Meet TDP HQ!

Our team includes five full-time and part-time staff members. Our community is powered by over a thousand volunteer Table Hosts across the country, folks who raised their hands to help build this peer-led community. Want to join them? Attend a training.

A side-by-side image showing a young girl and a woman. The girl is outdoors, standing between large rocks in a foggy or misty environment, wearing a sleeveless top and maroon shorts. The woman is sitting on a concrete step outside a building, smiling, wearing glasses, a white T-shirt with the text "STORIES ARE MEDICINE," a yellow cardigan, maroon pants, and white sneakers with colorful designs.

Mary Pauline Diaz-Frasene

Executive Director, Denver, she/her

MP (short for Mary Pauline) grew up in a Pilipinx immigrant family with that “Did you eat yet?” kind of love, where hospitality is forefront and tangible, where the labor that nourishes us is never just for ourselves. She has been with The Dinner Party since 2021, supporting external partnerships and leading our Workplace Resilience program before being named Executive Director. She brings to TDP a range of nonprofit and community service experience, from managing low-barrier resources with people experiencing homelessness to supporting patients, their communities, and staff as a hospital chaplain during the first year of COVID-19. She’s been integral in building programs in their beginning and emerging stages, including developing staff care programming and resources for the largest social services non-profit in Washington state; creating a poetry workshop for men in substance addiction recovery; and partnerships between churches and nonprofits. She has a Master of Arts in Theology & Culture, where her culminating work explored grief as a practice in collective resistance to unjust and dehumanizing systems.

You can reach MP at mp@thedinnerparty.org

A side-by-side comparison of a young man with short brown hair and a woman with short curly hair wearing glasses, standing outdoors in front of rocks during daytime.

Sarah Mosseller

Senior Manager of Fund Development and Partnerships, Winston-Salem, she/her

Sarah often returns to a folded piece of lined notebook paper, a goodbye letter from her younger brother, Andy: “Live your life and be yourself. Never forget me, and we’ll meet again.”

Sarah believes she has followed his advice and wishes. She has traveled solo around the world, sang loudly in her car (like they used to) while driving across the country, raised her voice for causes she believed in, used creativity to challenge and change culture, and dared to be herself unapologetically.

Sarah is an award-winning writer, creative director, and DEIB champion. Through purpose-driven storytelling and passionate advocacy, her work has challenged the gender disparity in Hollywood, highlighted legal LGBTQIA+ discrimination in 31 US states, and raised much-needed funds for reproductive justice organizations.

Sarah joins The Dinner Party as Senior Manager of Fund Development and Partnerships. She is ready to rally support for the vital work of transforming life after loss in communities across the country.

You can reach Sarah at sarah@thedinnerparty.org

Split-screen image showing a man and a boy on the left, and a man on the right. On the left, a man in a light gray shirt kneeling next to a smiling boy with dark hair, holding a pumpkin. On the right, a man with a beard and mustache wearing a black beanie and a yellow t-shirt, resting his head on his hands with a gentle smile.

Tommy O’Neil, LMSW

Senior Product and Operations Manager, Brooklyn, he/him

Tommy grew up on the Central Coast of California, but he calls Brooklyn home these days. He’s a medical school dropout and former elementary science educator, now trained and licensed as a social worker, who’s passionate about de-stigmatizing men’s mental health and expanding access to bereavement support services.

His father, Rich, brings him to The Dinner Party. When he was a teenager, his father’s sudden death terraformed his life. He finds his grief to be a beautifully complex companion, a continuation of the relationship he has with his dad. He loves connecting with fellow grievers to hold space for the complexities of our losses and our lives after, co-hosting an Affinity Table for male-identifying grievers.

Outside of The Dinner Party, you’ll find Tommy bopping around New York City as he frequents his favorite parks, coffee shops, restaurants, and bars. His simple pleasures include listening to music, writing poetry, gardening, photography, reading on the train, and seeing live shows—Broadway, jazz, comedy, ballet, and his favorite bands. And when the weather permits, he loves to bike around Brooklyn and soak up the sun at Rockaway Beach!

You can reach Tommy at tommy@thedinnerparty.org

OUR TEAM.png

Aggie Fitch

Senior Communications and Development Manager, Brooklyn, she/her

Raised in a home that continually held spontaneous dinner parties of all sizes, Aggie learned about emotional intimacy, community, and joy around a table. So, three years after the death of her older brother, Sam, in a motorcycle accident, it was only fitting that she finally found a voice to talk about her brother and her grief over his loss at The Dinner Party table. After graduating with a degree in Urban and Environmental Policy she went looking for mission-driven organizations she cared about. She is grateful to be given the opportunity to work on a cause so close to her heart.

You can reach Aggie at aggie@thedinnerparty.org

Side-by-side photos of a woman. The left photo shows her standing with one hand on her hip, wearing a black jacket, light blue jeans, and smiling. The right photo is a close-up of her wearing glasses, with natural curly hair, and smiling.

Shay Bell

Program Manager, New York City, she/her

Since losing her mother at age 18, Shay’s been on a journey of deep healing and remembrance. She has come to realize how precious life is and is moved by explorations of the human condition – joy, grief, and all of the mess in-between. She believes in the transformative power of vulnerability, emotional alchemy, open hearts, and learning from the shadow aspects of ourselves that often go unloved. Shay’s excited to be on-board, helping to collectively nurture such a sacred mission. Bubble tea, candles, and inside jokes with her inner child are just a few things that also spark joy for her.

You can reach Shay at shay@thedinnerparty.org

Meet our Community Advisory Table aka “the CAT”

A woman with long dark hair smiling, wearing a tan blazer and white shirt, standing against a light blue background.

Angeli Carranza / Senior Manager and Business Operations, Instawork

A woman with short gray hair, glasses, wearing a blue blazer and navy shirt, smiling and touching her head.

Jeanette Bronée / Workplace Performance & Culture Strategist; Mental Health & Wellbeing Expert; Keynote Speaker; Author & Founder, Path for Life

A woman with black hair, styled with a colorful scarf, smiling at the camera. She is wearing a white top and standing indoors against a neutral background.

Lina Calderon-Morin / Deputy Director, Southern California College Attainment Network (SoCal CAN)

A woman smiling outdoors on a balcony with a scenic view of hills and a parking lot in the background.

Nataly Cardenas / Product Manager, Inclusively

A woman with long curly red hair, wearing a gray top and jewelry, standing outdoors with a green, blurred background.

Carla Fernandez / Co-Founder, The Dinner Party; Author, Speaker, Community Builder, and Impact Strategist

A woman with short hair, wearing a dark green sweater, black shorts, and multiple bracelets, sitting on a wooden deck in front of a green house, looking at the camera.

Sydney Griffin / Senior Market Insights Specialist, L.E.K Consulting

A smiling man with short, dark hair and a beard, wearing a dark suit and a light-colored tie, standing in front of a wooden background with chalk writings.

Douglas Weiss / Global Head, Airbnb Experiences; Product, Partnerships, and Growth Exec

A smiling man with curly brown hair and a beard, wearing a tan sweater, standing indoors with green plants in the background.
A smiling woman crouching on a wet sidewalk, holding a yellow umbrella, in front of a blue door and brick wall with green plants.

Kev Hart / Director of Marketing and Communications, Boston Common AM

Lily Hood Roggenkamp / Department Training; Development Program Manager, Arizona State University

A man with dark wavy hair smiling outdoors on a sunny day with green foliage in the background.
A young woman with curly dark hair smiling outdoors, wearing a blue striped shirt, with greenery and a blurred sign in the background.

Joey Katona / Director of Sales, TED@Work

Ashima Manuel / People Business Partner, Gong

Smiling woman with natural curly hair wearing a yellow and blue floral dress in front of a stone wall.

Dr. Christina Semple / Grief Alchemist & Advocate for Transformative Healing