THE FUND FOR NEW JERSEY - Key Persons
Alana brings a very strong commitment to racial justice as well as expertise in public policy, research, and data analysis. Prior to joining The Fund, Alana worked at Advocates for Children of New Jersey as both Health Policy Analyst and Kids Count Coordinator. She has experience covering topics including health care access, maternal and infant health, and childhood lead poisoning. Alana also co-led the statewide Census 2020 NJ campaign, a complex partnership that resulted in a more complete count of New Jersey residents. Alana is a proud Girl Scout who currently volunteers for the Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore and previously served on the Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey Board of Directors. She received a B.A. from Bryn Mawr College and earned her Master of Public Policy (MPP) from the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Fellow at the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers
- Partner at the Law Firm Lowenstein Sandler
Alexander Shalom is a partner at the law firm Lowenstein Sandler. He chairs the Lowenstein Center for Public Interest, bringing strategic focus to the firm's pro bono efforts and strengthening partnerships with leading nonprofit and community organizations across the country and within the firm's local communities, while maintaining an active litigation docket. Shalom joined the firm after over 13 years at the ACLU-NJ, most recently as Director of Supreme Court Advocacy; his primary focus was on litigating cases involving issues that disproportionately impact people of color. He has appeared frequently before appellate courts in New Jersey, arguing more than 100 times before the New Jersey Supreme Court. Before joining the ACLU-NJ, Shalom worked as an Assistant Deputy Public Defender in Essex County and as Capital Cases Clerk for Hon. Deborah J. Poritz, the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court.
Shalom is a fellow at the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers and a member of the Police Training Commission. He received his B.A. summa cum laude from Tufts University and his J.D. cum laude from New York University School of Law. He joined the board for The Fund for New Jersey in 2024.
Brandon McKoy is an established leader in public policy analysis and advocacy statewide and nationally. Prior to his current position, he worked as the Vice President for State Partnerships and Co-Leader of the State Fiscal Policy Division at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington, D.C.
Brandon is well known for his accomplishments from his time at New Jersey Policy Perspective, where he held several roles over the course of seven years, first as a State Policy Fellow through the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities' program, next as a Policy Analyst, and then as Director of Government and Public Affairs, before assuming leadership of the organization as NJPP's President from 2019 through late 2021. Throughout those years, he researched and promoted a variety of issues including the minimum wage, paid sick leave, equitable taxation, public budget processes, the legalization and regulation of cannabis, and much more. Returning to The Fund for New Jersey in 2024 served as a homecoming given that Brandon worked as a Program Associate at the organization and served as its first philanthropy fellow from 2012 to 2014.
Brandon completed his bachelor's degree at The College of New Jersey and earned a master's degree from the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University. He is a lifelong New Jerseyan and now resides in Hunterdon County with his family.
Charles Wallace believed that only those living can understand and appreciate the needs of the time. So he left the future philanthropic decisions of the trust to future generations. Since then, The Fund has shifted from community giving to supporting agencies of social change, policy analysis, and research, continuing the combined legacy of Charles Wallace's innovative ability to solve large problems with Florence Murray's dedication to promoting social good. This foundation has provided the flexibility that allows Trustees of The Fund for New Jersey today to make grants directly addressing the state's most pressing issues.
Christopher (Chris) Van Buren, CFA, is Principal and Chief Risk Officer at Edward Jones, a broker-dealer and investment adviser company. In this role, he is responsible for building and managing an enterprise-level capability to maximize opportunities through the identification, assessment, and management of risk. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter holder, a former president of the Global Association of Risk Professionals' Buy Side Risk Managers' Forum and a former member of the North American CRO Council. He has 40 years of experience in enterprise risk management, asset management, quantitative research, and engineering via senior roles in New York and London at Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, The Rockefeller Foundation, UBS, and TIAA.
As an active member of his community, he serves on the Board of Trustees of the Princeton Public Library and on the Board of the Princeton-Blairstown Center. He holds a B.S.E. in Electrical Engineering/Computer Science from Princeton University, and an M.E. in Electrical Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology. He joined the Board of the Fund for New Jersey in 2023 and is currently serving as Treasurer.
Job Titles:
- Historian
- Trustee
- Member of Solidaridad
Anastasia Mann is a historian of the 20th-Century US (PhD, Northwestern, 2003). Her work - teaching, writing, service and organizing -- has two main dimensions: understanding how structural forces manifest opportunity for some communities while building roadblocks for others and what we can learn from and about the creative and energetic community-led movements that challenge such structures.
At Princeton's School of Public and International Affairs, Mann is the Inaugural Director of SPIA in NJ. This transdisciplinary project operates at the lively intersection of academia and public service. Under its auspices, students and faculty join together with policymakers, advocates, analysts, and elected officials to conduct research and highlight best practices consistent with multi-racial democracy.
Mann is also Lecturer at the Lecturer at Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs where her teaching focuses on the (historic and ongoing) harm of racialized capitalism and explores promising inroads - through tax and budget, mutual aid and reparations - for transitional justice in the US and beyond. She is Faculty Fellow with the Service Focus project of the Pace Center for Civic Engagement where for three years she has worked with students on the theme of Race, Migration and Belonging.
Mann is a member of Solidaridad and Princeton Mutual Aid. She serves on the board of directors of New Jersey Policy Perspective. For fun, she reads, hikes, gardens, and bakes.
Dr. Sadaf Jaffer is a scholar & policy expert with 20+ years of public engagement, higher education, and governmental expertise.
Jaffer is Associate Research Scholar and Lecturer at Princeton University where she teaches courses on South Asian, Islamic, and Asian American Studies. Her research focuses on secular, feminist, and activist movements in South Asian Muslim and diasporic contexts with particular attention to the arts, literature, and popular culture. She has published with the Star-Ledger, the Hill, the Journal of Women's History, Foreign Policy Research Institute, Huffington Post, Altmuslimah, and American Kahani.
She is passionate about mobilizing diverse stakeholders to address the needs of women, minorities, & economically under-resourced communities. Jaffer previously served in New Jersey's state legislature where she represented the 16th Legislative District. Assemblywoman Jaffer advocated for the best interests of NJ's 9.2 million residents with special attention to her district's 230,000 constituents. She championed increased funding for 9-1-1 call centers, teen suicide prevention programming, & translation services. Her legislative priorities included laws on election integrity, transportation, reproductive healthcare, & gun safety. She bolstered representation for women and minorities in politics as the first Asian American woman (with Ellen Park and Shama Haider) and the first Muslim American (with Shama Haider) to serve in the New Jersey Legislature.
Prior to joining the NJ legislature, Jaffer served two terms as mayor of Montgomery Township. In January of 2019, she shattered glass ceilings as the first South Asian American woman to serve as mayor in NJ and the first Muslim woman mayor of a municipality in the US. Her signature initiatives included creating and implementing a crisis communications plan to help Montgomery maintain some of the lowest COVID-19 infection and fatality rates in the state, leading the design and construction of a new municipal center and library, building trust and understanding by coordinating meetings for Black community members with the Township's police leadership, and inaugurating a Youth Leadership Council.
Jaffer earned her bachelor's degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and obtained her PhD in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations with a secondary field in Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality from Harvard University.
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Vice Chair
- Senior Advisor for Journalism and Public Media for the Philadelphia
Feather Houstoun is Senior Advisor for journalism and public media for the Philadelphia-based Wyncote Foundation. She served as gubernatorial appointee to the Philadelphia School Reform Commission. She was President of the William Penn Foundation, which works to improve the quality of life in the Philadelphia region with focuses on arts and culture, children and families, and urban design and environmental concerns. She has served at every level of government, including as a New Jersey township elected official. She headed the Department of Public Welfare in Pennsylvania, was State Treasurer in New Jersey, and Chief Financial Officer for the Southeastern PA Transportation Authority. She headed the NJ Housing Finance Agency, and held various positions in the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.
While Treasurer in New Jersey, she oversaw the initial organization of the State Planning Office which developed the state plan for Communities of Place, and subsequently authored a report on the role of gubernatorial leadership in smart growth and redevelopment. She is a graduate of the Universities of Arizona and Texas, and is a regular contributor on public management issues for Governing.com. She has served on the Board of The Fund for New Jersey since 2016 and was elected Vice Chair in 2023.
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Professor of Law at Rutgers University
John Farmer is a University Professor of Law at Rutgers University and was the Director of the Eagleton Institute of Politics until 2023. He leads the Miller Center for Community Protection and Resilience (CPR), which is housed at and affiliated with Eagleton and Rutgers Law School. He is the former dean of Rutgers School of Law - Newark, Attorney General of New Jersey, and Chief Counsel to Governor Christine Todd Whitman. He served as senior counsel and team leader for the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (commonly known as the 9/11 Commission) and authored The Ground Truth: The Untold Story of America Under Attack on 9/11, a reconsideration of the government's 9/11 response in light of its response to Hurricane Katrina.
Professor Farmer began his career as a law clerk to Associate Justice Alan B. Handler of the New Jersey Supreme Court. He then worked as a litigation associate at Riker, Danzig, Scherer, Hyland & Perretti LLP before joining the Office of the U.S. Attorney in Newark. In 1993 he received the U.S. Attorney General's Special Achievement Award for Sustained Performance. He was a partner in the white collar crime and internal investigations group at K&L Gates and in 2007 became a founding partner of the law firm Arseneault, Whipple, Farmer, Fassett and Azzarello, LLP. He is a frequent contributor to the Star-Ledger and the New York Times, serves on the board of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, and is a former member of the New Jersey Governor's Ethics Advisory Board. He received his B.A. from Georgetown University and his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. He joined the Board of The Fund for New Jersey in 2018.
John W. Cornwall is retired from a distinguished career in private practice in internal medicine. In addition, on a part time basis, he was Medical Director of Time, Inc and an instructor in Clinical Medicine at Columbia University. He served as Chairman of the Ethics Committee of the medical board at St. Luke's- Roosevelt Hospital. He also served as Vice-Chairperson on the New York Citizens' Committee on Health Care Decisions. Dr. Cornwall received his undergraduate degree at Williams College and his medical degree from Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Dr. Cornwall is the grandson of Charles Frederick Wallace, the inventor who co-founded the Wallace & Tiernan Company, and Florence Murray Wallace. Dr. Cornwall's father, Joseph C. Cornwall, served as the founding board chair for 27 years and guiding force for nearly 40 years while his mother, Barbara Wallace Cornwall, served as board secretary and trustee during the early years of The Fund for New Jersey. He has served on Board of The Fund for New Jersey since 1985. He served as Treasurer from 2020-2024 and currently serves as Chair.
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of the JDC - JSC Opportunity Fund
Jon S. Corzine is the founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of the JDC-JSC Opportunity Fund, a global macro/event driven hedge fund. Prior to founding JDC-JSC, he managed his family office, actively investing and overseeing his philanthropic activities. He served the State of New Jersey as a United States Senator from 2001-2006 and as its 54th Governor from 2006-2010. Prior to entering public service, he served as the Senior Partner of Goldman Sachs from 1994-1999, transforming it from a private partnership into a public company. He began his career at Goldman Sachs in 1976 as a bond trader and became co-manager of the Fixed Income, Currencies and Commodities Division. In 1980, he was named partner. He joined the Management Committee in 1984 and served as the CFO from 1991-1994. Governor Corzine served as the Chairman and CEO of MF Global from March 2010 until October 2011.
Governor Corzine served on the University of Chicago's Board of Trustees and as an ex-officio member of Princeton University's Board of Trustees. He was the J.L. Weinberg Visiting Professor of Public Policy at Princeton in 2010 and 2011. He is currently working with Fairleigh Dickinson University to establish the graduate School of Public and Global Affairs as Chairman of its Advisory Board while also serving as a visiting lecturer on politics and public policy at the University's UK Wroxton campus.
Governor Corzine has served on several civic boards, including the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, the New York Philharmonic, the New York Child Study Center and the NYC Partnership. He has served as Co-Chair of the National Commission on Capital Budgeting under President Clinton, Chairman of the Treasury's Government Borrowing Committee and Chairman of the Public Securities Association. He is currently a member of the International Board of Covenant House.
Governor Corzine received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Illinois in 1969, graduating Phi Beta Kapa, and earned his MBA from the University of Chicago in 1975. He served in the United States Marine Corps (R) from 1969-1975. He has served on the Board of The Fund for New Jersey since 2018.
Lawrence S. Lustberg chairs the Gibbons Criminal Defense Department and is a long-time Co-Director of the firm's John J. Gibbons Fellowship in Public Interest & Constitutional Law, which litigates historic, cutting edge civil rights and civil liberties cases. He served as co-counsel in historic and successful challenges to New Jersey's ban on same-sex marriages. He is the former President of both the Association of the Federal Bar of New Jersey and the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey. Mr. Lustberg is also former Co-Chair of the Criminal Litigation Committee of the American Bar Association. He has served on, and chaired, numerous court and government committees, non-profit and philanthropic boards, and has been a member of the faculties of Seton Hall, Rutgers, and New York University Law Schools. He is a recognized authority in constitutional and criminal law and procedure, responsible for many seminal federal and state court decisions in a broad range of cases. Mr. Lustberg is the recipient of numerous honors from organizations such as the American Bar Association, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, ACLU of New Jersey, Legal Services of New Jersey, Garden State Equality, Partners for Women and Justice, and Essex County Bar Association, among others. Mr. Lustberg served on the Board of The Fund for New Jersey from 1997-2017. He was Co-Chair from 2008-2015. He rejoined the Board in 2020.
Naeema has expertise in leading the development of grant making programs, supporting environmental advocacy and designing strategic initiatives. Prior to joining the Fund, she worked as a Program Officer at the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, leading philanthropic efforts aimed at achieving policy change and social justice. During her tenure at the Dodge Foundation, Naeema developed and managed grant portfolios focused on environmental advocacy, local news ecosystems and community activism in New Jersey. She also serves on the Board of HANDS Inc., a housing and economic development organization that works to stabilize underinvested neighborhoods and preserve affordable housing. She received a B.A. from Tufts University and is working towards a Certificate in Nonprofit Management and Leadership from the Institute of Nonprofit Practice.
Nancy brings over a decade of experience in community-based nonprofit work. She has organized and mobilized volunteers to tackle community issues and implement effective solutions that enhance local well-being and engagement. Previously, Nancy served as Executive Director of Interfaith Caregivers, Manager of Volunteer Programs at Episcopal Community Services in Philadelphia, and a Coordinator for Community Outreach Programs in Philadelphia. She has a B.A. from Villanova University, earned a Master of Science in Education Administration from the University of Pennsylvania with an emphasis on inclusion and belonging, and completed the ascending leadership program from the Nonprofit Executive Leadership Institute at the Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research of Bryn Mawr College.
Richard L. Wright has held a number of government positions at both the national and state level and was also active in a number of political campaigns. His business interests focused on solar energy, energy efficiency, and rural land development. Mr. Wright served in Governor Jon Corzine's administration, where he was part of the Office of Economic Growth and worked with a team to coordinate the drafting of the New Jersey Energy Master Plan. Previously he worked in Treasury and oversaw all major economic development projects undertaken in the state during the Florio administration. He kept this portfolio when he was appointed Chief of Staff to the Governor. During President Bill Clinton's administration, Wright served consecutive terms on the National Advisory Council of the United States Small Business Administration. He worked on the White House energy task force of President Jimmy Carter and was a senior advisor in the United States Department of Energy where he served as Assistant to the Secretary and Director of Congressional Affairs. Prior to working in government, Wright was Executive Director of Amnesty International in Washington, D.C. and served on the board of The Union of Concerned Scientists.
Through the decades he has been a member of a number of non profit boards at the local and state level. He received his B.A. from Princeton University and his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall). At Princeton, "Rick" Wright was a basketball teammate of All-American Bill Bradley. He served as National Finance Chairman and Campaign Manager of Bradley's 2000 campaign for President. He has been a member of the Board of the Fund for New Jersey since 1996.
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Associate at the Eagleton Institute of Politics
- Public Policy Consultant
Richard W. Roper, a public policy consultant, retired in 2010 as director of the Planning Department at The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Previously he served for 11 years as president of The Roper Group, a public policy consulting firm specializing in economic and social policy research and analysis. He was Director of the Port Authority's Office of Economic and Policy Analysis and director of the Port Authority's Office of Business and Job Opportunity. Prior to that Mr. Roper served as a Senior Fellow at the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government at the State University of New York in Albany; in several roles at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs - assistant dean for Graduate Career Services and Government Relations, Director of the Program for New Jersey Affairs, Executive Director of the Council on New Jersey Affairs, and lecturer in Public and International Affairs; and in the Carter Administration as Special Assistant to the Secretary of Commerce and then as director of the Department's Office of State and Local Government Assistance. Mr. Roper began his public affairs career in Newark, NJ where he was director of the Office of Newark Metropolitan Studies from 1974-78, and prior to that was the Legislative Aide to Newark's first African-American Mayor, Kenneth Gibson. Earlier in his career, he served as a special assistant to the director of the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services; as an education program director at the Greater Newark Urban Coalition; and as assistant to the Vice Chancellor of the New Jersey Department of Higher Education.
Mr. Roper was a founding trustee of Newark Emergency Services for Families, a co-founder of the New Jersey Public Policy Research Institute and co-founder of Leadership Newark. He was a founding Trustee of Newark Public Radio, Inc (the licensee of radio station WBGO-FM, Jazz 88), the New Jersey Institute of Social Justice, and University Heights Charter School. He served as a Senior Fellow at the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government at SUNY and as a member of the Board of Governors, Rutgers - The State University of New Jersey.
Mr. Roper currently serves as a Visiting Associate at the Eagleton Institute of Politics, member of the board at La Casa de Don Pedro, member of the Board of Directors with the NJ Coalition for Diverse and Inclusive Schools, and on the Board of Deacons at Bethany Baptist Church in Newark, NJ. Roper earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Rutgers - The State University of New Jersey at Newark and a Master in Public Affairs degree from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. He has been a member of the Board of The Fund for New Jersey since 2007 and served as Chair from 2020-2024.