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Staff & Board

Lead New Jersey is headed by the team of Michele Tuck-Ponder, LNJ ’95, Interim President, and Jen Bredehoft, LNJ ’10, Vice President, both experienced leadership and public policy professionals and LNJ alumni.  A Board of Trustees composed of esteemed LNJ alumni and community members helps guide LNJ’s strategic vision.

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Michele Tuck-Ponder, LNJ '95, Interim President

A former mayor of Princeton, NJ, Michele served as CEO of Destination Imagination, Inc., a global creative experience program for children. She also completed two terms as a member of the Princeton Board of Education, served as Executive Director of the Women’s Fund of New Jersey, CEO of the Girl Scouts of Delaware-Raritan, Inc., Assistant Counsel to former Governor Jim Florio, Assistant Director of the New Jersey Division on Women and New Jersey Division on Civil Rights, director of development and public affairs at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and congressional aide to former US Representative Louis Stokes and the late US Senator Frank Lautenberg. She was also a Community Builder Fellow with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development in Camden and has served as a lecturer at Princeton and Rutgers Universities. Michele is a trustee of Princeton United Methodist Church and the Center for Modern Aging. She is a former trustee of New Jersey After 3, Leadership New Jersey, the Center for NonProfit Corporations, Morven Museum and Gardens, the Princeton Housing Authority and the United Front Against Riverblindness.

Michelle is graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and is a member of LNJ's 1995 class. She is married to Rhinold Lamar Ponder, Esq. and is the mother of Jamaica and William D’Artagnan.

 

 

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Jennifer M. Bredehoft, LNJ ’10, Vice President

Jen joined Lead New Jersey’s staff as the new Vice President for Recruitment, Alumni Relations, & Communications in April 2015. With more than 20 years of nonprofit experience in New Jersey, Jen was previously the Director of Growth & Development for the New Jersey Charter Schools Association and Vice President for Communications & Investor Relations with New Jersey Community Capital.

Jen is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Education in Leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University, with an anticipated graduation of May 2028. She received her Master of Public Administration degree in 2013 from Columbia University’s School of International & Public Affairs with a concentration in Advanced Management & Finance, her Bachelor of Arts degree from New York University in 2004, majoring in History with minors in Education and Irish Studies, and a certificate in Learning Design & Technology from Villanova University to enhance LNJ’s in-person and online learning offerings. She received her Certified Fundraising Executive credentials in 2013 from CFRE International and is a certified practitioner for both MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) and LIFO (Life Orientations). Jen is also pursuing her Certified Community Leadership Practitioner credentials from the Association of Leadership Programs and is a member of its Annual Conference Planning Committee and Statewide Directors Affinity Group. She was recognized as one of the 2018 Leading Women Entrepreneur Brand Builders and 2018 NJBIZ Forty Under 40 for Marketing.

Jen is a 2010 Lead New Jersey Fellow and previously served as a Graduate Organization representative, Alumni Ambassador, and Chair of the Networking & Engagement Committee for LNJ.  An avid equestrian, she owns and competes a retired Thoroughbred, Steel Sky, in dressage, is active in the Thoroughbred horse racing industry in New Jersey and other states., and volunteers with a variety of horse-related organizations and causes.

LNJ Board of Trustees

Matthew Baker, LNJ ’16

Partner, Genova Burns LLC

 

Carlotta Chan, LNJ’16, Vice Chair

Senior Director – Investor Relations, PSEG

 

Dr. Tara Chalakani, LNJ’18

Chief Executive Officer, Preferred Behavioral Health Group

 

Tina-Marie Lopez, LNJ’20, Governance Committee Chair

Executive Director, International Rescue Committee

 

Michael Mancini, LNJ’20

Chief of Staff and COO, Thomas Edison State University

 

Lori Matheus, LNJ’00, Treasurer and Finance Committee Chair

Senior Vice President, NJ Economic Development Authority

 

Amanda Nesheiwat, LNJ’23

Director of Sustainability and Community Outreach, Hudson Co. Improvement Authority

 

Anne Marie Peracchio, LNJ’15, Board Secretary and Recruitment Committee Chair

Director-Conservation and Clean Energy, New Jersey Natural Gas

 

Steven Ramiza, LNJ’16

COO, LAN Associates

 

Jay Redd, LNJ’15, Chair

Director, Stono Public Affairs

 

Jaymie Santiago, LNJ’17

President & CEO, New Brunswick Tomorrow

 

Shayla Salter, LNJ’23

External Affairs Manager, Atlantic City Electric

 

Jennifer Phillips Smith, LNJ’19

Co-Chair, Real Property Group, Gibbons PC

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