CamConnect's 2010 Board of Trustees
- Chair: Merilee Rutolo (Center for Family Services)
- Vice Chair: Sean Brown (Resident)
- Treasurer: Joe Myers (Cooper's Ferry Development Association)
- Secretary: Dr. Bernadette West (UMDNJ, School of Public Health)
- Fiscal Agent: Dr. Jeff Brenner (Cooper Hospital, Emergency Medicine)
- Governance & Membership: David Foster (Greater Camden Partnership)
- Data Chair: Dr. Gwendolyn Harris (Walter Rand Institute)
- Funding Chair: G Lynn Brown (Planned Parenthood of Southern NJ)
- Members at Large:
- Atnre Alleyne (Resident)
- Ed Livingston (Camden Churches Organized for People)
- Hillary Colbert (Community Planning and Advocacy Council)
- Manuel Delgado (Cramer Hill CDC)
- Dr. Stella Horton (Camden City Youth Services Commission)
- Tom Jones (UMDNJ Urban and Community Development)
- Ray Lamboy (Latin American Economic Development Association)
- Liza Nolan (Camden Community Development Association)
- Carrie Sargeant (Heart of Camden)
- Dr. Bill Whitlow (Rutgers University, Psychology Department)
Chair
Merilee Rutolo
Vice President, Development and Public Relations
Center for Family Services
Merilee Rutolo has served as a Vice President for Camden based Center For Family Services for the past eight years, leading the organization’s outreach, communication and development initiatives. Merilee has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Journalism and Government and Politics from the University of Maryland and is currently pursuing a Masters in Public Affairs from Rutgers University. Rutolo serves on the National Alliance for Children and Families Resource Development Committee, as the Secretary of the Board of CamConnect, as an at-large representative on the Executive Council of United Way of Camden County, is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and serves on a tri-county prevention coalition to end sexual violence.
Vice Chair
Sean Brown
Resident
Sean M. Brown has devoted his life to serving his community. He received his Bachelor's degree at Rutgers in the dual BA/MPA program for Urban Studies and Public Administration with a concentration in community development. He was also is Vice President of Student Government. Sean is the the founder and coordinator for Young Urban Leaders, an organization created to train and support young people that want to improve their communities. Sean worked at CamConnect in the AmeriCorps VISTA program for one year doing research and community outreach, before joining the board. He also served in AmeriCorps in New Orleans, working with youth and organizing rebuilding projects, and additionally is a commisioner for a local softball league.
Treasurer
Joe Myers
Vice President
Cooper's Ferry Development Association
Mr. Joe Myers attended Trenton State College and graduated in 1998 with a Bachelor’s degree in political science. In 2000, Joe graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with two Masters: government administration from the Fels Institute of Government and liberal arts in political science. Since 2000, Joe has been working at Cooper’s Ferry Development Association (CFDA). CFDA is a private non-profit economic development corporation located in the City of Camden. Mr. Myers volunteers on a few boards for non-profits in the City (Heritage Collaborative and CamConnect), is a volunteer basketball coach, and also is a member of the planning board in Bordentown City.
Secretary
Dr. Bernadette West
Professor and Associate Dean
School of Public Health
Bernadette West, Ph.D., MA, is an Associate Professor and Co-Chair in the Health Systems and Policy Department at the UMDNJ-School of Public Health. She also serves as Assistant Dean of the School of Public Health in Stratford/Camden and Assistant Dean for Community Health. Before joining UMDNJ in 1997, she served as Executive Director of a regional health planning agency in New Jersey. For the past 18 years she has worked with community agencies on a variety of health planning, health assessment and program evaluation projects, including projects in cities throughout New Jersey as well as in the Dominican Republic and Croatia. In addition to community health assessment, her scholarly efforts have focused on violence and disability. She is Faculty Advisor for V.O.I.C.E.S., Volunteer Opportunities in Community Engaged Service, the student service organization at UMDNJ-SPH and the Bridging the Gaps Program Coordinator for UMDNJ. She teaches Health Services Research Methods and is co-director of the course Public Health Applications in Developing Countries.
Fiscal Agent
Dr. Jeff Brenner
Founder
Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers
Dr. Jeffrey Brenner is a family physician who has worked in Camden, NJ for the past 10 years. For the past five years he owned and operated a solo-practice, urban family medicine office which provided full-spectrum family health services to a largely Hispanic, Medicaid population. Dr. Brenner works at the Cooper Health System in Camden where he teaches medical students, is the faculty advisor for student community service projects, and conducts research on urban health conditions in Camden, NJ. Dr. Brenner founded the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers, a non-profit organization committed to improving the quality, capacity, and accessibility of the healthcare delivery system in Camden.
Governance & Membership Chair
Dave Foster
Executive Director
Greater Camden Partnership
David Foster is the President and CEO of the Greater Camden Partnership. He previously practiced law as an attorney in the Philadelphia office of Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP, where his practice included all aspects of real estate development and investment. David received his B.A. from Washington and Lee University and his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He also holds a Certificate in Business and Public Policy from the Wharton School.
Community Outreach Chair
Donna Sominski
Volunteers of America
Donna Siminski is Co-Vice President of Public Policy for Volunteers of America Delaware Valley. She joined the agency in 2005 to assist in developing and implementing a pro-active approach to interacting with government at the federal, state and local levels. Donna has deep knowledge of the public sector, having worked for the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency as the Director of External Affairs; the Governor's Office of Constituent Relations; and for NJ Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts as Chief of Staff. Donna attended Rutgers University, Camden where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science and a Master's degree in Public Administration.
Data Chair
Dr. Gwendolyn Harris
Associate Director
Walter Rand Instutute
Gwendolyn Harris has an extensive career in human services and public administration, highlighted by founding Newark Emergency Services of Families, Inc. thirty years ago, as well as serving as the City of Trenton’s Director of Health and Human Services, Business Administrator and as Mayor Palmer’s Chief of Staff; she also served as Commissioner of Human Services for the State of New Jersey. Gwendolyn is currently a doctoral candidate in Urban Planning and Policy at Rutgers University. Her dissertation topic assesses the impact of affordable housing on taxable property valuation. Her college and graduate level teaching has included courses in urban policy, municipal management and local economic development.
Funding Chair
G. Lynn Brown
President/CEO
Planned Parenthood of Southern NJ
G. Lynn Brown has over 34 years of experience in the reproductive/women's health field. She serves as the President/CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southern New Jersey which provides family planning medical services in three southern counties. She currently serves on several committees and boards related to health at the local and state levels.
Members at Large
Atnre Alleyne
Resident
Mr. Atnre Alleyne graduated from Rutgers-Camden with a BA in Economics and a Masters degree in Public Administration. He is currently a PhD candidate in Political Science and International Relations at the University of Delaware. His dissertation focuses on the impact of foreign influences on US policy. Mr. Alleyne has worked in management consulting and polling at the Gallup Organization and Hay Group and has extensive experience in survey research, program evaluation, and performance measurement. He has also engaged in social policy research while working with Public/Private Ventures in Philadelphia. Atnre resides in Camden, NJ where he serves as the Vice President of the Board for the Camden Empowerment Zone Corporation.
Hilary Dugger Colbert
Director of Planning and Research
Community Planning and Advocacy Council
Ms. Colbert has 15 years of experience in health and human services planning. Ms. Colbert worked at Health Visions, CPAC’s independent health planning and research subsidiary from 1995 – 1998 where she was involved in a variety of needs assessments and research and evaluation projects. Ms. Colbert provides supervision of all health and human services staff and projects, has oversight of the RFP process at CPAC for County funding that CPAC RFP’s out, and has responsibility for the Human Services Advisory Council (HSAC) which the HNPC is part of, both locally and as a member of the State Human Services Council. Ms. Colbert was recently named as the southern representative to the New Jersey Advocacy Network to End Homelessness.
Manuel Delgado
Director
Cramer Hill CDC
Coming Soon...
Dr. Stella Horton
Executive Director
Camden Center for Youth Development
Dr. Horton’s work experience is numerous and varied. She has been employed by the Orange County Board of Education in Hillsborough North Carolina; the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Rutgers the State University; City of Camden Board of Education and is currently employed as the Executive Director of the Camden Center for Youth Development, Inc. formerly the Juvenile Resource Center, Inc. located in the City of Camden.
Robert Jakobowski
CEO
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Burlington, Camden, and Gloucestor Counties
Coming Soon...
Thomas R. Jones
Director for Community Affairs
UMDNJ
Urban and Community Development
- Mr. Thomas Jones is the Director for Community Affairs at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. He holds a MPA degree from New York University and has extensive experience in urban planning, organizational development and project management.
Raymond Lamboy
President and CEO
Latin American Economic Development Association
Mr. Lamboy assumed the position of President & CEO of LAEDA in December of 2007. As a second generation owner of Lamboy Furniture Company, a family-owned business here in the City of Camden since 1970, Mr. Lamboy brings a unique prospective to the economic development mission of LAEDA. Mr. Lamboy believes that the future of the City of Camden rests in strengthening and growing the city’s business community and empowering individuals to own their own businesses. Mr. Lamboy has been certified by Main Street New Jersey as having completed the Downtown Revitalization Institute year long training program and has attended national training conferences hosted by the National Main Street Center and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) - Urban Forums. He holds a BA in Economics from Rutgers University.
Ed Livingston
Executive Director
Camden Churches Organized for People
Coming Soon...
Liza Nolan
Executive Director
Camden Community Development Associations
Coming Soon...
Carrie Sargeant
Environment Director
Heart of Camden
Carrie A. Sargeant, holds a Master of Forestry degree from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and a BS in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She worked with Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Wangari Maathai, and served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uganda. For three and a half Ms. Sargeant worked for the New Jersey Tree Foundation as the founding Program Director of the Urban Airshed Reforestation Program, a community-based tree planting program in Camden City with a purpose of air pollution mitigation. Currently, Ms. Sargeant is the Environment Director for the Heart of Camden, a non-profit community development corporation based in the Waterfront South neighborhood of Camden where she is responsible for the sustainable development of the community. She is an ISA Certified Arborist, a New Jersey Certified Tree Expert and a volunteer board member for the Clean Air Council.
Dr. Bill Whitlow
Professor
Rutgers University
Center for Children & Childhood Studies
J. W. (Bill) Whitlow, Jr., is a Professor of Psychology, whose research interests focus on understanding basic mechanisms of learning, memory, and cognition. These interests also channel his commitment to enhancing science education, especially among pre-college youth. He established the Science Preparation Alliance of Rutgers and Camden (SPARC) program in 1991 and has directed it since then; he also established and currently directs the Forum for Education in Neuroscience and Cognition (FENAC). He received his bachelor's degree from Macalester College in St. Paul, MN and his doctorate from Yale University.