ACNJ is governed by a volunteer board of trustees who are diverse in professional, educational and cultural backgrounds. They are united by a deep concern for the well-being of New Jersey’s children.
Board of Trustees Officers
Chairperson of the Board: Gerard Thiers
Executive Director, ASAH – Serving the Private Special Education Community Since 1974
Vice Chairperson of the Board: Sara D. Thom
Chief Operating Officer and Director of Research, Bedtime Math Foundation
Chair of Finance Committee and Treasurer: Darrin Anderson, Sr., MS, Ph.D.
Deputy Director, NJ Partnership for Healthy Kids
Chair of Program Committee and Secretary: Kendell Sprott, M.D.
President/CEO, Matheny Medical and Educational Center
Sitting Members
Brenda Considine
Considine Communication Strategies
Lorraine D’Sylva-Lee
Training and Consultation Specialist,
Rutgers-UBHC Behavioral Research & Training Institute,
Children’s System of Care Training & Technical Assistance Unit
Maurice Elias, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology & Director, The Collaborative, Rutgers’ Center for
Community-Based Research, Service, and Public Scholarship, Rutgers University
Susan E. Flynn
Account Executive/Benefits Consultant, PeopleStrategy
F. Lee Forrester, J.S.C.
Retired Judge
Laurence E. Fundler, Esq.
Tax Attorney, Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis, LLP
Vito Gagliardi, Ed.D.
Educational Consultant
Stuart Grant, LSW ACSW
Senior Vice President, United Way of Central Jersey
Gail L. Houlihan
Emeritus Member, NJ State Child Placement Advisory Council Executive Board
Eileen Leahey
Manager, Regional Public Affairs, PSEG
Reginald Lewis
Executive Director, Newark City of Learning Collaborative, Joseph C. Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies, Assistant Professor of Professional Practice, School of Public Affairs and Administration, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Nicole McGrath, D.D.S.
President & CEO, KinderSmile Foundation, Inc.
Margaret McLeod
Member, Juvenile Justice State Advisory Committee
José Carlos Montes, M.Div.
Chief Executive Officer, PRAB, Inc.
Dr. Jennifer J. Robinson, Ed.D.
Executive Director, Center of Pedagogy, Montclair State University, College of Education and Human Services
Robert Sterling
Volunteer
Richard Trenk, Esq.
Partner, Trenk, DiPasquale, Della Fera & Sodono, P.C.
Charles Venti
Executive Director, The Nicholson Foundation