Our Board of Trustees

  • John Hart, Chair

    John Hart has spent the last 25 years helping those most in need in some of the area’s most challenging environments. A social researcher, former high-ranking NJ official, non-profit leader and entrepreneur, John brings his varied experience and his commitment to continued improvement to Isles as Chief Operating Officer.

  • Genevieve Thayer, Vice Chair

    Genevieve spent the entirety of her 23-year career in the wealth management and financial services industry, of which the last several years include her role as Co-Founder of Beacon Partners. As a former business consultant and executive and leadership coach for independent financial advisors, she is a critical thinker and problem solver and excels at designing solutions to improve processes and building efficiencies into the day-to-day operations of an organization.

  • Phyllis Tsai, Treasurer

    Phyllis has over 20 years of experience in public accounting with responsibilities encompassing planning, supervising, and performing audit functions as well as the review of corporate and individual income tax returns. She serviced clients ranging from small privately owned businesses to large publicly traded corporations.

  • Zoe Brookes

    Zoe Brookes serves as School Administrator for the Waldorf School of Princeton. She is a co-founder of the Trenton Circus Squad and former COO of Isles Inc, so has first hand experience of what it takes to run a nonprofit in New Jersey's capital city.

  • Joe Eisele

    Joe Eisele brings over 25 years of experience in mass media, including a six-year tenure as Publisher of The Princeton Packet. Currently Joe is a Client Relations Executive, Strategic Accounts, for Holman Enterprises, a global automotive fleet management company.

  • Jessica Figueroa

    Jessica Figueroa is the Marketing Manager at the United Way of Greater Mercer County, and has 7+ years working for nationally recognized non-profit organizations. She also volunteers with HISPA (Hispanics Inspiring Students’ Performance and Achievement) to inspire students to reach their dreams of higher education.

  • Tanice Fitzpatrick

    Tanice Fitzpatrick worked at various firms in Washington DC, Boston, NYC and LA as a corporate interior designer. For the past 35 years she's had her own Architectual Design firm, Fitzpatrick and Associates, LLC. Prior to the merger which created Capital Harmony Works, Tanice was involved with Trenton Children’s Chorus for nearly 25 years, taking on various roles, including mother of two choir members, choir mom, Board member and Board president.

  • Mathias Hemberger

    Mathias Hemberger has over 30+ years of multifaceted international business experience at large global organizations. He is a forward-thinking business leader who motivates commercial teams to drive growth and channel the efforts of the whole organization to deliver profitable revenues by communicating clearly strategic objectives and priorities.

  • Anthony Mack

    Tony serves as the Leadership Development Training Team Lead with the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute. He provides leadership coaching, training, technical assistance and organizational consulting to public and Tribal child welfare agencies throughout the country. Additionally, he is a Part-time Lecturer for the Rutgers University- School of Communications and Information.

  • Jessica Moore

    As founder of ThriveWise Solutions LLC, Jessica provides Human Resources expertise and solutions. Her breadth of experience includes both HR Business Partnership, inclusive of coaching and organization design, in addition to her expertise in people operations and project implementations.

  • Dr. Anniesha Walker, Trustee

    Dr. Anniesha Walker is the founder and CEO of Purposeful Pathway Consultants, a multicultural group counseling and consulting practice. Dr. Walker has earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from The College of New Jersey, a Masters of Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Doctorate in Clinical Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania.

  • Valerie Popp, Trustee

    Valerie L. Popp is a program builder, grant maker, and public humanities expert with nearly a decade of experience in cultural philanthropy. As Director of Strategic Initiatives at the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, she envisions and leads programs, events, and sponsorships that contribute to New Jersey's diverse humanities landscape. She also has worked as an institutional giving manager for national nonprofits and as a researcher for New York Times-bestselling financial journalist Beth Kobliner. A proud first-generation college graduate and trained (if rusty) clarinetist, Valerie holds a B.A. in English literature from Yale University and a M.A. and Ph.D. in English literature from the University of California, Los Angeles. Valerie resides with her husband in West Windsor.

  • Ashley Moran, Trustee

    Ashley Moran, MBA, is currently the Program Manager for EPICS in IEEE at IEEE in Piscataway NJ. She has over 10 years of volunteer support, program management and communications/marketing experience. She has been with IEEE since 2019 and most recently was a program manager for the IEEE Standards Association. Ashley has a passion for giving back to her community and for supporting the education and wellbeing of children in New Jersey. Ashley lives in Flemington, NJ with her husband, Tim, and her twin boys, Finnegan, and Gavin. Ashley and her husband have a love for music and are thrilled to see that their toddlers are already developing a love for music as well.

  • Karen Palmer Richardson, Trustee

    Karen Richardson, a native Trentonian, was educated in the Trenton Public School System and graduated from Trenton Central High School. Karen attended Tuskegee University and attained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Animal Science and further pursued a career in Animal Husbandry. Karen spent 35 years as the Supervisor of Virology Testing with the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, Animal Health Division. Karen is the mother of two sons and very close to her extended family. Karen is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and a lifelong member of Shiloh Baptist Church in Trenton, New Jersey where she serves as president of the Trustee Aide Board.