CASA for Children of Mercer and Burlington Names Roseann Vanella as Board President and Appoints Four New Board Members

EWING, NJ, Sept. 20, 2016 -- The Board of Trustees of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) for Children of Mercer and Burlington Counties has appointed Roseann Vanella, founder of Advanced Mediation Solutions,  as president.  Ms. Vanella succeeds Andrea Stine of Morgan Stanley, who will remain on the board after having served as president for the past two years.  The board also appointed four new members.  They are Digesh Patel of Mercadien, who will serve as treasurer; Deena Betze of Borger Matez; Gregory Grimaldi of Conner Strong & Buckelew and Jane Massi of M&T Bank.

 “This is a very exciting time for CASA of Mercer and Burlington! “ said Ms. Vanella. “We have brought together a very dynamic and cohesive team of passionate and dedicated board members along with our newly appointed Executive Director Katherine Carmichael. We are all dedicated to significantly growing the number of children served in both counties and will not rest until each child in need of advocacy has a CASA” 

Ms. Vanella, a resident of Marlton, is a Professional Family/Divorce Mediator and founder of Advanced Mediation Solutions.  She is a recognized expert on divorce and family matters.  She is also the founder of FamilyAffaires.com, an online community providing resources, tools and education for families going through life changes.

Digesh Patel, a resident of Bordentown Township, is a director of Mercadien P.C. CPA’s and is involved in performing and overseeing audits of state, local and municipal government organizations.  In 2012, Mr. Patel was awareded a Special Achievement Award by the Association of Government Accountants’ Trenton Chapter for his contribution to government accounting and auditing.  He is a graduate of Rider University with a bachelor of science degree in accounting and a mater’s of business administration.

Deena Betze of Marlton is a family law attorney with Borger Matez.  She has represented clients in divorce, mediation, custody, adoption, domestic violence, pre-marital agreements, civil union agreements and other family law related matters for more than 25 years. Ms. Betze is also a mediator and collaboratively trained. She is a member of South Jersey Collaborative Divorce Professionals and the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals. A member of the New Jersey State Bar Association, she serves on the Family Law committees of the Camden County, Gloucester County and the Burlington County bar associations. Ms. Betze previously served as the President of the Thomas S. Forkin Family Law American Inn of Court, one of only 20 inns nationwide to achieve the Platinum Level of Excellence. American Inns of Court seek to improve the skills, civility, professionalism and ethics of the bench and bar. A graduate of S.U.N.Y. StonyBrook with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, Ms. Betze obtained her law degree from Rutgers University School of Law, Camden.

Gregory Grimaldi of Medford is a vice president with Conner Strong & Buckelew and is responsible for new business development for the Employee Benefits Consulting Division. Prior to joining the organization, Mr. Grimaldi was a partner at Associated Insurance Management, a local benefits consulting firm that was acquired by Conner Strong & Buckelew. He also served in various business development and marketing capacities with Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey for eight years. Mr. Grimaldi also worked for Campbell Soup Company for five years as part of the international audit group and served as a cost accounting manager in their Mexico facility.

Jane Massi, a Robbinsville resident, is a vice president of M&T Bank in Princeton.  In her current role, she is responsible for developing and managing relationships with small to mid-sized businesses and non-profits throughout the region.  Prior to joining M&T, Ms. Massi held leadership positions at several banks, including a local community bank and two large regional institutions.  In addition, she has served in senior roles in both the public and non-profit sectors. Ms. Massi graduated from Georgetown University in Washington, DC and is an active member of its alumni association, serving as a class ambassador as well as a member of its Alumni Admissions Program.  

CASA’s mission is to train and supervise community volunteers, appointed by the Family Court, to advocate for the best interests of children who have been removed from their homes due to abuse and/or neglect. Our dedicated volunteers strive to ensure the emotional, physical and educational well-being of these children while they reside in foster homes or residential facilities. The ultimate goal of our volunteers is to help establish a safe, stable and permanent home for each child we serve.  You can learn more about CASA at http://www.casamb.org/.
 

Contact Information

Roseann Vanella

President, Board of Trustees

CASA for Children of Mercer and Burlington Counties

Contact via E-mail