Meet Our Team
2023-2024 Steering Committee
Joshlyn Crystal Adams is an accomplished Project Manager and Event planner/ producer who has over 15 years of experience and has worked collaboratively in community building in the non-profit event industry. She is a Leadership Newark alum and currently serves as a board member of Philips Academy Charter School. Joshlyn holds a Master of Arts in Hospitality Management from Fairleigh Dickinson University and is a wife and mother to three exceptional children.
Kate Clark is a corporate attorney at Sherman Atlas Sylvester & Stamelman, LLP where she focuses her practice on mergers and acquisitions, governance, succession planning for business owners, and commercial contracts. Kate also spends her pro bono time advising nonprofits on governance issues. She has a JD from Northwestern University and a BA from Trinity College, and lives in Maplewood with her husband, John, and their cranky cat.
Tyneisha Gibbs is the founder and Principal Consultant of 144th & Vine, LLC, a nonprofit consulting agency and the co-founder of the Nonprofit Professionals of Color Collective at Rutgers Institute for Ethical Leadership. Mrs. Gibbs works on the state level in education and has over 15 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. She lives in Irvington with her husband and daughter.
Malini Lakhani is a Technical Management professional, having worked primarily for major Aerospace companies. She has been an active volunteer and engaged in community service for many years. Malini has a Masters in Electrical Engineering from University of Southern California, and has made New Jersey her home after growing up in California.
Janet Arias-Martinez currently serves as Vice President and Community Relations Northeast Market Manager for Citi. She earned an MPA from Rutgers University and a BA from Ball State University. She has over twenty years of experience in nonprofit management, corporate social responsibility, and philanthropy.
Allison Clayton is a trusts and estates attorney at Sherman Atlas Sylvester & Stamelman LLP, counseling clients in connection with estate planning and estate and trust administration. She helps clients fulfill their charitable goals through the creation of private foundations, charitable trusts and donor-advised funds, and provides guidance to private foundations regarding grant-making and operational requirements. Allison lives in Chatham with her husband and their two children.
Jessica Horan’s professional background is in higher education and nonprofits. A native of Wellesley, MA, she holds degrees from the University of Richmond and Columbia. She is an active volunteer in several local organizations, and lives with her family in Maplewood.
Helen Mazarakis is a writer with a background in Community Development. She serves on the Board of the Community Foundation of NJ, the Newark Public Library Foundation and Brick Academy in Newark. Helen has lived in Montclair for 20 years and is navigating life with an empty nest.
Anne Zakin came to NJ from Chicago in 2017. She was president of a boutique Italian wine importer and spent 25 years organizing the business, traveling, buying, selling and enjoying fine wine. Recently, with kids grown and thriving, and a little more time on her hands, she has gratefully become involved with Impact100 where she brings communication, energy, and managerial skills to the organization’s mission and outreach.
Mayuri Chandra has worked for nonprofit arts organizations and museums for over fifteen years developing education programs. She currently works for Arts Ed Newark, a collective impact initiative ensuring equity and opportunity in arts education. She has a Masters in Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education and lives in Montclair with her family.
Jill Edinburg is a graduate of Tufts University, and formerly worked as an environmental consultant in NYC for large commercial properties, corporations and universities, implementing recycling and waste reduction programs. Jill has always prioritized community service and has had a variety of volunteer roles while raising her children in Montclair for the past 12 years.
Celia King serves as the chief executive officer for Leadership Newark, Inc., a non-profit organization in the State of New Jersey. Prior to assuming her current position, Celia worked in the field of healthcare as an administrator for more than 10 years, as a senior level executive with oversight in behavioral health services, substance abuse and ambulatory care. Celia is a former Councilwoman from Maplewood, New Jersey, serving for 8 years. During her tenure she served in the capacity of Deputy Mayor for 4 years.
Renee Reso spent her career as a criminal defense attorney. Since retiring from the law, she has been a committed volunteer and board member for numerous local nonprofits, focusing her efforts on the needs of the underserved. Renee is most proud of her work raising two kind and empathetic young adults.
Sunita Chaudhuri is a retired executive from J.P. Morgan Chase with over thirty-five years’ experience in various roles throughout the organization. She received an MBA in International Business from Thunderbird and BA in Business Economics from College of Wooster. She and her husband are long-time residents of Glen Ridge and have two grown children.
Sara Ann Erichson is a retired media executive having spent her career at Nielsen, the media measurement company. She is on the board of Congregation Shomrei Emunah and the Sedgewood Club, on the Leadership Council of Oxfam America and an active volunteer for political candidates and causes. Sara Ann received a B.A. in Anthropology from Harvard University and lives in Montclair with her husband where they raised two sons.
Margo Greenfield is a retired public service labor lawyer and former special counsel to the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. She sits on the boards of The Mustard Seed Fund and St. Stephen's Preschool and has served as a longstanding volunteer and former president of Family Promise of Essex County. She brings interest and experience in labor and employment, income inequality and community-based solutions.
Ritu Trivedi has over 20 years of experience in advertising agencies and is currently Executive Director at Mindshare leading multiple global accounts. She has a Master’s degree in Advertising from Syracuse University. She is on the advisory boards of many organizations including Own The Room, 212 NY advertising trade organization and Ad Council. Originally from India, she has made NJ her home and lives with her husband, 2 kids and a dog in Montclair.
Our Committees 2022-2023
Co-Chairs.
Helen Mazarakis & Sunita Chaudhuri
Communications Committee.
Member updates, social media, website & marketing
Be a Poster. Send out occasional tweets and Facebook/Instagram posts.
Be a Surveyor. Once or twice a year solicit input from members.
Be a Writer of our press releases
Chairs: Sara Ann Erichson & Ritu Trivedi
Committee Members: Deb Craft, Jess Horan, Brenda Schwartz
DEI (DIversity, Equity & Inclusion) Action Committee.
Recognize and remove bias and barriers in our Impact100 work
Chairs: Mayuri Chandra & Janet Arias-Martinez
Committee Members: Sunita Chaudhari, Kristin Stuek, Dara Byrne, Tish Johnson, Casey Carpenter, Helen Mazarakis, Margo Greenfield, Tamika Pollins, Tyneisha Gibbs, Jennifer Avers, Naomi Grobstein, Celia King, Lyn Rosensweig, Danisha Patel, Nimat Muhammad
Governance Committee.
Strategic planning, policy review & leadership development
Chairs: Kate Clark & Allison Clayton
Committee Members: Margarethe Laurenzi
Grants Committee.
Grant Design, Management, Review & Administration
Be a Reviewer. Sign up for training and a grant review session.
Be the Green Eyeshade. The Finance Committee meets once to review the semi-finalists.
Be a Liaison. Support and Check in on our Grantees.
Chairs: Jill Edinburg & Renee Reso
Committee Members: Connie Bauman, Mayuri Chandra, Kelley Holland, Claire Keyles, Donna Lawrence, Liliana Pinete, Mary Jean Potenzone, Pam Rauscher, Lyn Rosensweig, Margaret Wager, Anne Zakin
Secretary
Malini Lakhani
Treasurer
Jess Horan
Member Engagement Committee.
Plan Member Events, Recruit New Members, Info Sessions
Be a Planner of workshops, volunteer sessions & member events. Choose topics, speakers, dates and spaces.
Be a Day-Of Worker. Last minute scrambles, set up and take down.
Be a Host. Invite potential members to an info session. Invite your friends and we’ll provide speaker and materials.
Be an Ambassador. Personal calls to engage new members
Be an Explorer. Enlist women from towns with no members.
Chairs: Anne Zakin & Crystal Adams
Committee Members: Sunita Chaudhuri, Amanda Ebokosia, Cindy Fleischer, Pam Goldstein, Margo Greenfield, Kelley Holland, Jess Horan Payne, Jennymarie Idrobo, Dr. Naima Ricks, Katrine Singhbaba
At-Large Steering Committee Member(s)
Tyneisha Gibbs, Celia King, Janet Arias-Martinez
Governance Principles
Mission:
Impact100 Essex (“Impact”) seeks to engage women in collective giving, to provide transformative grants to organizations that serve a diversity of people and communities addressing the needs of underserved (or under-resourced) communities in Essex County, NJ, and to spur local non-profits to dream big – and succeed!
Impact is committed to developing a diverse decision-making body involving women of different races, ethnicities, sexual orientation, abilities, ages, interests, perspectives and experience, who are reflective of the many communities that make up Essex County, and to issuing regular updates to Impact members reporting on the status of recruitment, outreach, grant applications, training, finances, and coming events.
Steering Committee:
A Steering Committee will lead Impact, and is responsible for establishing organization policy and ensuring adherence to the Impact mission. The Steering Committee also leads the work of committees managing recruitment, member engagement, communications, grants, governance and nominating, diversity equity and inclusion, and such other functions as circumstances warrant. Each such committee will ideally have two chairpersons who serve for a three-year term.
Two co-Conveners will be elected by the Steering Committee from among the Steering Committee membership (or former Steering Committee members) to each serve for a three-year term. The co-Conveners will be responsible for scheduling and chairing Steering Committee meetings and setting the agendas for each such meeting. No Convener may serve more than one three-year term, however, a Convener may be elected to serve an additional term after a hiatus of at least one year. If a Convener’s three-year term does not overlap with her three-year term on the Steering Committee, the Convener’s term ‘restarts’ when she assumes that role.
Each former Convener will be invited to attend Steering Committee meetings in a non-voting “emerita” capacity for a period of one year following the expiration of her term as a Convener. For each of Margo Greenfield and Helen Mazarakis, as Impact Founders, the invitation period will be extended to three years following the expiration of their respective terms as a Convener. In each case, any invitation to a former co-Convener or Founder to attend a Steering Committee meeting will be extended subject to the discretion of the then current co-Conveners.
The number of members of the Steering Committee will be an odd number of not more than 17, with the actual number to be fixed by the Steering Committee from time to time. The 17 members include:
2 Conveners
1 Treasurer
1 Secretary
2 Committee Chairs from each of the following committees (or if any such committee has only one Chair, then one Chair and one Member at Large from that committee):
Membership Engagement;
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)
Communications;
Grants; and
Governance
The remainder are Members at Large
Nominations. The Nominating Committee is comprised of at least eight members, including:
one of the two Conveners or her designee;
one Chair of the Grants Committee or her designee;
one Chair of the DEI Committee or her designee;
two Chairs of the Governance Committee or their designee(s);
two Chairs of the Membership and Events Committee or their designee(s); and
at least one active Impact member who does not serve on the Steering Committee.
The Nominating Committee will solicit input from the various committees, Steering Committee members, and Impact members to fill any vacancies on the Steering Committee in accordance with these principles. Any Impact member may nominate herself or any other member to fill such vacancy. The Nominating Committee will review all such nominations and develop a list of candidates to fill the applicable vacancies (referred to as the “slate”).
Steering Committee (continued):
Election. The slate will be distributed to the general members 6 weeks prior to the annual meeting of general members. The election of each Steering Committee member will be approved by a majority of the votes actually cast in such election. Votes will be due and tallied 2 weeks prior to the annual meeting of general members and the results of the election will be announced at such meeting. The term of office of any member of the Steering Committee will begin on the date of the first Steering Committee meeting following the annual meeting of general members.
Meetings; Quorum; Voting. Steering Committee meetings will be held at least 9 times per year, one of which will constitute the annual meeting of the Steering Committee, on such days and at such times and places as may be designed by the Conveners with at least 10 days’ notice to the Steering Committee members. Members of the Steering Committee may participate in any meeting by means of conference call or any other means of communication by which all persons participating in the meeting are able to hear each other, and may vote electronically.
The Steering Committee will be and is divided into three classes, as nearly equal in number as possible, designated as follows: Class I, Class II, and Class III, each of which will hold office for a term of three years. In the case of any increase or decrease, from time to time, in the number of Steering Committee members, the number of Steering Committee members in each class will be divided as nearly equal as possible. No decrease in the number of Steering Committee members will shorten the term of any member.
The term of each Steering Committee member will continue until the election and qualification of a successor and be subject to such Steering Committee member’s earlier death, resignation or removal. Ideally, no two committee chairs (including the two Conveners) will serve in the same Class.
No member of the Steering Committee may serve more than two consecutive three-year terms, however, a member of the Steering Committee may be elected to serve additional terms after a one-year hiatus. In addition, a member may be selected to fill a vacancy on the Steering Committee as set forth under “Vacancies” below for less than a full term. If the remaining period in that replacement term is less than one year, the member selected to fill that vacancy is still eligible to serve for two three-year Steering Committee terms following the expiration of her replacement term.
Impact is committed to a horizontal management structure and consensus-based decision-making standard to ensure flexibility. The participation of at least a majority of members of the Steering Committee (including at least one Convener) will constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at each Steering Committee meeting. At each meeting of the Steering Committee, each member will have one vote, and all matters before the meeting will be determined by a majority vote of members present at such meeting where a quorum is present. In particular, the Steering Committee must approve disbursements in excess of $1,000.
Vacancies. Should a member of the Steering Committee resign or cease to serve for any other reason prior to the expiration of her term, the Nominating Committee will provide recommendations for another general member of Impact to fill that individual’s role on an interim basis for the remainder of the term of such resigning Steering Committee member. The Steering Committee will take up such recommendations and vote to seat new Steering Committee members at the next Steering Committee meeting after receipt of such nomination on an interim basis, until the next scheduled election of such seat.
Responsiveness:
We will regularly review our operating and governance policies to promote the engagement of members and the non-profit community supporting local under-served communities.