Board Of Directors

Nayibe Capellan
CEO, Programs for Parents

Robert E Patrick, CCFO
Chair

Larry Tamburri, MBA
Vice-Chair

Jeniece D. McClary, MBA
Treasurer

Erin Balkema-Leegwater, MBA
Secretary

Magdalena Czerniawski, CPA
Andre T. Fryson
Keith Green
Diane Hill, Ph.D
Lance LaVergne, MBA
Reinaldo Santiago, Ph.D
Debra Shannon, Esq
Patricia Shatynski, Esq
Kevin Michael Slater
Pamela Taylor

Nayibe Capellan

CEO, Programs for Parents

Nayibe Capellan will officially take on the role of Programs for Parents, Inc. CEO on March 27, 2023. Programs for Parents (PfP) is the largest child care and resource and referral agency in the state of New Jersey. It provides services to over 1200 child care providers in Essex County and financial assistance to over 10,000 children monthly to help pay for child care services. PfP also provides professional development opportunities for individuals working in the field of Early Care and Education and training and support services for parents of young children.

Prior to joining PfP her previous job was with Project Ready as the Chief of Staff, where she served as an advocate for education and social justice. She led a series of community education campaigns, educational justice projects and advocacy initiatives designed to empower, inform and civically educate the community to overhaul systems and policies. Nayibe previously served as Special Assistant for Newark Public Schools (NPS), Office of Early Childhood. In this role, she managed the Family and Community Engagement programming for Newark Pre-Kindergarten and Head Start programs, serving over 80+ early childhood centers and approximately 7,000 families. Some of her accomplishments include increasing preschool enrollment by 10% and serving on the team that aided in securing $7 million in Head Start grant funding for Newark Public Schools. Prior to joining the Newark Public Schools, she served as the Assistant Director and Adjunct Professor for Public Policy at Saint Peter’s University. With over 15 years of professional experience, she has also held various roles in the private and non-profit sectors which include serving as a Family Worker, Family Worker Coordinator, Trainer, Probation Officer, Early Childhood Specialist and Assistant Director of a preschool program.

Her educational accomplishments include a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology with a minor in African-American Studies from Montclair State University, A Master’s Degree in Administrative Science with a Certificate in Non-Profit Organizational Development from Fairleigh Dickinson University and a Master’s Degree in Education with a concentration in School Counseling from Saint Peter’s University. She also has a Supervisor in Education Certificate from Montclair State University.

As a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated and former Vice President of Public Policy for the New Jersey Association of Education for Young Children, Nayibe is committed to serving her community and advocating for education. She was recently awarded the 2018 Leaders and Legends in Early Childhood Award from Program for Parents

Her most significant accomplishment is becoming a mom. She is the proud mother of a 13-year-old boy.

Robert E Patrick, CCFO

Chair

Bob has more than 20 years’ experience as a successful and highly experienced CFO Consultant and entrepreneur. He heads the firms Not-For-Profit, Entertainment and Professional Services Practices. His experience includes being the Interim CFO for a private companies and not-for-profit organizations, providing GAAP guidance and compliance services, business plan development for the purpose of raising capital and overall business growth. Bob brings to clients a very unique blend of a highly-skilled hand selected team of talented CFOs and his own talents as a seasoned entrepreneur. He combines these skills with business vision and a passion to help build successful companies.

Prior to co-founding Robert Patrick & Company, Bob career included senior level positions at Regional CPA and consulting firms as a senior auditor and corporate tax consultant. Bob performed audits and extended consulting roles for middle market and large not-for-profit companies.

Since its inception Bob has lead the his firm to become a premier provider of highly-skilled, middle market-experienced CFOs to a diversified client base in many different industries throughout the U.S.

Bob is a co-founder and member of the Association of Certified Chief Financial Officers. He holds a BS in Accounting from Rutgers University, and he is a Certified Chief Financial Officer (CCFO).

Jeniece McClary, MBA

Treasurer

Jeniece is a successful entrepreneur providing wealth management services for families and businesses.

She enjoys partnering with clients to organize their surplus to align with their vision and create long term financial security.  She is passionate about serving her community, and throughout her long-standing career has been a trusted advisor, mentor, and advocate to many.

Jeniece hails from Bronx, New York. Faith, and family are her guiding lights.  She is a proud mom to Jarred, Jourdan, Josiah, and Jaxson, “Glamma” to Aleya, and wife to Joseph.  Not to mention every family, client, and business she serves, is also a part of her extended tribe.

Larry Tamburri, MBA

Vice-Chair

Lawrence Tamburri has published numerous articles on arts management, music and symphony orchestras. He has been a presenter for the League of American Orchestras, The Association of British Orchestras, The American Assembly, and the Salzburg Seminar. as well as acting as a consultant for The U.S. Department of State and The Fund for Arts and Culture. Tamburri was a lecturer in Arts Management at SUNY Purchase for eight years until retiring in 2020. He has served as a member of the Adjunct Faculty of Seton Hall University’s Graduate Arts Administration program, as well as the Adjunct Faculty of Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz School of Public Policy. Larry is a board member of the Marvin Hamlisch International Music Awards. In the past he was a board member, as well as president, of the Newark Arts Council and ArtPride NJ.

Lawrence Tamburri has been the Executive Director of the Newark School of the Arts since April 2013. He served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) from 2004 to 2011. Prior to joining the PSO, he served in the same capacity for the New Jersey from 1991-2003, as well as the Savannah and New Hampshire Symphony Orchestras.

Erin Balkema-Leegwater, MBA

Secretary

Erin Balkema-Leegwater is currently a Global Director of Marketing with the Surgical Complication Solutions business at Becton Dickinson (BD), a leading Medical Device company.  She joined BD in August of 2012 and has since held several roles of increasing responsibility within several business units across the company.

Erin and her team are responsible for setting and driving the commercial execution strategy of key products in the EMEA, Greater China, Central and Southeast Asia and Latin America markets.   As a part of her role, she works closely with Regional teams from around the world to drive market expansion efforts and new product launches, while also supporting business continuity efforts and product lifecycle management.  She has extensive experience with segmentation, positioning and messaging and has also had a broad array of experience with innovation, most recently leading the assessment of the commercial opportunity and viability of an early-stage product innovation.

Prior to working at BD,  Erin worked in Pharmaceutical sales for Eli Lilly’s Neuroscience Division

Erin graduated with a Bachelor of Music from Syracuse University.  She recently completed her Master of Business Administration through Duke’s Fuqua School of Business.

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