Weed & Seed Site Coordinator
William McLaughlin is the Site Coordinator for the Trenton Weed and Seed Greater Donnelly program. On any given day, he can be seen driving in his yellow jeep with children and adults in the community trailing along because they know he will offer help; he is dedicated to the community and the City of Trenton. He is a Retired Trenton Police Detective; his responsibilities included gangs and narcotics units. He has been working with troubled children throughout his career both on and off duty. Mr. McLaughlin has received training in substance abuse prevention, narcotic interdiction, G.R.E.A.T. (gang resistance education and training program) CPR, and Critical Incident Stress Debriefing for officers/families involved in police shootings and traumatic events. In May 1996 Mr. McLaughlin was the 23rd recipient of the Kiwanis George P Hresko Police Officer of the Year Award. Mr. McLaughlin served as President of the City of Trenton 6-11 Little League baseball and coached baseball and basketball with the Trenton Police PAL. He is a graduate of Divine Word Seminary in Bordentown, NJ. Mr. McLaughlin has resided in the City of Trenton his entire life. He has two sons who participate in the programs.
Board of Trustees
- Maryann Bielamowicz. Judge Bielamowicz recently retired as a Superior Court Judge in Mercer County where she served for 10 years. Prior to her judicial appointment, she served as Mercer County Prosecutor following service as First Assistant Prosecutor. Earlier in her legal career, Judge Bielamowicz was an Instructor in Business Law at then Rider College and an Associate at McCarter & English. She has been a member of a number of Commitees and Task Forces, including the Governor's Blue Ribbon Task Force on Child Protection Services, the Department of Human Services Child Death and Critical Incident Review Board, the New Jersey Prosecutor's Association Juvenile Justice Committee, and the New Jersey Department of Education Violence and Vandalism Prevention Task Force.
- Vincent Gentile. Mr. Gentile is a partner with Drinker Biddle & Reath, a national law firm, located in its office in Princeton, NJ, currently working in practice areas including corporate and securitites litigation. He has been a member of the New Jersey bar since 1983 and theNew York bar since 1978. Prior to entering private practice in New Jersey, Mr. Gentile was an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey and served as Chief of the Civil Division.
- Russell Fuchs. Mr. Fuchs serves as the Accountant and Treasurer of the Initiative. He is a Certified Public Accountant, and has operated an accounting and tax practice since 1988. He specializes in small businesses. He has also served as the Treasurer for the Montgomery Business and Professional Association. Mr. Fuchs served in the United States Army for three years with two overseas tours.
- Anthony Montrone. Mr. Montrone is currently a Managing Partner of Latrone Associates LLC, which develops and implements management systems to adress political, regulatory, competitive and business issues. He has extensive experience in environmental manageent working in both public and private sectors. Previously, Mr. Montrone spent twelve years with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in various capacities with responsibility for developing regulatory programs. Mr. Montrone received his B.A. from Syracuse University and his M.B.A. from Michigan State University.
- Steven Peskin. Dr. Peskin is Chief Medical Officer of MediMediaUSA. Prior to joining the company, he was CEO of Pharmaceutical Research Plus, a firm specializing in patient recruitment and retention for clinical trials and prior to assuming that role he founded and served as President of a managed care consulting firm. Dr Peskin is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at UMDNJ where he is part of the volunteer factulty. Previously, he has had factuly appointments at Tufts University School of Medicine and UT Southwestern. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine, a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, and a Senior Clinical Scholar in the Department of Health Policy at Thomas Jefferson University-Jefferson Medical College. He received his Doctor of Medicine degree from Emory University School of Medicine and completed an Internal Medicine residency at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Boston. Dr. Peskin received an MBA degree from MIT-Sloan School of Management with a concentration in health care management.
- Patricia Pickrel. Ms. Pickrel is an attorney and is currently a partner, Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Sasqua Fields Mangement, LLC, an investment management company that manages a private investment fund and private equity investments. Previously, she has been General Counsel for several coporations, including most recently for Amtrol Inc., an international company engaged in design, production and distribution of manufactured and engineered products. Before beginning private paractice as an Associate with Cahill Gordon & Reindel in New York, she served as a staff director for the Department of Justice Institute of Judicial Administration-ABA Juvenile Justice Sandards Project which addressed a full range of juvenile justice issues, such as abuse and neglect, delinquency diversion programs and foster care through in-depth research and the establishment of standards and policies presented for adoption by state legislatures and state and federal agencies.
- Shanique Taliaferro. Ms. Taliaferro is a an active member of her community; she lives in Donnelly Homes with her two children. She has managed after-school programs, administered the summer Explorers program, and served as a volunteer on behalf of her neighbors and their children, managing the Greater Donnelly Initiative's food pantry, assisting in the community gardens and countless other projects. She has worked as a Retail Sales Manager in clothing stores and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Paul Robeson Community Charter School, serving as a Parent Advocate.
- Melvin Weldon. Mr. Weldon has devoted much of his career to the residents and families living in the communities served by the Trenton Housing Authority. Currently, he is Manager of Resident Services, and previously served as Principal Housing Manager. His responsibilities have included development, implementation, evaluation, and management of programs designed to provide education, training, enrichment, and other services. He has also planned and supervised the work of administrative, professional, technical, maintenance, and clerical employees involved in day-to-day operations of the Authority's affordable housing program, involving multiple sites. A graduate of Boston College, Mr. Weldon is a Member of the Boston College Hall of Fame, and has also been inducted into the Mercer County Community college Basketball Hall of Fame where he served as a basketball coach. He was a member of the Gold-winning World University Games Team representing the United States, winning the finals in Moscow.
- Joseph Woodby. Mr. Woodby has extensive experience participating in, organizing and managing athletic and recrational programs for youth and adults, as well as health and wellness programs. He is currently practicing and teaching alternative health and wellness programs and classes in the Princeton area. Previously, he held several sales and sales management positions for major corporations in the security industry; he was Area Sales Manager for Westinghouse Security and District Sales Manager for RexhamLaminex. Mr. Woodby served in the National Guard; he and his family are long-time residents of Mercer County.
Youth Advisory Members
- Michael Houston is 19 years old, and a student at Daylight to Twilight. He is a member of the Choices Program and, together with Shante Priester, has assumed a leadership role.
- Shante Priester has finished school, and is 18 years old. She is an energetic participant in the Choices Program.
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