Board of Trustees

Hector and his wife, Judy Martinez, have been residents of Morristown for 32 years. Their children, Jessie (MHS '10) and Myles (MHS '13), went through the Morris School District. Hector joined the MEF Board of Trustees in 2018. He also currently serves on the board of Arts By The People, has co-chaired special projects for Preschool Advantage and was a board member of Cornerstone Family Programs for approximately 15 years, serving as board chair from 2016-2018. Prior to retiring in 2017, Hector was a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers specializing in human resources matters in the context of corporate mergers and acquisitions. Hector earned his undergraduate degree in business administration from Rutgers University and retired as an Associate in the Society of Actuaries, the American Academy of Actuaries and as an Enrolled Actuary.

Melanie and her husband Alan moved to Morris Township in 2006 and spent 3 years, between 2014 and 2017 as expats in Shanghai, China. Since moving back full time to New Jersey, Melanie joined Impact 100 Garden State and serves on both the Non-Profit Outreach and PR/Communications committee. She is a member of the Morris County Chapter of Jack & Jill of America, Inc. where she is an elected officer of the board and serves as Program Director for the chapter. She has also volunteered at various events at Thomas Jefferson Elementary and Frelinghuysen Middle School where her daughter, Ava, currently attends. Her older daughter, Alina, attends Lehigh University where she plays Division I volleyball. Alan, a human resource executive, is a member of the MSD Board of Education and serves on its HR and Finance committees.

Before leaving the corporate workforce, Melanie worked for several companies and industries as a marketing professional and holds a BS degree from Georgetown University and an MS from Johns Hopkins University. Melanie enjoys exercising and holds a certification from AFAA for group fitness instruction.

Katherine joined the MEF Board of Trustees in 2017. She has been an active volunteer in the Morris School District, serving as PTO President at Thomas Jefferson School and Treasurer and Cultural Arts Chair at Woodland School. Katherine previously worked as a VP of Finance at NBC Universal and has experience in financial planning and analysis, project management, and strategy and development. She is an alumna of both Villanova University and Rutgers Business School and has a C.P.A in the State of NJ. Katherine and her husband, Joseph, have been residents of Morris Township since 2002 and are the parents of Madelyn and Jack, both students in the Morris School District.

Kim joined the MEF Board of Trustees in 2010. She was an active volunteer in the Morris School District, serving as HSA President, PAC President, and committee member of the Guidance Committee and Project Graduation committees at the high school during her children’s tenures in the MSD. She and her husband, John, are the parents of Blake (MHS’11) and Chase (MHS’04) She is currently the Chair of the MEF Board Governance committee. Kim is a Certified Education Foundation Leader through the National School Foundation Association’s program.

Patty and her husband Greg have lived in Morristown since 1996. They have three sons, Christopher (MHS ’14), Luke (MHS ‘17) and Evan (MHS ‘21). Patty has been a tireless volunteer on behalf of the Morris School District as her boys went through its various schools. Most recently, she served as the Chair of the MEF from 2017-2020, and prior to that served in the capacity of MEF Treasurer for 9 years. She has an undergraduate degree from Cornell University and Masters in Public Administration from New York University.

Joshua joined the MEF Board of Trustees in 2018. He is a Morristown High School graduate and has resided in Morris Township for most of his life. He is the managing partner of Beinhaker & Beinhaker, LLC, a general practice law firm located in Morristown. Joshua’s wife, Marylynn, is a kindergarten teacher at the Woodland School. He is an alumni of both the University of Maryland and Seton Hall Law School. He and his wife have two young boys, Grady and Ezekiel, in the Morris School District.

Hallie and her husband, Jeff, have lived in Morris Township since 2007. Their three children, Charlie (12), Simon (10), and Rosie (6), attend Frelinghuysen Middle School, Alexander Hamilton Elementary School and Hillcrest Elementary School, respectively. Hallie grew up in Short Hills and has a degree in Sociology from Tufts University. Prior to having children, Hallie worked at MTV Networks in Standards & Practices. For the last 8 years, she has been the office manager for a prominent NYC psychologist. Her husband, Jeff, is a partner at the Morristown-based law firm, Riker, Danzig, Scherer, Hyland & Perretti. Hallie has been highly involved in the MSD for a number of years, serving as HSA president for Hillcrest School from 2015-2017. Hallie and her family are members at Temple B'nai Or, where she teaches Sunday school.

As a life time member of the Morristown community, Amanda has been a tireless professional and volunteer for local non-profits, including the United Way of Northern New Jersey, where she was the Women’s Leadership Council Manager, and campaign manager for approximately 150 annual corporate workplace initiatives. As a volunteer, she is an active member of the Junior League of Morristown, where she served as president, and The Presbyterian Church in Morristown. Amanda has also held various leadership roles in the Morris School District Home & School Associations. She and her husband, Bill, are the parents of Paige (MHS ’16) and Lucy (MHS ‘18). Amanda is a proud alumna of the Morristown High School.

Caitlin joined the MEF Board of Trustees in 2020. She graduated from Morristown High School in 2013 and currently resides in Parsippany. She is an active volunteer for local non-profits including, Nourish NJ, The Spring Street CDC and St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Morristown. Caitlin currently works for the Mayor & Business Administration office in the Town of Morristown.

Katie joined the MEF Board of Trustees in 2020. She and her husband, Yemi, have lived in Morristown since 2008 and have three daughters in the Morris School District. She has been an active volunteer in the Morris School District, serving as HSA President at Hillcrest School and Alexander Hamilton. Katie earned a BA in Education from Smith College has taught in New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. After a long career in education spanning teaching, delivering professional development, and designing curriculum in public and private schools, Katie is currently Head of School for Fusion Academy in Morristown. She is deeply committed to equitable education, and the opportunities the Morris School District offers. Katie loves watching Colonial Basketball and the myriad of musical talents the district has to offer!

Peter Croonquist and his wife Christine, an MHS grad, have been Morristown residents for more than 20 years. Their children, Andrew and Kate, have also attended our schools. A senior vice president/investments at Janney Montgomery Scott, Peter has overseen client portfolios and investments for over 25 years. He serves on several non-profit boards including The Salvation Army of Morristown (since 1996- past Chair); The Bergen Family Center (since 2000, current Chair); and, the Development Council of the Archdiocese of Newark (since 2010). Peter earned his bachelor’s degree in economics and finance from the University of Scranton and was designated an Accredited Wealth Management Advisor by The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Kristen Cunningham, CPA, CFP® is a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Financial Planner. Kristen is the owner of Regal Tax Advisors LLC. In this capacity, Kristen is responsible for providing tax consulting and compliance services to her clients. During her career, she has worked at both Deloitte and PwC.

Kristen graduated from Rutgers College with a BS degree in Accounting and Spanish. She has her Masters of Taxation from Seton Hall University. She is a CPA, certified in the State of New Jersey. She is a member of the NJSCPA and AICPA.

Kristen currently resides in Morristown, NJ with her husband, Tom, an Executive Director at Merck & Co. and her three children, Ryan (22), Madeline (16) & Kieran (16).

Mary has been a resident of Morristown for over 20 years and has two daughters, Lauren (MHS ’15) and Tara (MHS ’19). She has volunteered for a variety of different school organizations throughout her children’s education in the Morris School District. She graduated with a bachelors degree from the University of Minnesota and a masters degree in Business Administration from DePaul University. She also has a law degree from Rutgers University and an LLM from New York University. She currently is employed at Connell Foley LLP in Roseland, where she focuses on Tax, Trusts and Estates.

Kathy grew up in Brielle, N.J., and graduated from St. Lawrence University with a bachelor of science degree in political science. She has been a resident of Morris Township for 27 years, moving here from NYC to start her family with her husband, Greg. Kathy is proud that all four of her daughters, Brady, Madison, Keegan and Logan were educated in the Morris School District. Over her twenty years as a parent in the District, she served in many leadership roles from HSAs to booster clubs to Project Graduation. Kathy has been an active volunteer in the community as a former board member of Cornerstone Partners and the Junior League of Morristown. Most recently she has been a substitute teacher and a tutor at FMS.

Kathleen joined the MEF Board of Trustees in 2020. She has been an active volunteer in the Morris School District serving at various times as HSA President and Secretary at Alfred Vail and Sussex Avenue Schools and also has served as Co-President of HSA President’s Council.

Kathleen also serves on the Board of Directors of the Skating Club of Morris.

Kathleen is currently a legal consultant at Citigroup and previously worked at Barclays Capital and Lehman Brothers. She attended Seton Hall Law School and Wellesley College. Kathleen and her husband Tom have lived in Morris Township since 1999 and are the parents of Elise, Cora and Tommy who are currently students in the Morris School District.

Jody Marcus is a consultant/contractor in the Morristown area experienced in development, management, social media and marketing. She has worked at the Morris County Tourism Bureau as Assistant Director, Raritan Headwaters Association as the Director of Development and was Curator at the Morris Museum. Jody was a founding member and executive director of the Community Children’s Museum in Dover and is a board member of Children on the Green. She has a master’s in industrial design from Pratt Institute and a bachelor’s degree in cultural anthropology from the University of Massachusetts. Jody was a substitute teacher in the Morris School District for four years and has two children who graduated from Morristown High School.

Karen McAllister is the Director of Compensations and a Global Total Rewards Leader at Seattle Genetics. She previously worked for Merck, Novartis and several other pharmaceutical companies. Karen currently serves on the MEF's Governance and Scholarship Committees. She is involved in the Morris School District and Boston College as an Alumni Admissions Volunteer. Karen is also an active member in several professions organizations including World at Work, Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), and Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA). Karen is married to Kevin McAllister, and they have three children: Colin, a Junior at Loyola University of Maryland and a 2018 graduate of Morristown High School; Christopher, a Freshman at Boston and a 2020 graduate of Oratory Prep; and Courtney, a Sophomore at Morristown High School. They have lived in Morris Township for over 20 years.

Patrick McGuinn is Professor of Political Science and Education at Drew University and a Senior Researcher at the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE). He holds a Ph.D. in Government and a M.Ed. in Education Policy from the University of Virginia. Patrick’s research and teaching focus on American politics and public policy, and in particular, education policy. He directs Drew’s Model United Nations program, which brings over 300 students from FMS and other area middle schools to campus each year. Patrick served on the Board of the Inter-Faith Food Pantry for four years and coached youth rec soccer for Morris United for 15 years. He is a former high school social studies teacher and has three daughters in the Morris School District, as well as another who recently graduated from MHS.

Christine lives in Morristown with her husband and two young children. She received a Bachelors degree in Education from Wagner College and a Masters Degree in Psychology from New York University. Passionate about child development, she has been an educator for 15 years and is currently Learning Disabilities Teacher Consultant at Frelinghuysen Middle School.

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 fifth term. She has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the MEF since 2001 and is chair of its Grant Committee.

Molly Servais began her tenure on the MEF Board of Trustees in 2009. She served as board chair for three years and has chaired the friends campaign, strategic planning and board governance committees. She is currently chair of Morristown Onstage and co-chair of the scholarship committee. Molly has two children, Ryan (’14) and Maggie (’16) who are alumni of the Morris School District and was an active HSA and school volunteer while her children were on their K-12 educational journey. She and her family have lived in Morristown since 1998. Molly is a nonprofit management and fundraising consultant. She has worked for national non-profit organizations including the Arthritis Foundation, Junior Achievement and the YMCA.

Sang and her husband Fred have lived in Morristown since 2003. They have two sons, Max and Tommy, who are students in the Morris School District. Sang is an active volunteer in the Morris School District, serving on HSA Executive Boards and chairing numerous committees. She grew up in New York City and attended Barnard College and New York University. Prior to having children, Sang worked as a corporate bond analyst for Credit Suisse and DLJ.

Chris has been a Morristown resident for 18 years. He and his wife Christine have been active in Morristown through the Presbyterian Church on the Green and community organizations Grow it Green Morristown and Morris Habitat for Humanity. Their two daughters were educated in the district from Woodland School up through MHS. Chris has a PhD in Statistics from the University of Washington, and has worked as a data scientist for AT&T for 23 years.

Christopher Wilson is currently Vice President of Consultant Relations for the Caremark division of CVS Health. He joined Caremark in 2013 after holding a similar role at Medco Health. His career in health care benefits has also included local, regional and national Sales leadership roles at United Healthcare, Prudential and Value Options. Chris earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Springfield College and a Master of Arts degree from the University of Rhode Island. He and his wife Allison reside in Morristown.

Marcie and her husband Glenn moved to Morris Township from New York City in 1996 to raise their two children, Samantha (MHS ’13) and Josh (currently a sophomore at MHS). Marcie has been an active volunteer in the MSD serving in various leadership positions on the Alfred Vail and Sussex Ave. School HSA Executive Boards, implementing and running a reading program at Alfred Vail for six years, and serving on the House Board and Visionary Planning Board at FMS for House of the Phoenix. She is currently serving in her seventh year on the MEF and co-chairs the School Liaison Committee.