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.
Ethan Badman is an analytical chemist with expertise in mass spectrometry. He has a B.S. in Chemistry (Delaware) and a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry (Purdue). He has worked in academia as well as the personal care and pharmaceutical industries. In addition to the scientific aspects of his career, he has always been involved in mentoring younger scientists and students. He is a life-long reader with a special love for science fiction, and his first job was as a library aide. He and his wife live in Verona with their 3 rescue cats and their son (who currently attends college).
Erica Barrett is a veteran New York City public school teacher, having taught English Language Arts and Fine Arts for twenty years before moving to Montclair with her husband and three children. Ms. Barrett currently serves as the Development Chair on the CASA of Essex County Board of Trustees.
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.
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 Domiñczyk 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.
Irena Goldstein, Esq. (Chair) is an attorney in the Global Restructuring practice of Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s New York Office. Irena has lived in Montclair for more than 29 years and is devoted to the library and the community. Irena is also one of the founding members of the board of directors of the Academy for Teachers, a not-for-profit organization, which honors and supports teachers who exercise a passion for a subject, creativity in the classroom, and devotion to students. She earned her B.A. and J.D. from Rutgers University.
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 (Vice Chair) 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.
Heather Moore is the Director of Strategic Initiatives at Meta, Inc. where she has led teams to building Facebook’s Oversight Board, an industry first, as well as other external governance solutions. An experienced appellate advocate, social justice and human rights attorney, Mrs. Moore most recently served at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey. Mrs. Moore is a lifelong lover of books, and resides in town with her husband Roddy and their two children.
Tim O’Brien is the Chief Executive Officer at Hackensack Meridian Mountainside Medical Center where he was formerly the COO. Tim holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MBA from Vanderbilt University. He is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
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. (Vice Chair) is Senior Counsel to Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP where he was partner from 1982-2015. He currently teaches Political Science at Columbia. 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 and is a Trustee of St. Peter's University and other educational and community institutions including the Montclair Art Museum, and was formerly on the Board of the Adult School of Montclair. 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.