Board of Trustees

With a mission of preserving and enhancing the prosperity of our schools and community and recognizing the value of independent funding, a group of local business leaders established the Morris Educational Foundation in 1992. Today the board includes parents, teachers, business and community leaders, committed to upholding that mission.

Deborah L. Sontupe, Chair
Born and raised in Morristown, Debbie is a graduate of Morristown High School ('89). She lives in Morris Township with her husband, Dan, and two children who are students at Frelinghuysen Middle School. Debbie is the Principal of DS Strategies, LLC, providing non-profit management and fundraising consulting services. She has been the Chair of the MEF since 2009.

Patty Haralampoudis, Treasurer
Patty and her husband Greg moved to Convent Station from New York City in 1996. Now a full-time mother to sons Christopher, Luke, and Evan and an active volunteer, Patty previously worked as a Vice President at AMBAC, a municipal bond insurance company. Patty has volunteered as a child advocate for the Jersey Battered Women Shelter, in numerous volunteer positions for the Morris School District and has donated her time to Literacy Volunteers of America. She is an alumnae of both Cornell University and New York University. She has been the Treasurer of the Morris Educational Foundation and Chair of the Finance Committee since 2009.

Gabrielle Meyer
Gabrielle was born in Montana and moved to Morris Township in 1968. She is a graduate of Morristown High School ('83) and has been an elementary school teacher in the Morris School District for more than twenty years. During this tenure, Gabrielle has served on numerous district committees and has helped to create and launch several educational programs, such as Quest and the After School Homework program. Gabrielle is passionate about education and making a difference in the lives of her students. She is currently the Helping Teacher and the science teacher at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School. She lives in Morris Township with her husband Eric and her son RJ.

Sandra Gibson
As a biology teacher at Morristown High School for 31 1/2 years, Sandra Gibson became a supporter of MEF. Now retired, she is serving her seventh year as a Morris Educational Foundation trustee and is Chairperson of the Scholarship committee. She also serves on the Grant and Nominating/By-laws committees. Sandra and her husband Charles have been residents of Morris Township for 43 years. Their children attended Morris School District schools and are alumni of MHS.

Kathy Heher
Kathy grew up in Brielle, New Jersey, and graduated from St. Lawrence University with a Bachelor of Science degree in political science. She then worked in New York City in the commercial insurance and reinsurance industry. Kathy and her husband, Greg, settled in Morris Township fourteen years ago to raise their four daughters, Brady, Madison, Keegan, and Logan. She is now an active volunteer in the Morris School District and has served in leadership roles in numerous schools. Kathy has also been an active member of the Junior League of Morristown. Most recently she co-chaired the JLM‚ premier fundraiser, Luncheon with the Authors.

Paul Hughes
Paul and his wife, Kathy, have two children who graduated from the Morris School District: Erin, who graduated from Notre Dame and is a high school teacher in East Los Angeles and Shannon, who is a student at Providence College. Paul served on the Morris School Board of Education when the Foundation was established. Paul was born and raised in Morristown, is a CPA, and has worked for CIT in Livingston for the past twenty-one years.

Sharon Laconi
Sharon and her husband, Ron, have lived in Morris Township for thirteen years. Sharon grew up in Western Pennsylvania, and she and her family have lived in Ohio, California and Wisconsin prior to moving to New Jersey. After working for fifteen years in the insurance industry, Sharon decided to return to her first love of teaching. Now a teacher at Normandy Park School, Sharon serves on numerous district-wide committees. Sharon is also an active member of the Morris Plains Presbyterian Church.

Mark Livingston
Mark and his wife Lynn have lived in Morris Township for over fifteen years. Their children attend the Hillcrest and Alexander Hamilton schools. Mark is a Senior Vice President-Investments at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. He serves as Warden of St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Essex Fells, chairs the church's Planned Giving committee and serves on their Investment and Finance committees. Mark is also a member of the Finance and Long Range Planning committee of the Estling Lake Corporation of Denville, NJ. Mark's wife Lynn is a past president of the Hillcrest HSA and is presently a teaching assistant at Normandy Park. Lynn's father is a past principal of Morristown High School.

Claire Mackin
Claire moved to New Jersey in 1998 from St. Petersburg, Florida, where she was a commercial interior designer and space planner. Currently, she is a design consultant, the Chair of the MEF Strategic Marketing & Communications committee, and a Co-founder and President of P.A.C.E. (Parent Advocacy Council for Education) in the Morris School District. Claire is a graduate of Ringling College of Art and Design and Eckerd College, where she is a member of the Alumni Board. Claire and her husband, Scott, are the parents of three boys.

Jim Remler
Jim joined the board in 2011. He is a lifelong resident of Morris County, and he and his wife Dorothy have been calling Morris Township home since 1999. Jim has three children in the district currently: Daniel and Jennifer are students at Morristown High School, and Allison is a student at Frelinghuysen Middle School. Jim has spent most of his career on Wall Street and is currently a Financial Representative at Thrivent Financial. Prior to joining the board Jim chaired the Team Up for Turf committee and is a former President and coach of the Morristown Junior Colonial Lacrosse Club.

Noel Robinson
Noel recently retired after forty-one years at County College of Morris where she was a Professor of English and Coordinator of Journalism and Communications. She and her husband, Charles, have lived in Morristown and Morris Township for many years. Their children, Chip, an attorney, and Meg, a manager with a charter school group, are graduates of Morristown High School. Formerly, Noel was a Sunday school teacher, a Girl Scout leader, and a Boy Scout leader and committee chair. She has been a lector at Assumption church for sixteen years and is the new Chair of the Morris Township Democrats.

Edward T. Myers
A lifelong resident of Morris Plains and Morris Township, Ed is a graduate of Morristown High School ('85) and Providence College. He is a business management and operations consultant and has worked for over twenty years in the insurance and financial services industry with The Navigators Group, New York Life, MetLife, and Mass Mutual. Ed joined the MEF Board of Trustees in 2009 and is the President of the Alumni Association of MHS. He is Co-Chair of the MHS Athletic Gallery of Honor committee and Chairperson of MHS Coalition, a cooperative of all organizations and clubs that support MHS. Ed is also a scout leader and a soccer coach with Morris United Soccer Club. Ed and his wife, Mary, have three children - Selia, Aidan, and Ciaran - who are fifth generation Morris School District students.

Kim Pistner
Kim joined the MEF Board of Trustees in 2010. She is an active volunteer in the Morris School District, serving as HSA President, PAC President, and committee member of the Guidance Committee and Project Graduation committee at the high school. Kim worked in the jewelry business with Zale Corporation before moving to New Jersey in 1992. She and her husband, John, are the parents of Blake (MHS'11) and Chase (MHS'04).

Leonard D. Posey
Leonard joined the MEF Board of Trustees in 2009. He moved to Morristown in 1993 and has been active in the Morris School District and community boards and committees. Leonard served as President of the Board of Education in the Morris School District. He serves on the finance committee of his church, St. Matthew AME in Orange, is a former board member of the Colonial Symphony, and is currently the Board Chair of the Urban League of Morris County. He has also been active with the Hope Chest Foundation. Leonard is the Managing Director of the NJ/Delaware Valley region for Lee Hecht Harrison, a global talent development company. He and his wife, Lois, are parents of two adult children, both graduates of MHS. He received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Eastern Michigan University and Central Michigan University.

Ann Rhines
Ann Rhines began teaching in the Morris Township school system in 1962. In addition to her teaching, mentoring, and creating the SURE program (a language program for grades 4 and 5), she was a member of the Curriculum Council and a consultant in whole language and assessment for many years. She retired from the Morris School District in 2001. In 2003, she was elected to the Board of Education and is now in her third term. She has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the MEF since 2001 and is Chair of its Grant Committee.

Fran Rossoff
Fran was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from the University of Illinois. She was Head Nurse in the Intensive Care Unit at Rush North Shore Medical Center in Illinois for ten years and a nursing supervisor for three years. Fran moved to Morristown when her husband, Rabbi Donald Rossoff, became Rabbi at Temple B'nai Or. Here, she became involved in the public schools attended by her children, Marc, Jenna, Ilana, and Nathaniel. She served on the Middle School SEED committee and on the district committee which initiated the multiage magnet school. Fran volunteers at the Community Soup Kitchen and on projects for Temple B'nai Or. She works for Coram Health Care in Totawa and Services and Resources for Seniors in Morristown.

Jill Savage
Jill has lived in Convent Station for fifteen years with her husband, Jeff. Both have been active volunteers in the school district and on the sports fields with their two sons, Charlie, a sophomore at MHS, and Jonathan, an eighth grader at Frelinghuysen Middle School. Jill has been in non-profit development for the last ten years, working with the Alumna Director at the Academy of St. Elizabeth, Development Director for the Morris Center YMCA, and now is the Director of Community Building Partnerships with The Angeletti Group. Prior to her non-profit fundraising career, Jill was in advertising sales for Reed Elsivier and The New Yorker magazine. Jill is a active member of Morristown Rotary, where she is the advisor to the MHS Interact Group.

Molly Servais
Molly and her husband, Mike, have lived in Morris Township for twelve years. They have two children, Ryan and Maggie, who are students at Frelinghuysen Middle School and Morristown High School. Molly is a native of Michigan where she still spends her summers. Molly has been an active volunteer in the MSD, serving on the Normandy Park HSA Executive Board, producing the school musicals and chairing cultural arts committees. Prior to having children, Molly worked in non-profit management doing fundraising and marketing. She has worked for the Somerset Hills YMCA, Junior Achievement of Western Pennsylvania, and the Arthritis Foundation. Molly serves as the Chair of the MEF Fundraising committee.

Philip Sibona
Phil was born and raised in Madison, NJ. He attended Newbury College in Boston and has worked in corporate sales most of his adult life, now working as a National Account Manager for Verizon Wireless. Phil lives in Morris Township with his wife, Jessica, and their two daughters, Chloe and Molly. He is a dedicated community volunteer, coaching for girls soccer, softball, and Little League. He and his family regularly travel to Guatemala with From Houses to Homes to construct new homes for poverty-stricken families. Phil is the Chair of the MEF Colonial Challenge 5K Run planning committee.

Marcie Yarnis
Marcie has lived in Morris Township for ten years. Her children are students at Frelinghuysen Middle School and Morristown High School. Marcie served on the HSA board at Alfred Vail and Sussex schools. Led by her passion for the importance of reading to young children, she helped implement the lap-reading program at Alfred Vail and ran the program for six years. Marcie volunteered with the Junior Grade Book program and the Second Grade Book Club at Alfred Vail. Marcie has donated her time to numerous district committees. She worked with the Think Tank committee that proposed and activated plans for raising math scores on statewide tests in Morris School District schools.

Melissa Spiotta
Melissa is a graduate of Morristown High School ('85) and has been back in Morris Township with her husband, Marc, and her daughter, Makena, a first grader at Hillcrest School, since 2002. She received a B.A. in Sociology from Bucknell University followed by an M.A. in Organizational Behavior from Fairleigh Dickinson University. She spent most of her career at JPMorgan Chase where she was most recently the Vice President in charge of nationwide retail branch training organization. She is currently an executive coach and social media consultant. Active in the community, Melissa is the outgoing President of the H.S.A. at Hillcrest School, a board member of the Collinsville Day Care, Community Relations and Scholarship Chair for the Junior League of Morristown, and an active volunteer for the United Way.

Kit Hall
Kit and her husband Ken have lived in Morris Township for almost twenty years with their three children, Nick (MHS '10), Sam (MHS '13) and Julia (MHS '16).  Kit began her career in marketing and sales at Citicorp in New York City and Washington D.C. For the past six years she has done fundraising for non-profit organizations.  Kit is an alumna of Brown University. An active volunteer in the community, Kit served as President of the Junior League of Morristown and as a Board Trustee of the Neighborhood House and Girls, Inc. of Northern NJ..

Dr. Thomas Ficarra, Morris School District Superintendent
Alison B Schweikhart, Administrative Assistant
Stephen B Wiley, Chair Emeritus
Alan S. Painter, Chair Emeritus
Connie J. Hagelin, Chair Emeritus
Katherine Henckler, Chair Emeritus