Before founding Together We Thrive and Thrive Canteen, Lindsay Chambers spent 16 years in the private sector gaining a diverse set of skills and experiences through her work as the founder of a national beverage brand, interior designer, property developer, and avocado and citrus farmer.  Over that same period, she developed a passion for tackling the problem of food insecurity in the United States, volunteering at food banks across the nation and hand-delivering over 2000 meals to the unhoused.

In 2023, after seeing how the pandemic had left an increasing number of Americans unable to afford even their most basic needs, Lindsay decided to close down all of her for-profit businesses and launched Together We Thrive, which provides clean water and healthy food to those in need. To fund these efforts, Lindsay leveraged her background in the beverage industry to launch Thrive Canteen, an aluminum-bottled water company that donates 100% of its profits to Together We Thrive.

Lindsay’s previous experience includes founding an organic sparkling water brand with ingredients sourced from small farms like the one she operated in Ojai, CA. Launched in 2020 just prior to the pandemic, Chambers used a portion of her company’s proceeds to feed frontline workers in Los Angeles and donated 20,000 cans to medical workers in hospitals hit hardest by the coronavirus. Earlier in her career, she worked as a real estate developer and interior designer in California, where she sold over $100 million in homes and was named as one of “today’s most talented designers” by USA Today.  She was a finalist for HGTV’s Designer of the Year for 2023, and her work has been featured in numerous publications including Architectural Digest, House Beautiful, Luxe Magazine, Elle Decor, Better Homes & Gardens, The San Francisco Chronicle and The New York Times.

Lindsay graduated with an M.A. from Stanford University and a B.A. from Wake Forest University. She received Wake Forest’s Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award in 2017 and recently served on their board of trustees.

Lindsay’s work for Together We Thrive is pro bono; She does not receive a salary from the organization.

Elianna Friedman brings a wealth of experience to her role. Before assuming this leadership position of the President of Thrive Food Bank, she served as an executive director, nonprofit consultant, family food coach, program manager, and chef. Elianna is a compassionate listener with a talent for fostering community collaboration.

Elianna was the founder of Bay Leaf Kitchen, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that connected youth from low-income neighborhoods with local farmers. As a family food coach, she provided hands-on guidance to families and school groups, offering both in-person and digital coaching to improve their relationships with food. Over the years, she has empowered hundreds of families to make confident food choices and develop lifelong healthy eating habits.

During her tenure as Market Chef at Foodwise, Elianna notably launched Foodwise Kids, a free nutrition and wellness program for students in the San Francisco Unified School District. She also worked as Program Coordinator and Senior Program Coordinator at the San Francisco & Marin Food Bank, specializing in agency relations and nutrition programs.

She holds a B.A./M.B.A. in Nonprofit Management from American Jewish University and an A.A. from the Culinary Institute of America. Additionally, she is a trained Community Mediator through Community Boards, ServeSafe Certified in food safety, and trained in induction cooking by the Building Decarbonization Coalition.

Originally from Agoura Hills, Elianna is excited to work in and serve the community where she grew up.