Jean-Yves Charon
Co-Founder and Pastry Chef
With over 25 years of experience, Jean-Yves is the creative force behind the recipes, aesthetic and production techniques used to create our premium, French-inspired desserts. After serving for several years as the Executive Pastry Chef at Harris' Restaurant in San Francisco, he founded Paris Delights which then merged with The Cheesecake Lady to form Galaxy Desserts. Prior to that, Jean-Yves managed production for Saralan, a cookie manufacturer in South San Francisco. Back in France, Jean-Yves worked as a manager for Brioche Dorée/Paris Croissant where he opened stores in London, Paris, Canada and New York. Jean-Yves began his career at age 14 as an apprentice at Geraults Bakery in Rennes, France. Jean-Yves’ creations have graced the covers of Neiman Marcus and other specialty catalogs as well as earned top honors in numerous food circles, most notably the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT) Sofie Awards. His croissants have been featured twice on Oprah's Favorite Things (2002 and 2005) and on Oprah's Favorite Breakfast (2006). Jean-Yves is a member of the Research Chef's Association.

Paul Levitan
Co-Founder, President and CEO
Paul has held the position of CEO since he co-founded Galaxy Desserts in 1998. In addition to overseeing the day-to-day operations of the company, he also leads Galaxy’s business development efforts focused on major customers. Paul got his start in the specialty baking business in 1991 by purchasing a small bakery, The Cheesecake Lady, with funds largely borrowed from business school classmates. Paul grew The Cheesecake Lady for over seven years and then merged it with Paris Delights to create Galaxy Desserts. Previously, Paul was a management consultant with Bain & Co. He graduated from Wesleyan University Phi Beta Kappa with a BA in Middle Eastern Studies, and he received his MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. He currently serves on one non-profit board and two advisory boards.

Rohana Stone Rice, PHR
Controller and Director of Human Resources
Rohana has been a core member of the Galaxy Desserts team since shortly after it was founded in 1998. Her 26 years of finance, accounting and entrepreneurship experience have been a tremendous asset to the company. Rohana has been instrumental in hiring nearly every member of the Galaxy staff and production team. She also manages the international intern training program, which now places six interns in strategic positions throughout the company. As Controller, she manages the accounting and purchasing staff and oversees our finance- and insurance-related activities. It is with a great deal of satisfaction and pride that Rohana can point to Galaxy’s Core Values, the company’s admirable employee benefits, and the delightful workplace atmosphere and know that this has all been a foundation to the company’s great success. Rohana is a graduate of Long Beach State College. Her personal interests include Buddhism, organic gardening, clothing design & construction, and sustainable living.

Laure Chatard
Director of Sales Operations
Laure has been working in the food industry for over five years, both in France and in the United States. She directs the Inside Sales Department at Galaxy’s main offices and serves as the central hub for the regionally-based sales team. Prior to joining Galaxy, Laure was the West Coast Sales Representative for Fabrique Délices. She holds an MBA in Strategic Management at California State University Hayward, and earned her DECF (BA) in Accounting and Finance in France. Passionate about food, Laure has extensive knowledge of French and Mediterranean cooking.  She provides private catering services for prestigious receptions, casual dining and private dinners when time permits. Laure also has numerous athletic interests including skiing, snowboarding, windsurfing, running, and swimming.  During summers, Laure spends most of her weekends hiking or backpacking in the Sierras and other Bay Area wilderness areas.

Lisa Weaver
Director of Sales
Lisa Weaver is the Director of Sales. Since 2001, Lisa has developed
and maintained numerous retail and food service customers for
Galaxy Desserts throughout the Midwest and West Coast regions of the United States as well as Canada.

Lisa brings a wide breadth of energy and insight to her career due to her 25 years of experience in the food service industry. Positions held include Vice President of Quality Food Service of San Diego, Sales Representative for Kraft Foodservice, Shamrock Foods and Foodservices of America, Owner of Gourmet Food Source, Broker Representative for Food Service Brokerage, and Director of Bakery and Deli with Agribuys.com.

Lisa holds a Bachelors of Science in Business Management from the University of Phoenix. Her passion is international travel. When at home in Portland, Oregon, she enjoys walking through the lush forests of the Pacific Northwest.

Avi Hangad-O'Shaughnessy
Marketing Manager
Avi joins Galaxy Desserts with over 20 years of marketing, design and event management experience. She leads Galaxy Desserts' marketing and branding initiatives and steers the concepts for social media ventures. Previously, Avi was Creative Director at Tavolo, an online gourmet food retailer, Art Director at Franklin Templeton, and VP of Creative at Alexa (Amazon subsidiary). She has also worked with the Edible Communities Publications along with various restaurant and sports marketing clients. Avi attended University of California, Davis, Design major, specializing in Visual Communications. She favors all the buttery pastries and has a weakness for Galaxy's Tiramisu and Crème Brulee. Cooking, photography, cycling, hiking, kayaking, traveling and yoga are some of Avi's favorite pursuits.

Dan Sheehan
Eastern Regional Sales Manager
With his first-hand knowledge of East Coast retailers, foodservice businesses and distribution companies, Dan will take the lead in expanding our growth in the region. He first started in the food industry with the Cape Cod Chowder company and expanded the sales and distribution nationally. Soon after that, he worked with large distributors, like Sysco, for baking ingredients, and then, onto selling high-end desserts. Now, Dan uses his hands-on skills, experience and regional knowledge to bring our desserts and pastries to the stores and foodservice businesses in the East Coast market.

Barbara Mosera
Western Regional Sales Manager
Barbara has spent over 20 years in the food and wine industry with ScharffenBerger Chocolates, Chuao Chocolatier, Dry Creek Vineyards, and ScharffenBerger Cellars.

The Complete Office Team
There are many other valuable members of our team that ensure things run smoothly, our raw ingredients arrive on time, bills are paid, and our desserts are delivered to customers, among numerous other responsibilities. We also have a large team of international interns who train with us each year and live together in our Richmond Intern House. It’s truly a team effort and everyone’s contribution keeps the chocolate flowing!

The Production Team
Galaxy Desserts is proud of the fact that we make all of our products right here in our Richmond, CA facility. Maintaining strict control over both the processes and the ingredients is key to maintaining our high quality standards. We couldn’t get all 200+ production workers together at one sitting but this photo is representative of the diverse workforce that makes our desserts.