Management Moves
Lawrence Hopewell Trail
The Lawrence Hopewell Trail Corporation (LHTC) has added Maria Connolly to its Board of Trustees as the representative for Mercer County government.
Connolly is the new Mercer County Director of Planning, succeeding long-time LHTC Trustee Leslie Floyd, who recently retired from county service. Floyd was central to the development of the LHT, particularly in Mercer Meadows Park, which spans Lawrence and Hopewell townships as part of the 20-mile trail loop.
A Hoboken native and current resident of Lawrence Township, Connolly said, “I am thrilled to serve as Mercer County’s new planning director and eager to support the LHT’s mission to build and maintain the trail as a treasured community asset.”
Before being appointed to her current position, Connolly was the principal planner for the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. She is a professional planner with expertise in master plans, zoning, redevelopment, economic development, GIS, sustainability, transportation, affordable housing, and clean energy.
“Mercer County has always been a good friend of the LHT,” said David Sandahl, LHTC Board Chair, “and we could not be more pleased to welcome Maria Connolly to our board. She brings the breadth and depth of experience essential to our project’s success.”
In addition to her service at the state level, Connolly is currently the vice chair of the Lawrence Township Planning Board and is active with Miriam’s Heart, advocating for reform of the foster care system.
Connolly holds a bachelor’s from Rutgers and a master’s in planning from the Bloustein School at Rutgers.
The nonprofit LHTC has guided the development of the 20-mile Lawrence Hopewell Trail since 2002. The LHT loop currently has five incomplete segments in development, with completion targeted in 2026.
More information: www.lhtrail.org.
Princeton Community Housing
Alicia M. Defreitas, a professional administrator who has worked in the nonprofit humanitarian sector her entire career, has joined Princeton Community Housing’s senior leadership as its director of finance and administration. She succeeds Janet McClafferty, who is retiring after nine years in the role. Defreitas rounds out PCH’s senior management team that also includes executive director Edward Truscelli and director of mission advancement Kate Bech.
Defreitas previously served as the finance director, global infectious disease, for the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, which is dedicated to advancing military medicine. She also worked with the Catholic Medical Missions Board, an international nonprofit organization that provides global health services to the world’s poor with an emphasis on mothers and children.
Additionally, she served as the controller for Orbis International, a global humanitarian organization dedicated to saving sight and blindness prevention and worked with other nonprofits with a focus on reducing hunger and providing legal services.
A former member of the Army National Guard for six years, she earned her B.B.A. degree in accounting from Hunter College in New York City. She lives with her family in Delran.
“We feel very fortunate to have Alicia on board,” Truscelli said. “She brings a wealth of experience and a wide range of skills to us, including strategic financial planning as well as operations, with focus on collaboration and team building.”
In her role, Defreitas will manage PCH’s resources — financial and human — leading accounting, audit, and compliance functions, and overseeing human resources, information technology, and other administrative systems that support the success and work of PCH.
In addition to managing PCH’s 491 affordable homes and working with board volunteers to build and advocate for more housing, Defreitas is also eager to assist in expanding the many and diverse social services that enhance residents’ lives, including additional resources for PCH’s social work staff.
“We call this ‘the PCH Difference,’” explained Defreitas. “Very few affordable housing providers offer this level of support, and it speaks to the mission and vision of this nonprofit.”
More information: www.pchhomes.org.
Mercer County Community College
Mercer County Commissioners have appointed Victoria Rivera-Cruz to the Mercer County Community College (MCCC) Board of Trustees. As a human resources and employee/labor relations leader, attorney, and business partner with extensive experience in healthcare, government, and public sectors, Rivera-Cruz brings a wealth of expertise to MCCC.
“We are excited to welcome Victoria Rivera-Cruz to the Board,” said Kristin Appelget, chair. “The Board of Trustees at MCCC is comprised of a dedicated group of community leaders who use their combined talents to ensure the best resources and opportunities are provided to all MCCC students while simultaneously furthering the mission of the college.”
Known for her astute ability to drive organizational change by designing and delivering human resources and training strategies to achieve business goals, Rivera-Cruz works collaboratively to implement strategic direction, guidance and solutions as well as streamline programs, policies and processes. She has held leadership positions at Cenlar FSB, Comcast, Hackensack Meridian Health Network, Carepoint Health Bayonne Medical Center, Cooper University Health Care, the County of Mercer, New Jersey Department of Transportation, and law offices.
She earned her bachelor of arts in sociology from Harvard University and a law degree from Rutgers School of Law.
More information: www.mccc.edu.
Funding Received
Princeton-based nonprofit Share My Meals has been awarded a $125,000 NJEDA Sponsorship to expand their ongoing meal recovery efforts and establish a statewide Meal Recovery Coalition.
While food insecurity impacts approximately 10 percent of New Jersey residents, 40 percent of food goes unsold or uneaten and only one percent of this food surplus is recovered for donation. Each year, in the food service sector alone, an estimated five million prepared meals are being wasted in New Jersey.
Working with large employers across New Jersey, the Meal Recovery Coalition strives to recover all available nutritious, prepared meals from large cafeterias and other food services, preventing unnecessary landfills, as well as influence specific regulatory enablers of meal recovery and make meal recovery the norm in New Jersey. Share My Meals fights both food insecurity and the environmental impact of food waste by recovering and delivering healthy meals to local communities.
In 2023, Share My Meals recovered and served 62,000 prepared meals from 52 food donors and, working with their 25 nonprofit partners, distributed them to 1,500 food insecure individuals throughout New Jersey. As a result, 220,000 pounds of CO2 equivalent were saved from food waste diverted from landfills. The NJEDA sponsorship will equip Share My Meals to recover and distribute more meals and will support the founding of a statewide Meal Recovery Coalition to empower other organizations to undertake meal recovery.
“Share My Meals is grateful for the NJEDA’s sponsorship of the Meal Recovery Coalition, which will make a substantial difference in fighting food insecurity and food waste in the local community. This support exemplifies Governor Murphy’s commitment to creating a stronger, fairer New Jersey, where every individual has access to nutritious food and no meal goes to waste,” explains Hélène Lanctuit, CEO of Share My Meals. “We look forward to announcing the members of the MRC in the fall.”
The Meal Recovery Coalition, convened by Share My Meals, will bring together organizations across the state that wish to take a leadership role in addressing food insecurity and climate change. The goal of the Coalition will be to make meal recovery the norm for food service across the Garden State, making New Jersey a national leader in strengthening food security. Members will include corporations with cafeterias, food service providers, hospitals, and educational institutions. The Coalition will partner with nonprofit organizations and state and local governments.
“Under Governor Murphy’s leadership, NJEDA is committed to supporting and scaling creative approaches to combating food insecurity. By employing meal recovery as a source of quality food for those in need, Share My Meals is demonstrating an innovative, cost effective, and environmentally friendly path forward,” said NJEDA’s Chief Executive Officer Tim Sullivan. “The NJEDA is dedicated to investing in initiatives that will improve food access for New Jersey residents, and that have the potential to serve as a replicable model for the rest of the nation.”
Share My Meals is implementing an innovative and robust approach, backed by technology, to recover meals and serve them to food-insecure families and individuals directly and through nonprofit partners safely and efficiently.
More information: www.sharemymeals.org.
IAS to Launch Center for Collaborative Research
The Institute for Advanced Study is launching the Jonathan M. Nelson Center for Collaborative Research, expanding the Institute’s capacity for discovery across fields.
The Nelson Center for Collaborative Research is designed to facilitate work on projects and topics that are beyond the reach of a single scholar, discipline, or institution. It will support team-based, theme-based, inter-institutional, and interdisciplinary projects led by Institute scholars in collaboration with researchers across and beyond academia. The Nelson Center will provide seed funding to develop early-stage research ideas, large-scale funding for multi-year research agendas, and the space, infrastructure, and expertise for collaborative projects with partners across the globe.
“Since its founding, the Institute’s mission has been to create a research community in which talented individuals from all over the world have been able to realize their highest capacity for discovery, uninhibited by boundaries of dogma or discipline,” said David Nirenberg, IAS Director and Leon Levy Professor. “The Nelson Center strengthens our ability to fulfill that mission into our second century, and expands our ability to explore what Director J. Robert Oppenheimer called ‘the synapses’ between the sciences, humanities and arts, and society.”
The Nelson Center for Collaborative Research is made possible by a donation from trustee Jonathan M. Nelson, founder and chairman of Providence Equity Partners LLC.
“The goals of the Nelson Center are ambitious but consistent with the mission of the Institute. We know that breakthrough discoveries and advancement in deep understanding of profound questions often occur at the boundaries of disciplines. We see this both in the results of collaborations of diverse talent and in the work of individuals who have the rare ability to cross traditional disciplinary boundaries,” said Nelson. “Recognizing this fundamental property of breakthrough learning, the Center’s goal is to encourage and support such work. This initiative, which adds a new dimension to study at the Institute by increasing the reach of research by Institute Faculty, builds on our historic record of excellence, and expands our relationships with thought leaders around the world. Along with others, I am proud to support this new Center and its important goals.”
The Nelson Center for Collaborative Research has also received support from the Gerard B. Lambert Foundation. It will be led by executive director David Zielinski, who is currently the executive director of Harvard Catalyst and associate dean for clinical and translational research at Harvard Medical School. Zielinski joined the Institute on August 1.
Nirenberg and Institute faculty began developing the idea for the Center more than two years ago, as they discussed the best ways to support foundational scholarship and to extend the types of research at which the Institute excels. They focused on three key needs: new human and financial capital to support collaborative or multidisciplinary research; increased capacity for large-scale projects; and the physical and administrative infrastructure to support projects across and outside the Institute’s four schools of Historical Studies, Social Science, Natural Sciences, and Mathematics.
“My scholarship takes place at the intersection of different fields, including the natural sciences and their technological applications, the study of the social world, and policy analysis and research,” said Alondra Nelson, professor in the School of Social Science and leader of the Science, Technology, and Social Values Lab. “The establishment of the center provides new opportunities to anchor that work and convene intellectual leaders here at the Institute, enhancing and extending the impact of our collective efforts.”
The Nelson Center will launch its first call for proposals this fall, with the goal of encouraging and supporting the faculty’s most ambitious plans for collaborative research.
“The Institute is a living experiment, and, to remain vital, it must evolve and, at times, take risks on new directions,” said Akshay Venkatesh, professor in the School of Mathematics. “The Nelson Center creates a space where we can do just that.”
More information: www.ias.edu.
Commercial Real Estate
Fennelly Associates, one of New Jersey and Pennsylvania’s most experienced and successful independent full-service commercial real estate service providers, announces it has negotiated the $1.23M sale of a 4,839-square-foot retail condo located at 5 Schalks Crossing Road within Plainsboro Village Center in Plainsboro, N.J. Matt Fennelly of Fennelly Associates, Inc. represented the buyer, OM Life Space, LLC, and Gregg Medvin of Pierson Commercial Real Estate represented the seller, Sharbell Cranbury, Inc. in the transaction.
Plainsboro Village Center has been a downtown hub for the Greater Plainsboro and Princeton area for the last 20 years as an open-air mixed-use town center development consisting of 144,000 square feet of retail, medical and office space in the heart of downtown Plainsboro. Ideally situated within walking distance of the Princeton Junction NJ Transit station, the center also boasts convenient access to Route 1, Route 130, and NJ Turnpike Exit 8A, as well as a variety of retail outlets including Panera Bread, McDonald’s, CVS Pharmacy, and Five Guys. Fennelly Associates has served as the exclusive brokerage for the office and medical markets for the property since 2010.
Om Life Living, a unique, in-depth online and in-person studio dedicated to foster and grow the yoga and wellness ecosystem, will operate out of the newly purchased space. With a focus on promoting well-being in all aspects of life, they offer comprehensive wellness classes, programs, and events along with innovative professional solutions designed to facilitate others to live life to its fullest and highest vibration in mind, body, spirit, and communal impact. Committed to sustainability, Om Life Living provides a range of services and products aimed at improving quality of life and fostering a sense of community and connection.
Matt Fennelly and the Fennelly Associates team started working with Janice Liou, owner of Om Life Living, back in 2022 scouting multiple locations through the central New Jersey area. Finally, in late 2023 to early 2024 through multiple re-strategizing on locations, Matt Fennelly was able to procure an off-market property within the Plainsboro Village Center that fit all of Om Life Living’s real estate and business goals.
“I’ve been looking to open a studio in the Princton area since 2022, scouting countless locations and recalculating business plans throughout the process,” said Liou. “With the help of Matt and the team at Fennelly Associates, I can finally say that I’ve secured the perfect location that checks all the boxes. I am thrilled to bring this studio and the OM Life Living brand to the community.”
Additionally, Fennelly Associates recently negotiated three new leases at Plainsboro Village Center, including a 1,022-square-foot lease with The Best Quality ABA; a 1,455-square-foot lease with KLAUS Multiparking America, Inc. and a 750-square-foot lease with Chereath Capital Management, LLC
“Plainsboro Village Center’s strategic location and unique flexibility make it an ideal home for nearly any business,” added Matt Fennelly. “Over the last 14 years, we have been honored to help attract in-demand businesses and organizations to this property and are excited to continue to work closely with them to further drive occupancy.”
The Best Quality ABA is a leading provider of Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) care services, a research-based therapy designed to support people with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other developmental disabilities. The company offers personalized care to children with special needs to ensure they can live positive and healthy lives.
With over 50 years of expertise, KLAUS Multiparking America is a parking solutions company offering a range of space-saving, mechanical and automatic parking systems designed to meet the needs of modern cities. Powered by innovative technologies that ensure efficiency and convenience, the company helps cities address parking issues to enhance urban living.
Chereath Capital Management is a tax advisory firm offering comprehensive tax services for individuals and small businesses. Their expertise includes tax planning, estate and trust taxation, bookkeeping, and tax preparation.
For information about leasing opportunities at Plainsboro Village Center, please contact Matt Fennelly at 609-400-1891 or mattfennelly@fennelly.com.
Funding Received
Westrick Music Academy Awarded Historic Grants from New Jersey State Council on the Arts and Mercer County Community Fund
Princeton Junction, NJ, August 3, 2024 – Westrick Music Academy (WMA) is thrilled to announce that it has received two significant grants: a historic $99,870 grant from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts (NJSCA) and a $9,100 grant from the I. Trumbull Wood Estate Fund of the Mercer County Community Fund. These grants represent a remarkable milestone for WMA, supporting its mission as it works to provide opportunities for local youth to grow through the pursuit of musical excellence in a supportive, collaborative, and joyous environment.
Lorraine Goodman, Executive Director of WMA, expressed profound gratitude for these substantial supports, stating, “We are deeply honored and immensely grateful for the generous grants from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and the Mercer County Community Fund. This funding will have a transformative impact on our ability to nurture a lifelong love of music in a supportive and joyous environment. It ensures that we can continue to offer unparalleled opportunities for personal growth, self-expression, and musical excellence to a diverse group of young musicians.”
New Jersey State Council on the Arts Grant
The unprecedented $99,870 grant from NJSCA is the largest single grant WMA has ever received from the state. This funding will support various operational needs, including Music Director salaries, guest artist and pianist fees, musical performance costs, and other essential operating expenses. New Jersey’s 3rd Lieutenant Governor Tahesha L. Way, who oversees the Council in her role as Secretary of State, highlighted the importance of this investment: “The investment made in our state’s artists and organizations has a direct positive impact on New Jersey residents, families, businesses, and communities. It’s an honor to work closely with the Council to help our state’s creative industries thrive and to ensure New Jersey’s diverse constituencies can access the many benefits of the arts.”
Allison Tratner, Executive Director of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, remarked, “The grants voted on reflect the Council’s commitment to listening to field needs and then taking action. This historic grant to Westrick Music Academy signals a mark of progress for the Council and our sector. We are extremely grateful to the Murphy Administration for the ongoing support of New Jersey’s vital arts community.”
Mercer County Community Fund Grant
The $9,100 grant from the I. Trumbull Wood Estate Fund of the Mercer County Community Fund will also support WMA’s general operations, contributing significantly to the sustainability and growth of its music education and choir programs. Madeline Rivera, Program Officer at the Mercer County Community Fund, highlighted the importance of supporting local organizations: “CFNJ is honored to support the Westrick Music Academy for the first time with a Mercer County Community Grant. The Academy’s programming encourages children to express themselves and builds their confidence so we’re thrilled about supporting this important work.”
WMA is currently auditioning new singers. For more information about Westrick Music Academy and our programs, or to learn more about singing with us next year, please visit www.westrickmusic.org.
