Board Members
The GlassRoots Board of Trustees has overseen the development of GlassRoots from its founding days when classes were held in a single room of the Boys and Girls Club, to its present location in the heart of Newark’s arts & culture district. Working effectively, this board continually upholds its obligation to provide responsible oversight as well as strategic leadership.
An active, engaged group, the board works hand-in-hand with staff to attract a growing group of supportive funders from government & corporate sources, foundations & private individuals. The board also works to develop creative means for engagement to fulfill our mission. If you are interested in serving on GlassRoots board or a board committee, please contact us.
Penina Barr
Penina holds a B.S.W. from Boston University and an M.S.W. from Fordham University School of Social Work. She is a longtime board member of the National Council of Jewish Women/Essex County Section, where she previously served as president (2020–2022) and held several leadership roles in fund development, community service and volunteer engagement. She was also the founding chair of the Back 2 School Store, which provides Essex County students with a dignified back-to-school shopping experience. In addition, Penina serves as a trustee of both the Jewish Women’s Foundation of New Jersey and The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey, supporting initiatives that expand opportunity, philanthropy and healthcare access for vulnerable communities.
LaToya A. Battle-Brown
LaToya A. Battle-Brown is the Assistant Chancellor of Enrollment Management and Dean of Graduate and Undergraduate Admissions at Rutgers University – Newark, where she oversees all on- and off-campus recruitment programs, student marketing and communications and admissions operations. She is a skilled senior leader with executive experience who is a high-performing, strategic-thinking professional with more than twenty years of experience in higher education. She’s highly skilled at relationship-building with community and across organizations and teams. LaToya is a proven leader with documented success in progressively dynamic and challenging positions, with working knowledge of the principles and techniques of effective supervision and training. She is highly reliable with strong commitment to student success and student-centered institutional interventions and support tied to academic, co-curricular and interpersonal learning outcomes. She is proactive with excellent interpersonal and communication skills and experienced in working with different personalities across cross-functional levels. LaToya is a proud double alumna of Rutgers University. She joined Rutgers in 1992 as an undergraduate student at Douglass College. Upon receiving her bachelor’s degree, she worked for The Wight Foundation, Inc., Westtown School, and Sponsors for Educational Opportunity before accepting a position at Rutgers University-Newark.
Sherri-Ann P. Butterfield
Secretary
Sherri-Ann P. Butterfield is currently Senior Vice President, Social Impact at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. Her scholarly interests are immigration, race & ethnic relations, sex & gender, identity development & culture, & urban education within the Afro-Caribbean diaspora. Butterfield’s research specifically explores how race, ethnicity, class, & gender impact Afro-Caribbean immigrants & their children within the metropolitan contexts of New York/New Jersey & London. Her work has appeared in numerous journals & edited volumes that include the International Journal of Sociology & Social Policy & the Research in Urban Sociology Series. She has served in numerous academic & administrative capacities, including Visiting Academic Fellow in Nuffield College at Oxford University, Faculty Fellow in the Office of the Chancellor, American Council on Education Fellow at New York University, & former Chair of the Sociology & Anthropology Department.
Michael Handler
Michael Handler has been a successful Senior Project Manager in the construction industry for the past 25 years. Currently working for L & M Development in Newark on such important projects as the renovation of the iconic Hahne’s Building, Michael was project manager for St. Mary’s Hospital for Children & Alice Tully Hall & the Julliard School at Lincoln Center when he worked for Turner Construction. He was also project manager for the renovation of the Winter Garden & The World Financial Center after 9-11. Michael lives in Westchester County where he is actively involved with area non-profits as Board member of the Boys & Girls Club of New Rochelle & former Board Member of the New Rochelle Huguenot Children’s Library. He is an avid tennis player & horseback rider.
Matthew Kertz
Matthew is a Partner at Genova Burns LLC, where he leads the Commercial Real Estate Leasing Group and co-leads the Distressed Commercial Real Estate Task Force. An experienced real estate attorney, he advises a diverse range of clients—including Fortune 500 retailers, national education institutions, nonprofits, and private landlords and tenants—on complex leasing, acquisition and development matters across the country. His practice focuses on negotiating and drafting commercial real estate agreements and guiding clients through transactions, disputes and strategic real estate decisions. Matthew earned his J.D. from William & Mary School of Law and his B.A. from Emory University.
Filomena G. Machleder
Vice President
Filomena G. Machleder is the Senior Program Officer at The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, the charitable giving arm of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. Prior to The Horizon Foundation, Filomena was the Director of Institutional Partnerships at the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation in New York. She holds Bachelor’s & Master’s degrees in English Literature & Journalism from Rutgers University.
Eyesha K. Marable
Eyesha is the Assistant Vice President of Community Engagement at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. A champion for community engagement, arts education and Newark, Eyesha brings her experience, dedication and enthusiasm to GlassRoots.
Jennifer Markovitz
Jennifer is a New Jersey-based artist working primarily in mixed media, printmaking, and collage. She received her BFA in painting and printmaking from Cornell University and her Masters from Seton Hall University in museum studies. She has exhibited in group and juried shows at North of History Gallery in New York City; Garrison Art Center in Garrison, NY; Montclair Art Museum in Montclair, NJ; FIAF French Institute in Montclair, NJ; The A Space Gallery in New Hope, PA; LITM Gallery in Jersey City, NJ; Atlantic Highlands Art Council; the JCC in Whippany, NJ; and the Visual Arts Center of NJ where she is also a Board Member. She has worked as a docent at the Museum of Tolerance in Manhattan, VACNJ, and is currently a docent at The Museum of Arts and Design in New York City.
Diane Moss
Treasurer
Diane Moss is counsel at Lowenstein Sandler and focuses on commercial transactions and Artificial Intelligence policies and regulations. She has significant experience in representing clients across various industries, including technology, digital advertising, media, entertainment, and health care. Diane counsels on complex legal and contractual matters and regularly drafts, negotiates, and advises on technology licensing agreements, terms of use, master service agreements, developer agreements, enterprise and e-commerce agreements. She brings more than a decade of deal management experience to her practice and applies her broad perspective to meet client’s needs.
Ken Press
Board President
Ken Press is a Strategic Chief Product and Marketing Executive who is passionate about transformative, customer-focused experiences that deliver profitable business results and delight customers. He currently advises fintech start-ups and consults with established financial services companies on wealth management and insurance business strategy. Ken was Chief Product Owner for the customer journey for Prudential’s individual life annuities businesses. In that role, Ken led teams who built intuitive, simple customer experiences that differentiated Prudential in the marketplace and increased sustainable profitability, turning their customers into lifelong advocates of Prudential. Ken joined Prudential from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he held positions within Sales Management, Retirement Marketing and Local Marketing and was a key member of the team that launched Merrill Edge. Prior to that, Ken was Vice President of Wealth Management Marketing for UBS and preceded that experience by serving as Vice President of Retirement Marketing Strategy for Merrill Lynch. Ken’s areas of expertise include retirement, financial planning, wealth management and digital campaigns. A proud graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, Ken holds his FINRA Series 7, 63 and 66 licenses and is a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor. Ken was recently Chair of the Board of Directors of the Financial Clinic, a national nonprofit whose mission is to help build financial security for the working poor.
Lesli Rice
Lesli has 20 years of experience in risk management and the insurance industry, with expertise in claims, surety, insurance procurement and strategy. She is currently the Director of Risk Management at Alterra Property Group. Previously, she created the risk management program at Lincoln Avenue Communities and held various roles in Turner Construction’s risk management department.
Michelle D. Trotter
Michelle lives in Essex County and is a vocal advocate for the arts and LGBTQ youth. Michelle is excited to work with GlassRoots, as it bridges all of her interests, providing much needed tangible support to young artists.