YWCA of Bergen County — Board of Directors

ywboard of directors 2010 – 2011

	Cecilia Brennan Cecilia Brennan works for Stryker Orthopaedics in Mahwah, NJ, as the Director of Staffing and Inclusion. She holds an undergraduate degree in Psychology with some masters coursework in Organization Development as well as an SPHR (Senior Professional In Human Resources) certification. A resident of Westwood, she became a member of the YWCA Board in February 2010, having served on the HR Committee for several years.
	Nezabravka Dzhogleva Nezabravka Dzhogleva is a senior at Ramapo College of New Jersey majoring in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance. A native of Bulgaria, she moved alone to the United States at the age of 18 to pursue her higher education on a full Presidential Scholarship. While in high school, Nezabravka worked as a volunteer for the Bulgarian Red Cross in her hometown. She received the Evelyn L. Atwater Scholarship at the 2010 Tribute to Women and INdustry Awards, given annually to an outstanding Ramapo College student pursuing a business-related degree. She joined the YWCA Board in May 2010.
	Laura Carabello Laura Carabello has been an entrepreneur and strategy consultant in both domestic and international businesses related to healthcare and technology since 1985. She has a particular interest in medical travel, healthcare information technology, managed care and employee benefits, pharmaceuticals and other related business-to-business and direct-to-consumer companies. Founder and Principal Owner of CPR Strategic Marketing and Communications, Laura has more than 25 years’ experience and has worked with more than 1,000 companies in the areas of business development, marketing and corporate positioning. She is a member of the advisory board of the International Medical Tourism Association and in 2009 was named “Humanitarian of the Year” by the American Chiropractic Association. Laura has been invited for membership status in the Heallthcare Women’s Leadership Trust and honored by the NJ Association of Women Business Owners. She joined the YWCA Board in January 2010.
	Nisha T. Cordero, President Nisha T. Cordero, President, is a contract attorney in the area of labor and employment litigation. Previously she co-founded Little Jet Set, an online children’s travel store, and was the company’s Chief Financial Officer. Little Jet Set received an iParenting Media Award for Outstanding Website and a Count Me In Make Mine a Million $ Business Micro to Millions Award. Prior to managing her business, Nisha was an Associate with the law firm of Ferro Labella & Zucker L.LC in Hackensack, New Jersey, and practiced in the areas of employment law and commercial litigation. Nisha has been on the Board of the YWCA of Bergen County since 2007 and currently chairs the Finance Committee. She has served on the Board of the Ridgewood Newcomers Club and on the Volunteer Leadership Committee for the American Red Cross of Northern New Jersey. She earned her Bachelor of Science at Cornell University, School of Industrial Labor Relations, and Juris Doctorate at American University, Washington College of Law.
	Christina Gibbons, Secretary Christina Gibbons, Secretary, is a licensed physician assistant, having specialized in interventional cardiology at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan. She earned a BS in bio-behavioral health at The Pennsylvania State University and completed the Hahnemann Medical College of Pennsylvania Physician Assistant Program. Christina joined the YWCA of Bergen County Newcomers Club in 2006, serving as Co-Chair of the Fundraising Committee and later as President. In her three years on the Newcomers Board she raised and steered nearly $50,000 in donations to the YWCA and its programs. Christina joined the YWCA Board in 2008 and is currently serving as Chair of the Board Development Committee and on the Fund Development Committee.
	Amy Kessing Amy Kessing is a former CPA who worked for Arthur Andersen LLP and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. In addition to earning a BS in Accountancy from Miami University, she holds an early childhood teaching certificate from the University of California, Irvine, and has worked as a Montessori preschool and kindergarten teacher. A resident of Ridgewood, New Jersey, Amy joined the Newcomers Club in 2005 and is a 3rd-year board member, having served as president and currently as immediate past-president and member of the Fundraising Committee. She joined the YWCA Board in May 2010.
	Lisa Kender Lisa Kender enjoyed a successful 17-year career in private banking. A resident of Ridgewood, New Jersey, she is a sustaining member of the Junior League of Bergen County and a volunteer at the Valley Hospital. Lisa served on the YWCA of Bergen County’s Finance Committee for a number of years before joining the Board of Directors in 2005. She has since served as President and on numerous committees, including the Board Development Committee which she currently chairs.
	Barbara Kiernan Barbara Kiernan has been serving the Ridgewood community as a volunteer for over a dozen years. She is active on the boards of The Social Service Association of Ridgewood and Vicinity and The Valley Hospital Auxiliary, Ridgewood Branch, and volunteers with the homeless shelters at Our Lady of Mt Carmel Parish, Ridgewood and St. Cecelia's Church in Englewood, New Jersey. Barbara has been a volunteer with the YWCA since 2006, serving on both the Board of Directors and Board of Trustees. She has been an active member of the Investment Advisory Committee since the fall of 2007 and chaired the 2008 YWCA/Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce Golf Outing. In September 2008, Barbara was elected as Secretary of the Northeast Regional Council of YWCAs.
	Mary-Jo Kurtz, 1st Vice-President Mary Jo Kurtz, 1st Vice President, is Chief Operating Officer with Van Dyk Health Care, Inc. in Ridgewood, overseeing the management of 500 employees as well as operations of two sub-acute nursing homes and two assisted-living and senior apartment communities. Mary Jo was a marketing and development professional earlier in her career and has brought these skills to the YWCA Board of Directors, which she joined in 2007. She is also very active in the Franklin Lakes Lions Club and is a former YWCA TWIN Honoree.
	Amy Labanowski Amy Labanowski is a Principal in the New York office of Mercer Investment Consulting, Inc. She is responsible for monitoring investment programs, asset allocation and portfolio structure, developing investment policies, and conducting manager searches for defined contribution and defined benefit plans, endowment funds and foundations. She is also a member of the US Investment Consulting Leadership Group and Investment Policy Committee. Amy is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter holder and a member of the CFA Institute and the New York Society of Security Analysts. She joined the YWCA Board of Directors in 2008.
	Dorothy Mello Laguzza, 2nd Vice President Dorothy Mello Laguzza, 2nd Vice President, is an Attorney with Cole, Schotz, Meisel, Forman, and Leonard, PA in Hackensack, New Jersey. Her practice focuses on all aspects of environmental law, and she represents and counsels clients on state and federal environmental issues arising in real estate and corporate transactions and coordinating due diligence for those transactions. She also has experience in environmental litigation matters, including state and federal cost recovery claims and insurance coverage claims. Dorothy has been a YWCA Board Member since January 2007.
	Linda Murphy Linda Murphy is a CPA and partner with Flackman, Goodman & Potter, PA, a 50-year-old firm in Ridgewood, New Jersey, specializing in small business, tax and audit clientele. A resident of Ridgewood, she serves as Treasurer and Chair of the Internal Operations Committee on the Board of Valley Home Care and is also a past President of the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce as well as the Ridgewood Education Foundation. Linda has been a member of the YWCA Board for the past ten years and is immediate past President. She is also a former TWIN honoree and the 2009 TWIN Project Chairwoman.
	Patricia R. Preztunik Patricia Preztunik is President and Owner of BrightStar Healthcare of Greater Hackensack, part of a national healthcare company with over 100 locations in 30+ states providing a continuum of home health services for patients of all ages, as well as specialized staffing and transportation services outside the home. She has held leadership positions in areas of global consumer products and technology with a variety of organizations, most notably IBM, and has established active business networks in South Africa, China and Japan. Patricia is a member of Health Care Business Women and the NJ Home Care Association, as well as the Network of Executive Women (NEW) and New Jersey Association of Women Business Owners (NJAWBO). She joined the YWCA Board in December 2009.
	Linda Tauscher, Treasurer Linda Tauscher, Treasurer, is a CPA who has worked for 18 years in Finance at Sony Electronics in Park Ridge, New Jersey. Prior to that she was an auditor with Coopers and Lybrand. A resident of Bergen County for 13 years, Linda has been a member of the YWCA Finance Committee for three years. She was immediately elected Treasurer of the Board of Directors when she joined in May 2010.
	Monica Roers, Chief Executive Officer Monica Roers is the Chief Executive Officer of the YWCA of Bergen County, a position she has held since February 2005. She has devoted her career to helping build strong nonprofit organizations in communities across the country, taking leadership roles with the Center for Nonprofit Resources in New Orleans and the National Office of Friends of the Children, as well as working for the United Ways of Greater New Orleans and Central Massachusetts, the America Council on Education, and the United States Census Bureau. Monica holds a Master’s in Public and Private Management from Yale University and has also served on various nonprofit boards, including the Advisory Board of the International Project Nonprofit Leadership at the University of New Orleans, the Mid South Collaborative for Nonprofit Development and Dismas House, a half-way house for formerly incarcerated individuals re-integrating into the community.