Our People

Richard McGrath
Professional Driver Extraordinaire
Towering at 6ft 4in., Richard drove nearly 2 million miles as owner operator as a 3way van lines specialist in high tech trade-shows and computer systems. Richard’s greatest joy now is watching the faces of young children when they get a second chance after we deliver furniture to their new living quarters. When not on the road, you can find Richard on a golf course, a sport he picked up in high school.

Melody Criner
Senior Program Manager
Born and raised in San Jose, California with her beautiful family and supportive friends, Melody is blessed beyond words. Having spent over 22 years in the financial industry educating, promoting, and helping people in need of financial assistance and guidance, she realized her biggest passion is working with those in need and making a difference in peoples’ lives. Now venturing into the nonprofit world, Melody is excited to work with organizations which support families facing food insecurities and furniture poverty. Her philosophy is “Together we can make a difference, people helping people.”
Honoring our Founder
We honor the amazing work our founder, Ray Piontek, did to create and build this wonderful organization that has helped so many across our community. Ray passed away in October 2022 and he will be dearly missed.

Ray Piontek
Founder/Executive Director
Prior to founding Bay Area Furniture Bank, Ray held key leadership roles as a Senior Sales Executive with international experience. He led sales operations and marketing functions for small and large technology companies including Xerox, Apple, Autodesk and Hilti. Ray also served 27 years in the U.S. Navy as a Naval Aviator, while holding positions of senior command. Ray holds a BS from Boston College. He’s originally from New Haven, CT, but has been living in our local community since 1969.