Not-for-Profit Summit

Michele N. Siekerka, Esq., President and CEO of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association, leads the nation’s largest, most influential employers’ organization, advocating on behalf of New Jersey’s large and small businesses for policies that will make New Jersey more affordable and regionally competitive.

Being known as a collaborative leader, Siekerka is leading an NJBIA established coalition (New Jersey Business Coalition) comprised of more than 100 business and nonprofit associations across the state to tackle the tough economic and business challenges our state is facing during COVID 19.

Well versed on the ‘boots on the ground” issues affecting our state’s business community, Michele is often the “go to” resource for media and is sought after to share her expertise in public forums across the state.

Amy joined the Sobel Bixel team after serving as an executive director at an arts and social service agency for children in hospitals and care facilities. Prior to that, Amy was the Managing Director and Director of Development for TADA! Youth Theater and served in leadership roles at several esteemed Manhattan-based cultural institutions. Through her experience leading small nonprofits, Amy has served in just about every role. As a grant writer, she has acquired new and renewed institutional funding in excess of $1M from private foundation, corporate, and government sources. She has designed various types and sizes of fundraising events and is particularly adept at setting a run-of-show, volunteer management, and efficient planning. Amy has been an adjunct professor on nonprofit management at New York University’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies and is a regular guest lecturer for Association of Fundraising Professionals (global and several local chapters), Nonprofit Learning Lab, Center for Nonprofits, and other service organizations regarding nonprofit management.

Amy specializes in board and staff training/retreats, strategic planning, fundraising plans and implementation, project management, and coaching. She has recruited, trained, and managed staff; devised and managed institutional budgets of $2M+; recruited, onboarded, and trained boards and committees; and conceptualized, wrote copy, and designed countless marketing and donor appeals. She is a member of the New Jersey Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP-NJ) and also serves as the Director of Development for The Story Pirates.

Michelle Henry is the East Region Executive for Community Engagement in the Office of Corporate Responsibility at JPMorgan Chase. In this role, Michelle leads a team that builds enduring, authentic relationships with key stakeholders to support the firm’s long-term success and drive positive, lasting community-centered impact.

Previously, Michelle held roles in Global Philanthropy – first managing a national portfolio of workforce investments; and then transitioning to a position where she engaged nonprofits involved in advocacy, thought leadership and service to support underserved communities. She also built out local and national capacity building efforts.

Prior to joining the firm, Michelle was Vice President of Workforce Services at MAXIMUS, a global government services contractor. Additionally, she led an innovative, national benefits access initiative at an economic development nonprofit and worked to strengthen the capacity of community based organizations to provide strong workforce and asset building programming. Michelle has also held management positions at the Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services, an alternative to incarceration program which provides youth and adult services in NYC’s criminal and family courts.

Michelle served as a board member for over ten years at the Center for Community Alternatives, a leader in the field of community-based alternatives to incarceration. She also recently served on the board of directors for Nonprofit New York, a membership organization which strengthens and unites New York’s nonprofits through a range of training, policy and program initiatives. Michelle earned her bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Maryland at College Park, where she was a Benjamin Banneker Scholar; then she went on to earn an MPA from the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University, where she was a Public Service Scholar. She is a Coro alum, having completed Leadership New York, and she earned the Corporate Social Responsibility Award in Banking, Finance and Insurance from City and State New York.

James has over two decades of executive experience directing human service organizations and has spent the past 17 years as President & CEO of United Way of Greater Union County (NJ). During his tenure, James has created an extraordinary record of developing strong community partnerships, increasing organizational efficiencies, building, and retaining board members and financial competence. He has worked hard to maintain the delicate balance of dedication to mission, the need for bold entrepreneurial initiatives, and the application of sound business management needed to run a successful nonprofit organization.

James was named President & CEO of JA of New Jersey (JANJ), effective July 5, 2022.

Dr. Lisa LaCon graduated with a M.S. in Rehabilitation Counseling from Rutgers University and became a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC). She then earned her doctorate in Psychiatric Rehabilitation also from Rutgers University. She is the Co-founder and Director at BLESSED Ministries, Inc. (BMI), a non-profit workforce development agency servicing residents throughout New Jersey in need of employment acquisitions.

Dr. LaCon is also a Trustee at Bridgeway Behavioral Health Services, a non-profit experienced in promoting and fostering recovery from mental illness and co-occurring problems. Currently, you can find Dr. LaCon’s podcast “Urban Tools for Change” on several platforms including Youtube, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Linkedin, Google Podcast, and Amazon where she discusses issues surrounding the Black community and psychiatric rehabilitation tools for their wellness.

Dr. LaCon resides in New Jersey with her husband, their four children, a cat, and dog. Also, she is an active member in her sorority, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated.

I’m a special blend of traits, from tech geek, data aficionado, and super detail-oriented to big picture focused. I also have a knack for being able to juggle multiple responsibilities at once – like volunteering, fundraising, community advocacy, work and family – thanks to my outstanding organizational skills, which also happen to serve as the foundation for the work I do here at Paradigm.

Prior to joining the Paradigm team, I was President of LW&H Business Solutions, a firm focused on automating processes for marketing, sales, operations and finance departments in order to free up employee time, increase efficiency and capture metrics. It’s a role that allowed me to put all of my strengths into practice and earned me the 2018 Entrepreneur of the Year, Leader in Business award by the Morris County Chamber of Commerce.

Now, as a Workflow Strategist for Paradigm, I oversee the company’s Workflow division to ensure the systems we implement empower our clients to streamline, organize and scale successfully. I support our workflow team as they start with the end in mind so that the platforms we build turn data into answers. At Paradigm we believe in strategy first and my unique skills and expansive background equips me to anticipate technology needs and blend that technology with human behavior resulting in impactful business process automation.

Outside the office, I am Co-Chair of the Women’s Business Leaders Council and an active member of the Morris County Chamber of Commerce. I currently reside in Sparta, N.J., with my daughter, son and two fur babies.

Jonathan is the Director of Corporate Social Responsibility and Executive Director of The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey.

With over 25 years of experience, he is responsible for developing partnerships with nonprofits and community-based organizations that closely align with Horizon’s business and community interests.

Joe is the Engagement Partner practice leader for WithumSmith+Brown, PC.

Over 25 years of professional experience in both private and public accounting. Joe specializes in providing audit and accounting services to the Firm’s not-for-profit healthcare, social service organizations, and Federally Qualified Health Centers.

His experience with specialized healthcare services include:

• Extensive experience with Medicare, Medicaid and other third-party payor billing, collection, and valuation matters.
• Performing consulting engagements advising specialty practice group owners on billing and collection procedures.
• Examinations and contract audits of Medicaid cost reports for substance abuse and psychiatric facilities.
• Assisted physician practices in developing processes to record capitated revenue and fee for service charges, receipts and contractual adjustments, and developing estimates of collectability.

Joe also provides accounting, auditing, tax, and consulting services to privately held physician practices and management service organizations.

Dan has been working with youth and young adults for the past two decades in a variety of capacities, working as a teacher, school administrator, and organizational leader.

Over the years, Dan has been recognized numerous times for his work with young adults, including receiving a Meritorious Service Award from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, a 2017 National Tech Impact All Star Award, the Distinguished Educator of the Year Award, the United Way’s Reis Community Advocate Award, and the Campbell Soup Foundations “Seek the Power of Different” Award. He was also honored to be named one of the Aspen Institute’s 2019 Health Scholars and a 2020 “South Jersey Executive of the Year” and named one of Philadelphia’s “Most Admired CEO’s” in 2022.

The work of the youth of Hopeworks has been featured both locally and nationally, including features on CNN, Wired Magazine, and in an award-winning documentary.

Jim White has devoted his life to helping young people in crisis overcome their circumstances and move forward to a life and a future that are good. He has been executive director of Covenant House New Jersey (CHNJ) since 2013.

Jim began his career with Covenant House in 1982 and has held executive positions at Covenant House International as well as at CHNJ. In 1985, he co-founded Rights of Passage, Covenant House’s transitional living program for youth overcoming homelessness. He is co-author of the groundbreaking study, “Recognizing Trafficking Among Homeless Youth,” and helped develop a tool for quickly identifying the trafficking experience among young people facing homelessness and getting them the trauma-informed care they need in a timely manner.

Jim holds a master’s in social work from Stony Brook University and a Master of Business Administration from Long Island University.