The Princeton Area Community Foundation has appointed four new members to its board of trustees.
William Harla, Elizabeth (Betsy) McNeilly, Jamie Kyte Sapoch and Calvin B. Thomas Jr. were voted onto the board at its Feb. 25 meeting.
“The new members bring a wealth of talent to the board, and we believe their skills will be an asset to the Community Foundation,” said Carol P. Herring, the foundation’s chair of the board of trustees.
All four are Mercer County residents who have a broad range of experience, with expertise in the law, wealth management, foundations and nonprofits.
“The new trustees are well-regarded in their professional fields and well-respected in the community,” said Jeffrey M. Vega, foundation president and CEO. “We are thrilled they are joining us, to help carry out our mission of promoting philanthropy to advance the well-being of our communities forever.”
William Harla of Princeton is a partner at DeCotiis, FitzPatrick & Cole and a member of the law firm’s executive committee. He specializes in government and regulatory affairs and civil litigation.
Before joining the firm in 1994, he had a career in public service, serving as deputy chief legal counsel to Gov. James Florio and as an assistant legal counsel to Gov. Thomas Kean. He also served in the State Attorney General’s Office, as both the assistant attorney general in charge of administrative agency advice, and as a deputy attorney general, acting as general counsel to the state colleges. He is a long-time associate counsel of the New Jersey League of Municipalities.
He is also a member of the board of directors of both The Arts Council of Princeton and Dress for Success for Mercer County, as well as the New Jersey Supreme Court’s Professional Responsibility Rules Committee.
Elizabeth (Betsy) McNeilly, of West Windsor, is a senior director of wealth management with BNY Mellon Wealth Management.
After a successful career as the owner of a registered investment advisory firm, she joined BNY Mellon in 2012. Before entering the field of wealth management, Ms. McNeilly spent a decade as a senior vice president and team leader in the corporate banking division of JPMorgan Chase, focusing on financing privately owned businesses in New Jersey and New York.
She is the former director of education for the Financial Planning Association of New Jersey, a YWCA Twin Award winner and a member of the Fund for Women and Girls Leadership Team.
Jamie Kyte Sapoch of Hopewell Borough has more than 30 years of non-profit leadership experience at the national, state, and local levels, including as executive director for the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association.
As an independent consultant since 1998, she has helped raise over $75 million in capital, operating and endowment support for a variety of environmental, cultural, and community-based organizations. ?
She is a trustee of the David Mathey Foundation, board president of The Bunbury Company Inc. and serves on the advisory boards of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation and the Watershed Association. Her service recognitions include the Delaware & Raritan Girl Scout Woman of Distinction, and the Metzger-Conway Fellowship at Dickinson College.
Calvin B. Thomas Jr., a Trenton resident and the principal of LodeStar Consulting, specializes in nonprofit leadership training, program development and strategic planning.
He is also coordinator of the Trenton Area Stakeholders, a senior associate consultant with the Support Center/Partnership in Philanthropy, and a U.S. Navy veteran. During his 20-year naval career, he served as a combat systems officer, race relations specialist, Navy recruiter, and career counselor.
He has previously been named as the Trenton Citizen of the Year and has received the Spirit of Community Award, the Humanitarian Award and the Empowerment Takes Root Honor from local nonprofits.
Ms. Herring and Mr. Vega also thanked outgoing board members Anne LaBate, president, Segal LaBate Commercial Real Estate; Jeffrey F. Perlman, a Partner at Borden Perlman Salisbury & Kelly; and Patrick L. Ryan, the founder and former chairman of Hopewell Valley Community Bank. They are leaving the board after completing their terms of service.
