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Advisory Board

Leslie Stivale

President/CEO of Triple C Housing, Inc.

Leslie Stivale is the President/CEO of Triple C Housing, Inc., a non-profit community housing development organization (CHDO) and supportive services provider. As a vision driven, results oriented leader, Leslie has expanded Triple C’s supportive housing portfolio, leveraging multiple funding sources to develop high quality, affordable housing and provide supportive services for formerly homeless individuals, families and veterans.

Leslie possesses thirty five years of experience in behavioral health, human services, supportive housing and affordable housing development having worked within the private and non-profit sectors in senior and executive management. She holds a master’s degree from Montclair State University, a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University, a certificate in Nonprofit Executive Leadership from Rutgers Business School, and is a certified psychiatric rehabilitation practitioner (CPRP).

Leslie works closely with local, regional and state initiatives, and presents at national, state and local conferences with a focus on the social determinants of health and housing security. For over a decade, she served as the chair of the Camp Kilmer Collaborative to facilitate the Army Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) to build affordable and supportive housing opportunities to serve homeless families and veterans at the former military base. Leslie served in multiple capacities to facilitate the creation of the legally binding agreement and land transfer for affordable housing, working with Edison Township, the US Department of Defense, and the US Housing and Urban Development.

Among receiving numerous awards and recognition, in 2010, Leslie was appointed to the NJ Interagency Council for Preventing and Reducing Homelessness. In 2017, Triple C was awarded the Governor’s Excellence Award in Supportive Housing, and in the same year, Leslie was presented with the prestigious Mort Gati award by the NJ Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association (NJPRA). Most recently, Leslie was recognized by the Supportive Housing Association of NJ with the Innovative Leadership Award.

Leslie is the chair of the board of directors of the Housing and Community Development Network of NJ, board member of the Edison Affordable Housing Commission, and past president of NJPRA.

lstivale@triplechousing.org

Vice Chair

Jorge Cruz

Vice President for Community Development-NJ Market
Citizens Bank

Jorge joins the growing Citizens Bank team to lead the growth and impact of the Bank’s community development platform throughout Citizens’ New Jersey footprint. Jorge brings nearly 30 years of extensive executive-level experience in defining, developing and leading strategic community development finance, grant-making, capital-raise and impact investment activity, particularly in developing and driving economic, racial and educational equity strategies in numerous low-income communities and with vulnerable populations. In this most recent role as LISC-New Jersey’s fourth Executive Director (the local arm of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation and one of the 39 field offices operating within LISC’s national structure), Jorge led the annualized deployment of a combined $22MM in grants, loans, and investments into numerous markets.

Prior to joining LISC, Jorge served as New Jersey Community Capital’s first ever Chief External Affairs Officer. As a member of the executive team, Jorge led the capital-raise and management process for an estimated $30MM in diverse forms of grant, investment and equity capital on an annual basis for New Jersey’s largest CDFI.

Jorge’s work history also includes serving as Chief Strategy Officer for Jewish Renaissance (JR), a Middlesex County-based, multi-purpose nonprofit who currently serves nearly 30,000 low-income households. In his 11 years, Jorge was instrumental in building JR’s capacity nearly threefold.  His prior work experience also includes serving as the Chief Executive Officer of the Jersey City Episcopal Community Development Corporation (now known as the Garden State Episcopal Community Development Corporation), one of Jersey City’s largest affordable housing developers and social service providers; and President of The Bruno Group (TBG), a public/non-profit sector management consulting firm for municipal, county and state government, non-profit agencies, public school systems, and corporations.

Jorge is a frequent speaker, coach and trainer on wide range of topics in nonprofit and public sector management. He serves on several boards and commissions, including as a Board member of the New Jersey Center for Nonprofits; and Triple C Housing, one of the State’s largest supportive housing developers. His thought leadership includes serving as a Steering Committee member of the “Doing Better Good Advisory Council”, a collaboration of the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers and the New Jersey Center for Nonprofits – a joint effort to form a Trust-based Philanthropy platform formed and led by philanthropy and nonprofit leaders working together.  Jorge has also been appointed to nine-member “Jegna Council”, a working group formed by the New Jersey office of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The Council’s main purpose is to guide the grantmaking priorities of the NJ office within the three pillars of housing; maternal and child health; and public health infrastructure.

He has been the recipient of numerous awards & recognition.

Originally from Perth Amboy, NJ, Jorge lives in North Brunswick with his wife, Ivonne, and their 21-year-old son, Sammy.

Advisory Board

Carleen J. Graham, Ph.D, RN

Associate Professor, School of Nursing

Dr. Carleen Graham is an Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Mental Health and Public Health Nursing Courses at Felician University, Lodi, New Jersey. Dr. Graham earned her Ph.D from Capella University. Dr. Graham’s research interests focuses on nursing workforce diversity, equity, and inclusion in nursing education, transitioning to teaching at advanced levels of nursing education, and interprofessional education and simulation, and the impact of covid-19 pandemic on new graduate nurses’ performance. She has over 33 years of professional clinical experience and my clinical specialties are mental health and emergency nursing. She is a past recipient of the Jonas Center for Nursing Excellence Scholarship and served as a certified as a New York State Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner from 2011 to 2020. She has served as the Project Director for a HRSA Nursing Workforce Diversity (NWD) grant (2018 to 2020). Through her leadership and collaborative efforts, she ensured that a comprehensive program was created for underrepresented minority students (UREM) students as she enhanced the institution’s NWD opportunities. She also provided leadership in simulation for the medical and nursing students by working collaboratively with the School of Medicine on the development and implementation of an Interprofessional Education (IPE) curriculum. Through those innovative efforts, she ensured that meaningful sessions were created for the nursing and medical students in efforts to enhance the School of Nursing and the Health System’s IPE opportunities.

Honorary Members

Kenneth J. Gill, Ph.D.

Professor, Chair, Psychiatric Rehabilitation & Counseling Professions Associate Dean, Faculty Development Rutgers-School of Health Professions

Kenneth J. Gill, Ph.D., is founding Chairperson and Professor of the Rutgers Department of Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Counseling Professions at Rutgers. He also serves as the Associate Dean of Faculty Development in the School of Health Professions and is co-director of Region II Mental Health Technology Transfer Center,. In his role as department chair, he oversees 50 staff and faculty, and supervises academic programs from the associate through doctoral levels. He is co-author of Psychiatric Rehabilitation (3rd ed., 2014) and People in Recovery as Providers: Building on the Wisdom of Experience (2010) and more than 70 peer reviewed articles and chapters. As a graduate of Columbia and Marquette Universities, he combines a background in measurement evaluation and statistics with his experience in psychiatric rehabilitation and academic administration to develop, implement, and evaluate, training, implementation, and dissemination projects aimed at supporting individuals with serious mental illness to live full lives in the community.

Advisory Board

Frank Greenagel

Greenagel Counseling Services, LLC

Frank Greenagel, MPAP, MSW, LCSW, LCADC, ICADC, CASAC, ACSW, CJC, CCS, is a clinical social worker who specializes in addiction & recovery treatment. He is licensed in NJ, NY, and PA. He is the Recovery Supervisor at Prevention Links and oversees the NJ Recovery High School in Roselle, NJ. He provides supervision to several social workers and peers in recovery. He also manages a large and diverse collection of interns. Frank drives up to Albany, NY, a few times a month in order to serve as the Consulting Therapist for the NY State Troopers EAP.

Frank is an adjunct professor at the Rutgers School of Social Work. He is also an instructor at the Center of Alcohol Studies. He writes a blog at greenagel.com. He conducts trainings and delivers keynote speeches around the country. He completed a Masters in Public Affairs and Politics in 2015.

Frank consults for a variety of treatment programs, universities, and law enforcement agencies. He regularly writes for a number of journals and trade websites. He is the President of the Rutgers School of Social Work Alumni Council.  In 2018, the president of the NJ State Senate, Stephen Sweeney, appointed him to NJ Youth Suicide Prevention Advisory Council.

Frank spent much of 2016-17 training police in NY, NJ, and PA on issues surrounding addiction and community policing for the Center of Alcohol Studies. He also trained over 1000 Corrections Officers and Therapists for the Department of Corrections in the first half of 2018.

Frank worked as the Recovery Counselor at both Rutgers New Brunswick & Newark for five years, where he oversaw recovery housing and coordinated student & alumni activities. In 2011, Rutgers won the NAADAC (National Association of Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Counselors) Organization Achievement Award. Rutgers is considered by many to have the strongest recovery college program in the world.

Frank served in the United States Army while studying history and English at Rutgers. He studied Shakespeare at the University of Cambridge in England, and taught English in Japan in 2003. Frank graduated with his MSW from Rutgers in 2006. He spent three years teaching English at Elizabeth High School and six years working as an outpatient counselor at Hunterdon Drug Awareness. He served on the NJ Governor’s Council on Alcohol & Drug Abuse (GCADA) from 2011 to 2022 and was the Chairman of the NJ Heroin & Other Opiates Task Force. He served on the Board of Directors for Hazelden-Betty Ford from 2014 to 2017. He also served on the Board of Directors for NASW-NJ from 2018 to 2020.

In 2014, 10 years after he was granted an honorable discharge from his first contract with the Army, Frank was directly commissioned into the Pennsylvania Army National Guard as a First Lieutenant. He helps soldiers that have experienced PTSD, substance abuse issues and tries to point them all in a positive direction. He served in Poland with the 3-278 Cavalry during the last four months of 2019. His last drill was in the spring of 2022.

Frank is an passionate sports fan who ardently follows the Minnesota Vikings and the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is also an avid traveler, having been to six continents, 40 countries, 47 states and 44 baseball stadiums (every current MLB park and 13 that have since closed). Frank has run two marathons. During the spring and summer, he spends several hours each week on his flower garden. A true Anglophile, he’s played croquet since childhood. He has visited every major Civil War battlefield. He is a prolific reader of comics, drama and history. He has written three books, including a play about his time in the Army.

Frank is a near-obsessive hiker and Catskill 3500 club member #2998 (Winter #1340).  He became an Adirondack 46er (#13,778) in October of 2021 and completed his Winter 46 in January of 2023. He finished the 48 White mountains in New Hampshire in October of 2022.

Frank climbed Mt. Fuji while living in Japan in 2003. He is proud to have achieved the summit of Mt. Washington in January of 2017 (crazily, it was his first winter hike).  In March of 2018, he summited Mt. Kilimanjaro in a blizzard with a NY State Trooper. He climbed Mt. Kenya and Mt. Kosciuszko in 2019. He hiked the Northville Lake Placid Trail in 2020 and the Wonderland Trail in 2021. Frank achieved the summit of Mt. Rainier in August of 2022. He climbed Volcan Baru (Panama) in 2021 and Cerro Chirripo in 2023.  He completed the W in Patagonia in February of 2023. Frank has taken hundreds of students, clients, soldiers, veterans, friends and family members on hikes.

Advisory Board

Susanne Rainier

Retired Bureau Director, DMHAS

Susanne Rainier earned a MSW at Rutgers, then worked in the behavioral health field for over 35 years. She held various positions with the NJ Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services overseeing community mental health and substance use services. Now retired, she enjoys volunteering to make New Jersey a welcoming place to live for residents from all walks of life.

Trustee

Annie Carrasco

Anne graduated from Rutgers School of Law – Newark with her Juris Doctorate and was admitted to the practice of law in New Jersey in 2009 and the New York in 2010.

Since graduating, Anne has worked at AmLaw100 firms, a large regional firm, and a Fortune 500 corporation. Over the years she represented large institutional clients in complex commercial litigation in Federal and State court cases, including labor, employment, mass/toxic tort cases, environmental law, judgment enforcement, mortgage loan servicing, foreclosure process management, RESPA, TILA, FRCA, and FDCPA claims.

Inspired by the strong women entrepreneurs in her family and seeing the need for attorney services that are collaborative and compassionate, Anne shifted her focus to helping individuals, families, and entrepreneurs achieve their personal and business goals.

Anne’s practice area focuses are real estate, trust and estates, and small business law.
Anne is passionate about empowering individuals, families, and entrepreneurs to build and protect their legacies and achieve their dreams by making the legal process less intimidating.

Family Advisory Board

Kristen Gilmore Powell
Ph.D., MSW, LSW

Associate Research Professor, School of Social Work
Associate Director, Center for Prevention Science
Director, Northeast & Caribbean Prevention Technology Transfer Center

Dr. Kristen Gilmore Powell is an Associate Research Professor with the Rutgers University School of Social Work and Associate Director of the Center for Prevention Science. She is also the Director of the Northeast and Caribbean Prevention Technology Transfer Center. Dr. Powell earned her Ph.D. from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, School of Social Work, in 2013. Dr. Powell’s scholarship is focused on building the capacity of community-based organizations to mobilize, intervene, create systemic change, and, consequently, overcome social problems through effective prevention approaches within an empowerment framework. She has conducted research on community-level interventions, collaborations, coalition effectiveness, and prevention science for nearly 15 years. Her work is grounded in empowerment theory, team science, and models that help enhance the prevention workforce in their efforts to create community change that supports individuals to towards wellness and health. Dr. Powell currently serves as Principal Investigator and Investigator on multiple externally funded research projects. Much of this work focuses on how individual and environmental strategies can prevent the harmful consequences of substance use, particularly in communities identified with high need and existing health disparities.

Trustee

Bashir Jordan
MSW

School Social Worker at Plainfield High School
Rutgers University
New Brunswick

Bashir Jordan is a Social Worker with over 12 years of experience working with youth, adults, and families in residential, outpatient, inpatient, school and community settings.

Mr. Jordan obtained both his undergraduate and masters level degrees from Rutgers University. Mr. Jordan has obtained his Master of Social Work degree and is a Certified School Social Worker for New Jersey Public Schools. Mr. Jordan is also highly trained in crisis intervention and trauma informed practices.

Mr. Jordan has experience in working with children/adolescents who experience trauma, behavioral, and/or mental health challenges. In addition he has worked with adults dealing with the impact of psychiatric and addictive illnesses.

Mr. Jordan is a member of New Jersey Association of School Social Workers and the Triple C. Housing Advisory Board Advisory Committee. Mr. Jordan enjoys traveling, visiting different sports stadiums, working out and spending time with his family.

Trustee

Alison Recca-Ryan
MSW, LCSW

Independent Consultant

Alison Recca-Ryan, Principal at Double R Consulting , a consulting and training firm focused on solutions to ending homelessness, since 2014.  She has been providing consulting and training services on innovative housing and services strategies to organizations for over 30 years.  Her work is grounded in practice having direct experience developing and or operating service enriched housing and implementing systems changes.  Her expertise includes US HUD programs, affordable housing financing, supportive housing services and property management.

Prior to the development of Double R Consulting, Ms Recca-Ryan served as the Director of the NJ and Washington DC offices of CSH for 14 years, the Vice President of Behavioral Health at Easter Seal NJ for 13 years and Executive Director of the Mental Health Association of New Jersey.

Trustee

Emmy Tiderington
PhD, MSW, LMSW

Assistant Professor
Rutgers University
School of Social Work

Emmy Tiderington, PhD, LMSW, is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work and Associate Faculty at the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research at Rutgers. Prior to this appointment, she served as a clinical supervisor and social worker working in housing and case management programs for individuals with serious mental illness and other complex needs. Dr. Tiderington’s areas of expertise in homeless services research include the implementation and effectiveness of permanent supportive housing, Housing First and Moving On initiative service models, best practices for facilitating transitions out of homeless services, and mental health and substance abuse recovery in homeless populations.

Chair

Matthew Mayo
MSW

Program Coordinator
Institute for Families, Rutgers University

Matthew is a 2014 MSW graduate of the Rutgers School of Social Work with a concentration in Management and Policy. He began working with the Institute for Families as a second-year intern with service providers and consumers utilizing funding from the Ryan White Care Act and the Sandy Child and Family Health Study through the Office of Research and Evaluation. Currently, Matthew serves as a Program Coordinator for Grow NJ Kids Training Services at the School of Social Work. Matthew serves the community as a mentor for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Essex, Hudson, and Union Counties; and as the fundraising chair for its Leadership Council.

Emeritus

William Waldman
MSW

Lecturer and Executive in Residence
Rutgers University
School of Social Work
Former Commissioner of New Jersey
Dept. of Human Services

Mr. Waldman is Professor of Professional Practice Emeritus at Rutgers University School of Social Work. He served as Professor of Professional Practice at the School since January, 2001. From July 1998 to December, 2000 he was the Executive Director of the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) in Washington, DC. APHSA is a non-profit organization whose members include the health and human service agencies in the 50 states, as well as many agencies in counties, municipalities and US territories. Its purpose is to develop, promote and assist its members in the implementation of sound public human services policies.

Mr. Waldman was employed by the State of New Jersey from July 1987 to June 1998 during which time he served as a Director of the Division of Youth and Family Services – the state’s child welfare agency, as Deputy Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Human Services and as Commissioner of the Department and a member of the cabinet for three Governors of New Jersey.

The Department of Human Services is the largest public agency in New Jersey and his responsibilities included administering a $7 billion budget, managing a workforce of 19,000 employees and serving over one million residents of the state. The Department encompassed seven (7) operating divisions which included the Medicaid program, services to the mentally ill and developmentally disabled, the child welfare program, all public welfare programs as well as services to the blind and visually impaired and the deaf and hard of hearing. He also had responsibility for eighteen (18) institutions including psychiatric hospitals, developmental centers, children’s residential facilities and a residential program for the blind.

From May of 1975 until July of 1987 Mr. Waldman directed the Middlesex County, New Jersey Department of Human Services. In this capacity he was responsible for the administration of numerous county- based human services programs, managed a staff of sixty-five (65) employees, and administered a budget in the amount of $8 million.

Mr. Waldman was employed from October of 1965 to May of 1975 with the Essex County Welfare Board in Newark, New Jersey. He began as a caseworker and advanced through a series of progressively responsible supervisory and administrative positions including the administration of the County’s food stamp and employment and training programs.

Mr. Waldman has been the recipient of numerous awards throughout his career, serves on various boards of directors of community agencies, has made numerous presentations at professional conferences, the New Jersey Legislature, the US Congress, foundations and business and industry groups; and, consulted for both government and private agencies.

Secretary

Robin Stephenson

Peer Support Specialist

I worked in the mental health field for twenty or thirty years, first as a patient/client and then as a professional. I served in The Skills Building Unit of the habilitation center called “The Club”, on New Street in New Brunswick where I worked in The Skills Building Unit as a prevocational counselor in preparation to transition club members into paid positions within the community. I supervised club members in the care and maintenance of the facility, and conducted a Current Events Group.

I, also, worked in Laurel House under Tom Malamud on Livingston Avenue in New Brunswick as Director of Membership Support Services. I was in charge of encouraging Members in the care and maintenance of the facility and grounds, and often, I was responsible for a daily lunch program, supervising grocery shopping, cooking, and cleanup. I’ve served as a trustee on The Board of Triple C Housing for many years and I am currently Secretary on The Executive Committee.