Board of Directors
Gina Chung Fortt has been an educator and an advocate for family involvement in schools for nearly 25 years. With an undergraduate degree in Elementary Education from the University of Illinois and a master’s degree in Education and Reading Specialist credential from University of California-Berkeley, she has worked with students as both a classroom teacher and a reading specialist. Today, as the parent of an elementary school and a middle school student, she is passionate about helping families, schools and community organizations connect to provide a richer and more meaningful learning experience for all students. She loves to travel, read books and enjoys film and theater. Gina has lived in Montclair with her husband and two sons since 2013.
Emily Hagen is an executive coach, leadership and organizational consultant and owner of Hagen Leadership Consulting. She has over 20 years experience working as a management consultant, HR leader and coach at leading management consulting, payments and financial services organizations. Emily received a MBA from Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management and a BBA from the University of San Diego. She has lived on both coasts of the U.S. and currently lives in Montclair with her husband, two children and dog.
Jennifer Dann Phillips earned Master’s degrees in Public Administration and Women’s studies from New York University, and a Bachelor’s degree in English and Arts History from Tufts University. Jennifer worked extensively in development, marketing, and program analysis at Clara Maass Medical Center, St. Vincent’s Medical Center, the Anti-Defamation League, St. Martin’s Press, and the NYC Equal Employment Practices Commission. Jennifer has lived in Montclair since 1999, raising three daughters with her husband and lovingly renovating and restoring a century-old home. Jennifer is a book artist of handmade books and paper. She volunteers at MPL, Temple Sholom of West Essex and Master Gardeners of Essex County.
Jared Miller is a graduate of the University of Michigan. He currently is head of Debt Investor Relations at Citadel, a financial service firm. He spent 16 years in Investor Relations at Goldman Sachs where he helped lead the firm’s engagement with debt and equity investors and research analysts. Jared and his wife, Shara, are kept busy by their three children (who attend Hillside, Nishuane and pre-school). For the past few years Jared has been involved as a recreational soccer coach for his kids in Montclair United.
Sheila Boyd has a long career in human resources, working previously at NPR and Microsoft. Ms. Boyd currently works at Disney, supporting ABC News Digital, and has provided diversity, equity & inclusion consulting for a variety of clients in the nonprofit space. Ms. Boyd’s nonprofit board experience also includes the Wight Foundation and KIPP NJ.
Eileen Brackenbury has worked in the historic preservation field for 15+ years in New York, Boston, and San Francisco, on projects including the Public Theater in NYC, the California State Capitol, and the Yale University Art Gallery. She previously worked in magazine publishing and as a web producer. She received a Master’s degree in Historic Preservation from Boston University and a Bachelor’s degree in History and Dance from Connecticut College. Prior to moving to Montclair in 2021, she served on the board of the Wellesley Education Foundation. Spending time at libraries is both Eileen’s job and her passion. Eileen lives in Montclair with her husband, their three children, and two cats.
Michael Cocco is a Certified Financial Planner and the Managing Partner of Beacon Wealth Partners (a platinum firm within Equitable Advisors). He has been inducted into the Equitable Advisors Hall of Fame and attended the Equitable Institute at Harvard University. Mike earned a B.S. in Economics from Penn State University and is past president of the Northern New Jersey chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association and served as an at-large director of the Penn State Smeal College of Business Alumni Society Board. He also previously was a board member of the Four Diamonds Fund, which has a mission to conquer childhood cancer, as well as board member with the Nutley Family Service Bureau, an organization that helps provide affordable mental and health counseling and social service programs. Mike currently resides in Montclair with his wife, Katie, and their children, Rosie and Charlie.
Aman D’Mello is a licensed social worker with over twenty years of experience advocating for vulnerable children and families. Currently, she works at the Newark Board of Education to identify and address the needs of children with disabilities. Ms. D’Mello also has extensive experience on non-profit boards, including The Children's Law Center in NYC and the Brooklyn Young Mothers' Collective. She is a volunteer advocate for CASA for Children of Essex County and a member of AAPI-Montclair. Ms. D’Mello lives in Montclair with her husband and their two children.
Dagmara Domińczyk immigrated to the United States from Poland at the age of seven. Her father was a founding member of the labor union Solidarnosc which endeavored to bring down the totalitarian regime in Poland, and the family arrived in NYC as political refugees in 1983. Dag grew up in Flatbush, across from the street from a branch of the beloved Brooklyn Public Library, which she went to every day. After graduating from LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and Performing Arts, and subsequently from Carnegie Mellon’s prestigious School of Drama, Dagmara embarked on an acting career. For over twenty years now, she has worked in films, television, and on-and-off Broadway. Aside from acting, Dag’s other passion is writing. Her debut novel “The Lullaby of Polish Girls” was published by Random House in 2011 and she is currently working on a follow-up book. Dag lives in Montclair, NJ with her husband, actor Patrick Wilson, and their two teenage sons.
Rosemary Iversen is President of Montclair Holdings. A teacher of ESL/Spanish and English in the 1960s and ‘70s, Ms. Iversen has long been a leader in the community. Ms. Iversen has served on the boards of Unity Concerts, Essex Arts Council, YWCA Montclair, Luna Stage, Whole Theatre, the John J. Cali School of Music Board of Advisors at Montclair State University, the Foundation Board of BlueWaveNJ, the President’s Council of the National Breast Cancer Coalition, and the Bloomfield College Board of Trustees.
Marni Jessup is a professional bookseller and lifelong volunteer, committed to the causes of mental health, public education advocacy and assisting underserved members of the community. She previously worked in the field of behavioral psychology and the fashion industry. Ms. Jessup serves on the board of directors for the Montclair Fund for Educational Excellence. She believes passionately in the power of books and libraries, and their ability to transform, educate, and nurture our well-being. Ms. Jessup and her husband, Gary, have two children, Sammy (13) and June (7).
Seo Hee Koh has worked in undergraduate admissions for almost 20 years. She is deeply committed to increasing access to college and vocational training for at-risk youth. She volunteers with New City Kids in Jersey City. She has degrees from Johns Hopkins and New York University. Ms. Koh and her husband moved to Montclair with their three kids in 2018.
Kishore Krishnan is an Executive Director with Mizuho Americas Services where he manages the Project Management Office. He currently leads the technology operations and relationship management within the Client Lifecycle Management ‘CLM’ initiative(s). Prior to that he held several leadership roles managing technology and business solution enablement programs for MUFG and Dassault System’s PLM across multiple industry verticals. Kishore loves gardening, cooking, traveling and spends a lot of time with his dogs. He also works on several home projects on the weekends and enjoys watching movies. He earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Madras, India and a master certification course in CIO and business analytics from Wharton, University of Pennsylvania. Kishore lives with his wife, Shalini, and their two daughters along with their dogs, a Labrador and a Corgi.
Susan Mellin is Director of Advancement at the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Previously she held senior development roles at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. She has held development positions in a number of cultural and arts intuitions during her over 30 year career. She earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and a Masters in Art History and Museum Studies from Case Western Reserve University. She and her family have lived in Montclair for 18 years.
Jennifer Mellish has a B.S. in Public Health and a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey. She earned her Juris Doctor from Rutgers Law School, Newark, New Jersey. Following law school, she clerked for the Honorable Melvin S. Whitken, J.S.C., (Ret'd.), Presiding Judge, Family Part, Union County. She then entered private practice. Her passion for helping families inspired her to become a CASA advocate four years ago, where she volunteers her time helping foster children. She has served on the Executive Board of the Watchung Elementary School PTA and has managed many fundraising efforts for the Montclair Public Schools. Promoting Literacy among elementary students is of special importance to Jennifer and she has led the Watchung School Book Fair since 2012. She has also served as a Girl Scouts Leader for many years. More recently, she has become an advocate in the Right to Read movement. Jennifer is an avid reader, as are her three children. She believes that books can broaden your perspectives, brighten your world and most importantly should be accessible to everyone. Jennifer has lived in Montclair since 2011 with her husband Andrew, children Henry, Mabel and Eden plus the family's two dogs.
Henry Neff is the author-illustrator of six fantasy novels, including the 5-book “Tapestry” series (Random House) and IMPYRIUM (HarperCollins). Henry’s books have been translated into twenty languages and received critical acclaim, such as starred reviews, the Texas Bluebonnet and Lone-Star lists, the Missouri Truman Award, and Entertainment Weekly’s “Middle Grade Book of the Year”. His first novel for adults, THE WITCHSTONE, will arrive in 2024. Henry is a graduate of Cornell University and lives in Montclair, New Jersey with his wife and two boys. Before becoming a writer, he taught history at a high school in San Francisco and was a consultant for McKinsey & Company.
Elizabeth Rich leads the Feliciano Center for Entrepreneurship + Innovation at Montclair State University, where she works closely with both student and community entrepreneurs and small business owners to create impactful programs to support their professional expansion. In a career spanning more than 20 years in advertising, marketing and development, Liz worked at a number of major advertising and media firms as well as for A+E Networks and AOL/Huffington Post before coming to Montclair State.
Ms. Rich received her undergraduate degree in Journalism from the University of Colorado at Boulder and has lived with her twin sons in Montclair since 2013. Liz served as a proud board member of the Montclair Community Pre-K, and as PTA Co-Vice President at the Watchung School. Liz is currently a Board member with the Montclair Fund for Educational Excellence (MFEE) and serves on the Executive Board of the Montclair Center Business Improvement District (BID).
Jason Tanz is editor-in-chief at Lyft. Before that he worked as special projects editor at Apple News, and as an editor and writer at WIRED magazine, where he wrote several cover stories about the intersection of technology, business, and culture. He’s also the author of the 2007 book “Other People’s Property: A Shadow History of Hip-Hop in White America,” and his writing has appeared in the New York Times, Fortune, Esquire, and many other publications. Mr. Tanz and his wife Denise Cante have lived in Montclair since 2010. They have two children, ages 13 and 5.
Robert Tortoriello, Esq. is Senior Counsel to Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP where he was partner from 1982-2015. He is currently an Adjunct Professor teaching Political Science at Columbia University, teaching American Constitutional History. Bob took his undergraduate degree from St. Peter's University in History and Economics within the Honors Program, summa cum laude and valedictorian. He received his law degree, magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School. Bob is a Trustee of St. Peter's University and serves on the boards of several other educational and community institutions including the Montclair Art Museum. Bob and his family have lived in Montclair since 1977.
Max Tourtelot is a Senior Director with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) where he develops surveillance reports and leads multiple investigative teams responsible for OTC and listed option rule violations. Max was raised in Los Angeles before graduating from the University of California, Berkeley. An avid reader, Max also enjoys tennis, golf and kayaking. While always a Dodger fan, Max lived in New York City for 15 years before moving to Montclair, where he lives with his wife and two daughters.
