Jenny T. Jorge Pena

Vice President of Operations, Gala Fresh

Having been born into the grocery business – family members operate Compare supermarkets and other retail brands across the Northeast – Jenny T. Jorge Pena worked as a cashier in her teens. While working part-time in the stores she earned a Psychology degree from Fordham University, minoring in Business. In 2005 she returned full time to help run the family business in Freeport, introducing upscale organic items alongside traditional Hispanic staples, while completing her Master’s degree at night. As vice president for operations for Gala Foods Supermarket, she’s helped launch a pair of new retail brands: GalaFresh Farms and Gala Foods Supermarket. GalaFresh Farms introduced local shoppers to a blend of upscale and organic items merchandised alongside ethnic foodstuffs in the familiar context of the local grocery store. The brand has since expanded to five locations servicing New York and New Jersey. Gala Foods Supermarket opened its first store in Brooklyn last year and now has nine locations in three states. The only female board member of the National Supermarkets Association, Jorge supports mentoring and scholarship programs serving Hispanic youth throughout the tri-state area. Locally, she serves on the Executive Board of Directors of the Freeport Chamber of Commerce. Jorge also contributes to the programs offered by the Hispanic Brotherhood of Rockville Centre, the Salvation Army, the Police Benevolent Association, and the local Little League. The second of four children, she credits her parents, aunts and uncles for modeling the hard-work ethic and leadership style she has inherited.