Our Team

THE TEAM 

 An Organization Built on Volunteers

CASA is a non-profit organization whose mission is run in large part by volunteers. In fact we  have more volunteers as an integral part of our organization than most other organizations. We are proud to say that Bergen CASA is run  95% by volunteers.

Board of Trustees          

CASA is lead by a volunteer Board of Directors, a group of 15-25 individuals with varied skill sets who direct and lead the mission of  CASA. We are a working Board. We are always looking for Board members with skills we need or a dedication to help and make a difference. For info contact: Zonie LeSane

Advocates

We have a base at any given time of about 75-150 volunteer advocates. These volunteers are the heart and soul of what we do. Many organizations raise money as their primary function, our primary function is to recruit and train volunteers.  An advocate is not a commodity we can purchase.

Staff

We have a small paid staff which is needed to run the day-to-day operations and be on call 24/7, as we are dealing with children and their lives. We have a full-time Executive Director, a full-time administrative assistant and two full-time case supervisors that oversee the volunteer advocates. As we are dealing with children, much of the work involves confidentiality and making sure what we do is carefully documented for State and National CASA and the state of NJ.

Volunteer Peer Coordinators

In 2015, we instituted a new level of management, the Peer Coordinator Model, which is a layer of management that is done by volunteers. These PCs  take some of the weight off of the paid supervisors, and mentor the advocates. Using this type of layer of volunteer management, we are able to serve more children at less cost.

Bergen County CASA Staff

Lucy Rosen - Executive Director

lucy@bergencasa.org

Lucy volunteered for Bergen CASA in 2011 and after working on a couple of cases joined the team as a Case Supervisor in August 2014. Lucy has a varied career history, starting as a Cordon Blue chef working in the south of France before going to Bristol University to get a BS in Psychology and then working in advertising and market research. She moved to the USA in 1986 and has lived with her husband in Harrington Park for 22 years where she raised her 3 children.

Patty Rafferty - Case Supervisor

patty@bergencasa.org

Prior to joining our staff, Patty has been an advocate since 2014 and due to her outstanding performance, she was asked to train as one of our first CASA Peer Coordinators in 2016.  Additionally, she has been very active in other volunteer positions in recent years including Secretary of the Home School Association Board and a Committee member of the Siena House Shelter.  Prior to taking some time off to raise her three girls, Patty held the position of Vice-President of US Clearing House.  She lives in Tenafly with her husband and three girls.

Dina Zydor - Case Supervisor

dina@bergencasa.org

Prior to joining the Bergen CASA Staff, Dina served as an Advocate and Peer Coordinator which was a long time goal and something she counts as one of her most fulfilling life experiences.  Due to relocating to New Jersey from Long Island several years ago Dina took a short break from her over 18 year career in the non-profit sector specializing in  fundraising and special events.   She  held positions of Director of Development and Special Events for a variety of high profile universities and health care institutions including, New York University School of Law, Northwell Health,  South Nassau Communities Hospital and Adelphi University. Dina has also worked for a private event planning firm coordinating corporate and social events.    She has implemented and coordinated large scale annual fundraising efforts, managed volunteers and worked as part of several highly successful capital fundraising campaigns.

Dina volunteers as an event planner for local organizations and has planned many fundraising and youth centered events for local charities.

Dina received her B.A. from Adelphi University in Garden City, New York.

Kristine Gifford - Case Supervisor

kristine@bergencasa.org

Prior to joining the Bergen County CASA staff, Kristine worked at the Wyckoff Family YMCA in many capacities, working together to develop the potential of youth, improve health and well being, and give back to the community. She has been a volunteer within her community for years, first holding positions on her Home and School Association Executive Board and most recently acting as Co-Leader of her district’s Special Education Parent Advisory Council.  Kristine holds a BA in Psychology from Emory University and a JD from Seton Hall University School of Law.  Kristine lives in Glen Rock with her husband and three children.

Lauren Awe – Office Manager

lauren

lauren@bergencasa.org

Lauren received her two B.A. in Child Advocacy and Policy and History at Montclair State University in May 2013. She has developed a passion to help children after working with them for the past 10 years; being a counselor at summer camps and after-school programs and being a head teacher at The Valley School in Park Ridge, NJ. She previously interned with Bergen CASA during her senior year of college and is thrilled to be part of our team since September 2014.

CASA Board of Trustees

Zonie LeSane is a life-long resident of Bergen County and a devoted public advocate with her focus in the community. Attending the First School of Paralegal studies to become a Certified Paralegal Specialist lead her to work in areas of Trust and Estates as Managing Director for a boutique law firm and later moving on to work for the County of Bergen for over 8 years.

Her exposure to CASA began once she started working for the Bergen County Surrogates Court as an adoption paralegal for more than 3 years. Zonie is currently working in the Bergen County Adjuster’s Office, Department of Law assisting in investigations for Charity Care for eligible Bergen County residents.
Prior, Zonie worked for the Bergen County Department of Health Services receiving training in the following areas, Chronic Disease Self-Management Peer Leader Certificate, Emergency Management Institute FEMA, Disaster Relief Crisis Counselor Certificate, National Incident Management System (NIMS), Mental Health First Aid USA Instructor and Certified CPR First Aid.

Member of Emerge New Jersey for Woman, Shop Steward USW Local 755, Appointed to Bergen County African Advisory Committee, Ridgewood AM Rotary Member, Past Board Member Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce, Past Board Member for the Friends of the Ridgewood Library.

Currently enrolled in the Rutgers University – School of Administration and Public Affairs, Certified Public Manager Program (July 2017), Zonie will continue onward to pursue a Master’s Degree in Public Administration.

Michael Zola is a CPA, senior financial executive, and business owner with forty years of experience in accounting, tax, and finance. He owns his own company called Bedford Tax Services. Michael graduated from Rutgers University and lives in Ocean Township with his wife Melissa. He has one son and enjoys family vacations at the shore and playing golf.

Amy Bogatch is a retired web designer, currently living in Mahwah, NJ. In addition to spending quality time with her husband, children and grandchildren, Amy decided to devote a good portion of her retirement to supporting a good cause — she found that cause at Bergen CASA. Since joining the Board in December 2020, Amy has worked on the new website and the annual golfing event. She practices yoga, enjoys pottery and loves hiking in the woods surrounding her home.

Laura Freeman is the Marketing Director for the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey. She graduated from Temple University and grew up in Philadelphia. She has lived in Wyckoff for the last 29 years. She has three sons and a fantastic daughter in law. She loves travel, theater, and pilates. She has an extensive history of being involved with other non-profits and is looking forward to contributing to Bergen County Casa.

Mr. Singh is an executive with domestic and international experience in growing, businesses from start-up to multi-million dollar entities. Using his formal education as a computer scientist, Mr. Singh has grown his primary company, The Fidelis Group into a well-respected marketing services organization that uses the latest in data-driven technology as the platform for all of its divisions.

He is a decisive leader with proven success in growing the bottom line while spearheading operational excellence across all of his business interests.Mr. Singh is an inspiring and motivational manager with first-rate interpersonal skills and the ability and passion to develop the vision of all of the companies and people he manages.

In addition to the above, Mr. Singh is a long-standing member of the Sikh Community. He was the Vice President of the Sikh Temple in Glen Rock. During his term as VP, he was instrumental in obtaining a Non-Profit Security Grant for the Temple (NGSP). He worked with the US Department of Homeland Security from 2014 to 2016 on this grant, which provides funding support for target hardening and other physical security enhancements and activities due to the high risk of a terrorist attack. Currently, as a Trustee of the Sikh Temple, he is working on the 2016 Grant to further enhance the coordination and collaboration in emergency preparedness activities among public and private community representatives, as well as the state and local government agencies.

Mr. Singh has done very well in paying back to the community by being a part of a non-profit organization, The Living Treasure. This organization promotes the doctrine of :The Universal Truth”;, which stands for equal value to every human, irrespective of caste, creed, color or gender.

Kevin Whelan is a semi-retired entrepreneur and media executive who is now a principal at Bergen County-based video marketing agency, Video Taffy. Kevin is a graduate of Montclair State University and has a deep passion for sports, music, travel, and charitable causes including breast cancer, Special Olympics and child advocacy. He is a lifelong resident of New Jersey and resides in Wyckoff with his wife, Tammy.

Caren Zisk has been an early childhood educator for the past 35 years.  She currently teaches preschool and has previously worked in an early intervention program for the Northern Valley school District, CAP – a child assault prevention program for parents, teachers and children in the classrooms.  Caren has shadowed children with special needs in several different public schools in Bergen County.  She has also worked for the past 17 years in geriatric care working in recreational therapy with long-term and subacute residents in several assisted living ,nursing homes and rehabilitation centers throughout Bergen County. She still teaches Hatha chair yoga to her residents.  Caren grew up in New Orleans where she attended Tulane University  She has been living in Haworth, where she raised her children, for the past 28 years.

Advisory Board

Suzanne is a Bergen County native. She has owned Write Ideas Public Relations and Advertising for the past 25 years, providing services to local medical, legal and entertainment clients. Suzanne found out early on that PR is crucial for non-profits and has helped numerous organizations launch and grow, with an emphasis on those that help children.She has served in different leadership capacities on several non-profit boards and was on the Mahwah Board of Education for almost a decade. In the past few years Suzanne has been working in entertainment, producing and working on films such as Equity with Anna Gunn (2016)  and the upcoming films Egg with Alysia Reiner and Anna Camp and The Pages with Jamie Lee Curtis.  Suzanne lives in Mahwah with her husband, Rob, of 26 years and her two sons, Ian and Shane.

Rajesh Kandaswamy covers the banking and securities industries for technology and service providers at Gartner. He provides strategy and marketing direction by helping them understand key issues, market dynamics, trends, best practices, competitive landscapes and future scenarios. His focus areas include banking, securities, cards, payments, lending, risk management. He also cover recent trends in Fintech and Blockchain. Among provider segments, he has a deeper coverage of services, software, outsourcing and BPO. His coverage is global, with a deeper focus on North America. Mr. Kandaswamy has been frequently quoted in leading publications on items related to banking and fintech. Twitter: @rajeshkan Blog: http://blogs.gartner.com/rajesh-kandaswamy/