LA CASA DE DON PEDRO - Key Persons
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- Member of the Board of Directors
- Secretary, Uptown Development
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- Member of the Board of Directors
- Chairman, Barclays
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- Member of the Board of Directors
- Treasurer, Actors Federal Credit Union
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- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Member of the Board of Directors
- Retired
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- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Vice President of Finance and Administration
Garfield Grant serves as La Casa de Don Pedro's inaugural Vice President of Finance and Administration. Mr. Grant joined La Casa de Don Pedro on July 25, 2022 and serves as a member of the executive leadership team. He comes to La Casa de Don Pedro with a deep commitment to public service and working with community-based organizations. Mr. Grant has an extensive career as a non-profit executive leader with experience in finance, operations, IT, facilities management, human resources, and administration.
Most recently, Mr. Grant served as Chief Financial Officer at Cornerstone Family Programs in Morristown, NJ overseeing all financial, IT, payroll, and facilities management. Previously, he served as the Chief Operating Officer at the Stanley Isaacs Neighborhood Center in New York City. Before relocating to New Jersey, Mr. Grant served for 15 years in various progressive executive leadership roles at the Community Place of Greater Rochester, Inc. His roles at the Community Place of Greater Rochester included Interim CEO, COO, Vice President of Finance and Administration, and Director of Finance. There, he led all financial, human resources, risk management, facilities operation, and IT functions. Mr. Grant was an integral part of the executive leadership team responsible for forging numerous collaborations and management agreements with other non-profit organizations.
Mr. Grant started his career in public accounting working for a large regional accounting firm as an auditor and tax accountant. He spent two and half years in that capacity before moving on to a smaller regional firm as a senior accountant involved in audits, reviews, tax preparation, and financial and tax planning.
In addition to his work experience, Mr. Grant is the recipient of the Six Sigma Green Belt (SSGB) certification program through Eastman Kodak Company (KODAK). He has served in the capacity as treasurer and board member of various non-profit organizations in Upstate New York.
Mr. Grant holds a BS in Accounting & Finance from Rochester Institute of Technology, where he also minored in Economics. He holds an MBA in Finance from Medaille College.
Originally from Jamaica, Mr. Grant came to America in 1984. He lives in New Jersey with his family.
Job Titles:
- Interim Division Director
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- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Vice President of Development and External Relations
As our inaugural Vice President of Development and External Relations, Ivonne Salazar joined La Casa de Don Pedro in October 2022 and serves as a member of the executive leadership team. In this role, Ivonne will lead the strategy on fundraising, communications, and marketing to amplify La Casa's mission, bolster public support, and diversify revenue for the organization.
For nearly 20 years, she has contributed her talents to the nonprofit sector and held senior development roles at organizations such as the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, Hunger Free America, Boys & Girls Club of Clifton, and the International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region (now Fòs Feminista). Ivonne brings the perfect mix of passion to our mission and the expertise of fundraising best practices needed to help us achieve new levels of impact and service for our families.
Raised in the Garden State where she currently resides with her family, Ivonne is a proud first generation Ecuadorian-American. She graduated from Skidmore College with a Bachelors in Sociology and earned her Masters in Public Administration from NYU's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Chief Executive Officer
- President
Peter T. Rosario is president and chief executive officer of La Casa de Don Pedro - New Jersey's largest Latinx nonprofit serving Greater Newark's most resilient Black and Brown communities.
Peter leads and serves with La Casa's 280 employees, who collectively impact upwards of 50,000 people per year through programs that foster self-sufficiency, empowerment and neighborhood revitalization. As La Casa celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2022, Peter's highest priorities include racial and social justice, affordable homeownership, high-quality early childhood education, and addressing the ongoing impact of Covid-19 that continues to disproportionally impact BIPOC communities.
Throughout his 26-year nonprofit career, Peter distinguished himself in multiple executive leadership, operational and fundraising roles for the YMCA and the Boy Scouts of America.
As president and CEO of the Ocean County YMCA in Toms River, N.J., Peter led a turnaround effort, attracting over 10,000 members and ultimately serving as the county's leading provider of childcare, aquatics and wellness programs. Peter helped establish the Ocean County YMCA's first-ever Summer Meals Program, which served 700 to 900 meals a day to residents experiencing food insecurity.
Peter also was senior vice president and chief operating officer for the YMCA of Newark and Vicinity, senior director of development for the YMCA of the Oranges, and served two terms on the Passaic City Board of Education as president, vice president and chairman of five committees.
Peter grew up in the South Bronx, N.Y., and his passion for community service began at an early age as a Boy Scout and member of his church. Peter is a Fordham University graduate with a bachelor's degree in communications.
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- Member of the Board of Directors
- Immediate past Chair, the Roper Group
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- Member of the Board of Directors
- Vice Chairwoman, Legal Services of New Jersey
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- Vice President of Programs
- Board Member of the Essex County Workforce Development Board
- Key Member
- Vice President of Programs at La Casa
Rosalina "Wendy" Melendez serves as Vice President of Programs at La Casa de Don Pedro, Inc. Ms. Melendez serves as a key member of the executive leadership team and was promoted to this newly created role in June 2022. Ms. Melendez, who has served in leadership roles at La Casa for 30 years, shares a deep personal commitment to La Casa de Don Pedro's mission and the Greater Newark community.
As Vice President of Programs, Ms. Melendez has oversight over thirty programs that provide holistic support for community members from the Greater Newark area. She supports a leadership team that leads La Casa's functional areas in Community and Economic Development, Community Improvement, Early Childhood Education and Development, Personal Development, and Youth, Family and Health Services.
Ms. Melendez is a leading advocate for women's issues, adult educational services, and early childhood education in the City and the State. Prior to serving as Vice President, Ms. Melendez served as Interim Director of La Casa's Early Childhood Education programs. Since 1998, Ms. Melendez served as the Division Director of the Personal Development Division. In that role, Ms. Melendez launched La Casa de Don Pedro's Immigration Services program and the bilingual High School Equivalency Diploma testing site. She led the accreditation of the organization's Private Career School through the NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Additionally, Ms. Melendez tripled the size of La Casa's Youth - Out of School Youth Program. Ms. Melendez started her career at La Casa in 1992 as Educational Coordinator; she was promoted to Assistant Program Director of the Hispanic Women's Resource Center.
Ms. Melendez is a board member of the Essex County Workforce Development Board and is an active member of the Literacy Committee. In addition, she is a board member of the New Jersey Association for Lifelong Learning.
She earned a BA in Liberal Arts from Rutgers University in 1992, with a concentration in Sociology and Puerto Rican Studies.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors