Sound Start Babies

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Board of Trustees

Sound Start Babies Board of Trustees

Sound Start Babies is dedicated to providing exceptional comprehensive early intervention services to infants and toddlers with hearing loss. We are fortunate to have a passionate and talented Board of Trustees who provide oversight of the program, maintain fiduciary responsibility, and serve as active advocates and ambassadors for Sound Start Babies.

Alex Mitchell

President

Alex joined the Board of Sound Start Foundation in 2022 and is proud to serve as President of the newly reunited Board of Trustees of Sound Start Babies. Alex received his BA from Hobart and William Smith and his MBA from Columbia Business School. He is an experienced banking executive, having spent more than 20 years at Brown Brothers Harriman, most recently at Vice President, Head of Endowments and Foundation Lending. Alex and his family live in Mountain Lakes and have a long history of involvement with Sound Start Babies.

Rita Mozer

Vice President

Rita is a semi-retired CPA who currently serves Vice President of the Board. After graduating from Seton Hall University with a degree in Accounting she worked in Public Accounting for approximately 3 years after which she moved into private industry. She held positions in Corporate Accounting, Treasury and Human Resources before leaving industry. During tax seasons she works with a tax practice in Union, NJ. She has held volunteer positions with her Church Finance Committee, children’s Home School Association and working with the local food pantry and soup kitchen.

Daniel Borgo

Treasurer

Dan is enjoying retirement after serving as Business Administrator/Board Secretary for the Mountain Lakes School District. He also serves as Treasurer on the Board of Trustees for New Beginnings for Tomorrow. Dan resides in Randolph NJ with his wife Robyn; they have two children Nicholas and Erica.

Lindsay Boitel

Secretary

Lindsay, Sound Start Babies Board Secretary is a Financial Advisor. Lindsay graduated from The College of New Jersey with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and English. After teaching seventh grade for two years, Lindsay moved into her role as a financial advisor, where she loves helping people. Her teaching background has fueled her commitment to working with children and being involved in the community.

Laura S. McKirdy, Ph.D.

President Emeritus

Dr. McKirdy is a speech, language pathologist, developmental psychologist and the founder of the Sound Start Babies Program and the Sound Start Babies Foundation.  Laura established the first public school age program for children with hearing loss at Lake Drive School where for over three decades she developed and directed innovative educational programming for children with hearing loss. She has over 50 years of administrative experience and work with children with hearing loss and their families. Laura’s advocacy efforts for early identification and intervention have been numerous and successful on both the state and national level.

Stephanie Deyo

President Emeritus

Stephanie received her MBA from The Wharton School of University of Pennsylvania and worked for several international consumer package goods companies, specializing in new product development, business intelligence and acquisitions. She has also worked in Washington for the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Navy Department. She served for nine years as President of the Sound Start Foundation. As an early volunteer and trustee, she led the foundation’s rebranding, tripling the funds available to support critical early intervention for babies who are deaf or hard of hearing in New Jersey. Stephanie and her husband Russ raised their two children in Mountain Lakes, NJ and have relocated to Bay Head on the Jersey shore.

Yana Garger, MD

Jack Gentul, Ph.D.

Jack received his PH.D. in Higher Education/Administration from New York University. He spent 37 years as a student affairs administrator across six institutions of higher education. Jack was the Founding Director of the Henry and Lucy Moses Center for Students with Disabilities at NYU and served as the Dean of Students at NJIT. Jack joined the Sound Start Babies Board in 2016 after serving for ten years on the Mountain Lakes Board of Education.

Jessica Griffin

President Emeritus

Jessica was introduced to the Sound Start Babies Program when her second child was diagnosed as profoundly deaf upon birth. Having seen first-hand the amazing results of the Program, she joined the Board of Trustees in 2014 with the goal of ensuring all children with hearing loss are provided with the same level of life-changing services that her son received. Jessica became President of the Foundation in 2016 and led the organization through a period of significant financial growth and a material restructuring. Jessica graduated from Loyola University Maryland with a BBA in Marketing and spent eight years in marketing, sales and customer service in the New York City hospitality industry. Jessica, and her husband Michael, have 4 children and she spends any extra time she may have giving back to her children’s schools and the community.

Richard Kalfayan

Rick received a B.A. in Finance from Richard Stockton University. He is currently a Managing Director and Senior Investment Specialist for the NJ Market of the J.P. Morgan Private Bank. In his role, he is responsible for advising high net worth individuals, foundations, and senior executives on a range of financial matters. Rick lives in Belmar with his wife Denise and two children, Katie and Jake.

Thomas Olson

Tom, attorney at law, specializes in eminent domain and real property tax matters representing individuals, businesses, and municipalities. His expertise has earned him the honor of being acknowledged as a New Jersey Super Lawyer and a Best Lawyer. Tom has been a supporter of the Sound Start Babies Program for many years and is a thoughtful caring member of his community and a dedicated father and grandfather.

Ann Ryan

Ann served for several years as a grant writer for the Sound Start Babies Foundation and now serves on the reunited Sound Start Babies Board. Ann has a long history of not-for-profit Board participation including Oratory Preparatory School, Mount Saint Mary Academy, the Amanda Rose Laura Foundation and Impact 100 Garden State. She is a former healthcare bond analyst having worked for many years in the financial services industry. Ann holds an MBA degree from Baruch College of the City University of New York, and an undergraduate degree from NYU.

Marjorie Solomon

Marge is a Learning Disabilities Teacher/Consultant and Teacher of the Deaf, who has almost four decades of experience with Deaf and Hearing-Impaired students from Early Childhood to High School. Marge continues to serve students with Learning Disabilities at Fairleigh Dickenson University, some of whom have a mild to moderate hearing loss. She was one of the first Early Intervention Coordinators for the Mountain Lakes Early Intervention Program, now known as Sound Start Babies Program. Marge continues to be committed to exceptional intervention services for students with hearing loss, no matter their age.

Kaitlin Stahl, LSLS Cert. AVEd.

Kate is a teacher of the deaf and Listening and Spoken Language Specialist (LSLS AVEd.) Kate was a part of the Sound Start Babies Program for almost a decade, during which time she taught toddlers in the Sound Start Babies Nursery and provided home-based services for families and their children with hearing loss (birth to three). Kate additionally oversaw Sound Start Babies Program’s grant funded teleintervention model, the first in the state of New Jersey. Kate is the co-owner and Director at her family's childcare center which has been in operation for over two decades. She is excited to still be involved in the program by being a member the Board.

Jonathan Weizman

Jonathan holds a Master's Degree in Economics from Rutgers University. He has spent 20 years in the hearing healthcare industry in the private sector working for global manufacturers, as well as founding a private national hearing healthcare organization. Jonathan is a passionate believer in the benefits of treating hearing loss and proper education. He resides in Mountain Lakes and is the proud parent of a community child in the Sound Start Babies nursery.

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