Our Team
Staff Members
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Cristhian Barcelos
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Russell Ben Ali
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Jorge Chavez
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Deborah Graham
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Mary O’Connor
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Rosa Marisol Ramirez
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Board of Trustees
Sally E. Rice, President
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Genesis Rombola, Vice President
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Sally Rice is the President of the Board of Trustees of Literacy Volunteers of America, Essex & Passaic Counties, Inc. She has been a leader in literacy for almost four decades, first as Supervising Librarian and Coordinator of Adult Services for the East Orange Public Library and now as a retiree since 2006. Sally became active in literacy as the library’s representative to the Essex Literacy Consortium in the 1980’s. Through this work, she was invited to become a member of the Board of Directors of LVA Essex County. She continued her board service when the Essex and Newark LVA organizations merged in late 1993. Sally served as President from 1995-2006 and again from 2009 to date. She served as Board Secretary from 2007-2008. Other volunteer leadership positions include her work as a founding member and the first President of the Government Documents Association of New Jersey. Sally served on the Bernie L. Edmonson Community Education Center Advisory Council in East Orange and on several committees for the New Jersey Library Association. Sally earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the American University in Washington, D.C. and a Master’s of Library Science from Rutgers University. She is also an active board member for her local public library Friends organization.
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Genesis Rombola currently holds the position of Care Management Support Specialist at Circle of Care. Circle of Care for Families and Children in Passaic County is an independent, non-profit, organization dedicated to assisting multiple-needs children and their families. Genesis’ passion for helping others is reflected in her position as an Assistant Lead Instructor at Platinum Minds, a leadership development program. She is also very engaged in her community, as she is involved with several volunteer organizations which assist underserved populations. Genesis serves on the Board of the Mental Health Association in Passaic County, IndaCares (an organization that focuses on alleviating poverty and inequality for women and children in Angola), and the Pearl Club (a start-up organization that helps increase the academic mobility and professional development of young women with little economic resources. Genesis received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from Montclair State University and plans to enroll in Rutgers Master of Social Work program in September.
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Nancy Tinney, Treasurer
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Jamie Stieger, Secretary
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Nancy Tinney brings years of library and public relations experience to the Board of Trustees of Literacy Volunteers of America, Essex & Passaic Counties. At the East Orange Public Library, where she is known as an exceptional reference librarian and branch manager, Nancy delivers comprehensive reference and technological services to patrons, all while supervising 12 full- and part-time library assistants. She also represents the library at community outreach events and serves on its marketing committee - - experiences that help her fortify LVA’s relations with the libraries we so depend on. She has a background in business, as well as in information services, and earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from Fairleigh Dickinson University, and a master’s degree in library and information science from Pratt Institute.
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With nearly two decades of experience in the business world, Jamie Stieger has always had one focus: helping to make people’s lives better. Jamie is currently the Director, Administration & Finance, Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Center at Rutgers University. Jamie advises the executive director and also coaches senior leaders at FXB, which is committed to improving the health of vulnerable women, children and families, including those affected by HIV.
She implemented training programs for healthcare providers to better improve HIV care in the United States. Jamie also developed a 24-hour crisis response program for victims of sexual assault. Prior to that, she provided crisis counseling and referrals to parents of children with disabilities. Jamie’s humanitarian efforts are a complement to our dedicated board. Jamie earned a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Public Health from Rutgers and a Bachelor of Arts and Social Work from the University of New Hampshire. |
Christina Berwick
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Jordan Fried
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Kathleen Mollica
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Harsh Parikh
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Kathy Mollica is an active tutor and a trainer of tutors for LVA, an organization to which she has belonged and contributed to for more than 20 years Kathy is a career librarian. She retired as the director of the Passaic Public Library and once worked as the library's assistant director. In her retirement, she works part-time as a reference librarian for the Hawthorne Public Library, where she also heads the literacy program for LVA. Kathy is president of the Zonta Club of Passaic/Clifton, an organization that is active in community affairs. She earned a master's degree in library science from Pratt Institute in New York City.
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Harsh Parikh is a Principal at PGIM, the Global Investment Management Business of Prudential Financial, Inc. Prior to PGIM, he was Vice President, Portfolio Manager and Strategist at BNY Mellon Investment Management. He also worked for GMAC RFC and Countrywide Capital Markets in portfolio management and fixed income research respectively. Harsh earned his advanced business degrees from the University of Southern California and the prestigious EDHEC Business School in France. Harsh did his undergraduate studies in Computer Engineering at Gujarat University, India.
Harsh brings his expertise to the Literacy Volunteers of America board as a result of his passion to give back to the community in which he lives and works. He enjoys providing investment advice and business development plans to help grow organizations. Harsh, passionate about education, says he thoroughly enjoys teaching languages as well. |
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Meisha A. Powell
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Clair von Schilling
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Meisha A. Powell brings a unique background in psychology, law, and residential real estate sales to the LVA Essex&Passaic Counties Board of Trustees. Giving back to the community has always been at the forefront of Meisha’s career and she looks forward to supporting the mission of LVA. She began her career as an attorney for a large mid-town Manhattan law firm and participated in pro bono legal work, where she provided free legal services to organizations and individuals. Meisha is currently an associate real estate broker for a small boutique real estate company in Brooklyn.
She is also a runner and has run six marathons including the Chicago and New York. Her long-term goal is to run in all 50 states. She holds degrees from Temple University and Hofstra University’s Maurice A. Deane School of Law. |
Clair von Schilling is Executive Vice President, Director, Corporate Communications at Penguin Random House. In this global role, she oversees media relations, internal communications, branding, and social responsibility including corporate giving, and public affairs. Prior to Random House she was Vice President of Corporate Communications at Sony Music, Senior Director of Corporate Communications at Bertelsman, and Government Affairs Representative of Mazda division of Ford Motor Company.
Von Schilling’s volunteer activities include her role as Secretary of the Board of the Penguin Random House Foundation, Head of Global Social Responsibility Council for Penguin Random House, volunteer baker and server at Toni’s Kitchen, and ESL teacher for Prince William County Public Schools in Virginia. She holds a graduate degree from Johns Hopkins University. |
Trainers
Mary Kao
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Mary O’Connor
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Mary Kao joined LVA Essex & Passaic Counties as a tutor in 2001 and is one of our longest serving volunteers. An artist and teacher of origami, the Japanese art of paper folding, she became a trainer in 2007 and has since turned hundreds of volunteers into eager tutors, using her unique style of teaching with easily obtainable pictures and paper art. Mary grew up in India, speaks several languages, and grew passionate about literacy and education after observing obstacles faced by her mother, who was discouraged from attending school as a child in China. Mary was named NJALL “Teacher of the Year” in 2018 and LVA “Educator of the Year” in 2014. She earned a bachelor’s degree in interior design from Washington State University.
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Mary O’Connor is a trainer, a tutor of multiple students, our tutor support specialist, and a lead workshop presenter at LVA Essex & Passaic Counties. In a 43-year career in education, she worked as an English teacher in the New York City school system, a religious studies teacher at several New Jersey Catholic high schools, and an assistant principal and principal at Marylawn of the Oranges Academy in South Orange. She retired in 2008. She became an LVA tutor in 2010 and a trainer in 2013. Mary was named NJALL “Teacher of the Year” in 2014 and has also won LVA’s “Educator of the Year” award. Mary earned a bachelor’s degree at St. John’s University and a master’s degree at Seton Hall University.
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Darnelle Richardson
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Carolyn Van Doren
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Darnelle Richardson has been a leader in adult education for almost 30 years. She has been a Master Trainer with Literacy Volunteers of New Jersey since 2005 and has recently joined LVA Essex & Passaic Counties’ roster of tutor trainers.
Darnelle ‘s studies in education and business led to her current position at the Jersey City Public Library Literacy Program where she wears many hats. Darnelle is Program Coordinator, Tutor Trainer and Instructor. She leads a team of staff and volunteers to achieve the best possible outcomes for the diverse population of students her organization serves. Along with working with basic literacy and ESL students in improving their speaking, reading, writing, and comprehension of English, Darnelle also finds time to teach Public Speaking classes. Darnelle has been a member of Toastmasters International, Jersey City since 2005. She received the Distinguished Toastmaster award in 2013, the organization’s highest educational/leadership honor. |
A retired human resources manager who has recruited and hired more than 100 technical employees for IT and engineering jobs, Carolyn Van Doren is both an LVA literacy tutor and a trainer of basic literacy and ESOL tutors. She joined the organization as a volunteer in 2008. Carolyn is the former vice-president of the Girl Scouts of Essex County and also served as a national delegate, a board member and the chairperson of several committees for the organization. In her management career, Carolyn specialized in finding positions for displaced workers, negotiating with labor unions, arbitration, and employee grievance procedures and policies. She is a contributing writer for the Minority Interchange Newsletter. Carolyn received a bachelor’s degree in Economics and a master’s degree in Industrial Relations from Rutgers University and a master’s degree in Counselling from Upsala College.
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