NEW JERSEY YMCA STATE ALLIANCE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Officers Team
Job Titles:
- Director of Camping Services
Job Titles:
- Member of the Officers Team
- Vice President
Ellie McCreesh is excited to support SNAP-Ed implementing agencies throughout the state as Associate Program Manager with the NJ YMCA State Alliance. She is a CHES-certified Health Educator and prides herself in her creative, people-oriented approach to her work. Ellie provides technical support and facilitates inter-agency relationships between the YMCA State Alliance and its stakeholders.
Before joining the Alliance team, Ellie served as a Health Educator at a local health department, where she organized and executed evidence-based community initiatives. Notable projects include leading The Jersey Shore Regional Health Commission Suicide Prevention Coalition, during which she created and designed a guide for faith leaders looking to facilitate conversations about suicide within their communities. Additionally, she spearheaded Circle of Friends, a loneliness prevention group for older adults looking to foster strong interpersonal relationships. Ellie guided the group of 10 members through weekly activities centered around creative arts/culture, writing, reflection, and wellness.
Ellie's dedication to promoting the transformative power of social connection fuels her commitment as she works to cultivate healthy relationships in all aspects of her work. Ellie attended The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) where she earned her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Public Health with a concentration in Health Communications. She was fortunate to have worked with TCNJ's Anti-Violence Initiatives as a Primary Prevention Intern and with the NJ YMCA State Alliance as a Public Health Intern.
The YMCA holds a special place in Ellie's heart, echoing back to her roots as a "Y kid" who spent summers at a YMCA sleep-away camp in Medford, NJ.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Member of the Officers Team
Job Titles:
- Community & Equity Initiatives Manager
Julia Wieczorek is the Community & Equity Initiatives Manager at the NJ YMCA State Alliance, where she assists the Vice President, Community & Equity Initiatives in establishing and maintaining state and local partnerships, and managing implementation of statewide programs related to community and public health.
In her role, Julia provides training and technical assistance to NJ's SNAP-Ed implementing agencies. Julia also manages the NJ YMCA State Alliance's VISTA and Internship Programs, and coordinates outreach and program activities for Community Conversations: Pandemic Perspectives, NJ's COVID-19 Storytelling Project. She has presented both nationally and locally about the project's findings and opportunities for community-informed public health improvements drawn from residents' lived experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Julia provides support in coordinating several backbone funding opportunities for local YMCAs and community partners, including the SNAP Navigator Program, the Novo Nordisk Supporting Communities Beyond COVID-19 Program, the McKinney-Vento Regional Program and Y Youth Services Program, and other initiatives.
Julia is certified in Wellness Counseling, and is an instructor in Mental Health First Aid for Adults. She joined the NJ YMCA State Alliance in 2019 as a Program Administrator VISTA through AmeriCorps. Wieczorek previously served as an AmeriCorps Education Fellow in Newark, NJ. Wieczorek earned her bachelor's degrees from Vassar College in International Relations and Chinese, and a master's degree in Public Affairs from Brown University.
She is a member of the YMCA Raritan Valley Board of Directors and supports their various fundraisers.
Kathy Dunn supports the Alliance and local Ys in innovation, equity, housing, and youth leadership. Dunn coordinates development for the 7th Grade Initiative program for the Ys in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The 7th Grade Initiative is a New Jersey YMCA signature program that offers young teens complimentary Y membership to encourage them to maintain and adopt healthy behaviors at an age when they are beginning to make their own choices.
Dunn brings to New Jersey YMCA State Alliance 50 years of YMCA experience. As one of the first female YMCA executives, she was the CEO of The Gateway Family YMCA for 28 years serving communities in Union and Middlesex County, New Jersey. During her tenure she developed and sustained YMCA urban programming providing early childhood education, out-of-school-time programs, and homeless housing with wrap-around social services in partnership with local hospitals, school systems, non-profits, and municipal governments.
She has held leadership positions on community boards, civic and professional organizations including president of Union Hospital, vice-president of Union Township Chamber of Commerce, chair of Union County Human Service Advisory Committee, president of Elizabeth Rotary Club, vice-president of New Jersey Center for Non-Profits, treasurer of Association of Professional YMCA Directors administration section, and YMCA of the USA National Board.
A graduate of the University of Kentucky, she holds a bachelor's degree in Junior High Education. She currently serves on the RSI Bank board of directors, Senior Housing III, Inc. board of trustees, YMCA Alumni National Service Project fundraising steering committee, and is a YMCA of the USA new CEO coach.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Community & Equity Initiatives
Marissa Davis has over 15 years of experience in public and community health. As Vice President of Community & Equity Initiatives, she is responsible for developing public-private partnerships, implementing population health policies and initiatives to expand community outreach and services to New Jersey's most vulnerable residents. She is a Relationship Builder, Thinker, Doer, Dollar Cultivator, Inspiration Driver, Hope Protector, Community Voice Amplifier, Professional Meeting Attender, and Comic Relief.
Prior to her role at the NJ YMCA State Alliance, Marissa oversaw projects in Trenton that led to significant community improvements, including: the creation of the Greenwood Ave. Farmers Market, the development of two school playgrounds, the city's first wellness loop and a middle school workout room; policies for complete streets, district wellness, faith-based wellness and coordinated food pantries; the Trenton Healthy Corner Store Initiative, Ready, Set, Healthy! and the Trenton Healthy Food and Fitness Network.
During the pandemic, Marissa initiated Community Conversations: Pandemic Perspectives, NJ's COVID-19 Storytelling Project in partnership with the New Jersey Department of Health. The project is comprised of almost 800 collected experiences of vulnerable populations and the impact that COVID-19 has had in their lives. Transforming lived experience into policy and program change, the long-term goal is to improve systems while documenting a critical time in New Jersey's (and the world's) history. Analysis of the collection is being used, in part, to inform the development of New Jersey's State Health Improvement Plan with Healthy NJ 2030.
In 2022, the Office of the Governor appointed Marissa to serve on the COVID-19 Racial and Health Disparities Taskforce. She serves as co-chair of the Healthy NJ 2030 Advisory Council, and sits on several boards, councils, and committees to improve public health outcomes in New Jersey.
Marissa currently oversees an annual portfolio of $3 million, including subawards to local YMCAs and other community-based organizations. She creates and executes strategies to address complex issues such as food and housing insecurity, childcare, and poverty with a focus on equity, scalability, and relationship building. She provides technical assistance and direction to local YMCAs, SNAP-Educators, partnering state agencies, and other community-based organizations.
Marissa has a dual certificate in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Dialogue for Change from Cornell University, and a bachelor's degree in Women's Studies and African American/Black Studies from the University of Delaware. As a mother of two, she is also active in her community. She is currently serving her second term as Vice President of the Mercer County Park Commission.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board
- Member of the Officers Team
Job Titles:
- Member of the Officers Team
- Treasurer
Job Titles:
- Alliance Services Associate