selected Rangadass on Feb. 6.

“Her presentation style was important — her ability to relate to the entire team was really important,” Barbour said.

Colleagues at GreenRoots said Rangadass built a reputation for collaborative leadership. Samay Esparza-Nguyen, the organization’s director of people and culture, worked with her for more than three years and described her as “a phenomenal leader.”

“Priyanka is someone who is very grounded and knows herself, and also knows that any kind of organizing community work, it really takes many people and it’s a collective,” Esparza-Nguyen said.

“Her humility and that approach is one of the ways that makes her have the ability to connect with folks from different backgrounds and really being able to enter spaces with a lot of humility,” they added.

Barbour said Rangadass’s experience raising funds and diversifying revenue sources also stood out during the search.

The ABHC relies primarily on grants and sponsorships, raising $689,832 in 2025. Its main fiscal sponsor is the Allston Brighton Community Development Corporation, and it also receives support from institutions including Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Rangadass spent nearly six years at GreenRoots. She began there working on health equity initiatives after witnessing high levels of food insecurity in Chelsea. In 2021, she moved into fundraising as a development coordinator.

In that role, she helped expand programs including urban gardening initiatives and climate resilience projects. She became development operations manager in 2024 and remained in that position until leaving for the ABHC in February.

—Staff writer Thamini Vijeyasingam can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X @vijeyasingam.