Staff & Trustees

Marissa is a pediatrician who moved to Mendham with her family in 2017. Marissa earned her B.S. in Biology and her M.D. from Georgetown University. After training there in Pediatrics, she enjoyed practicing in Littleton, CO. Upon moving back to the Washington, D.C. area, Marissa became involved in service to Georgetown University and was the Communications Committee Chair for the Medical Alumni Board. In 2015, she was invited to join the Georgetown University Board of Regents and served as the Chair of Medical Affairs and Chair of the Health Justice Alliance Strategic Initiative through 2022. Marissa helped incubate the Learning Societies at the Georgetown School of Medicine and was the Faculty Director of the Knowlan Learning Society from 2015-2017. She mentored medical students in professionalism and mindfulness and taught in the Physician Patient Communication curriculum. Marissa quickly came to know about Schiff Nature Preserve as it is literally in her backyard and runs and hikes are a family pastime. Her connection to Schiff deepened as she learned more about the history of their home, which was at one time the Schiff National Boy Scout Training Center. Marissa joined the board in 2018 and became president of the board in 2020. Marissa and Michael have three daughters, all of whom have volunteered time to Schiff either by participating on the Stew Crew, creating artwork for events or by becoming a Schiff social media intern.

Pat joined the Schiff board in 2015 bringing with her extensive business and nonprofit experience. From 2006 to 2013, she was the director of Mendham Borough Library, where she was responsible for all aspects of its operation from personnel, finances, and programs, to managing the collections. She also served on the library board from 2001 to 2006, as board president for the last two years. Her work experience, prior to taking time off to raise her three children, includes ten years in group benefits: five years as an account manager at what was Hewitt Associates and the previous five years as a group insurance underwriter. She regularly volunteers at the Visiting Nurses Association twice-yearly rummage sale and Mendham Borough Library. Pat is also an active member of Music in the Somerset Hills' community chorus. She is a graduate of Bucknell University and has resided in Mendham Borough since 1988.

Amalia has lived in Mendham Township since 1999, where she raised her two children. She is the Public Affairs Director for ECLC of New Jersey, a nonprofit that provides "Education, Careers & Lifelong Community" to more than 800 children and adults with special needs. She serves on the Public Affairs Committee for ASAH, a statewide organization for schools/agencies serving individuals with special needs. Previously, Amalia worked as reporter and editor in newspapers and magazines before shifting into corporate communications at Citigroup, Lucent, and Avaya. Amalia earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from New York University, with a double major in journalism and political science. Amalia has a deep commitment to community service. She is the longest-serving Schiff Trustee, joining the Board in 2011. And, she is the longest serving member of the Mendham Township Committee in her third term after first being elected in 2017. She was subsequently re-elected in 2020 and 2023 and appointed to the Planning Board in 2025. In addition, she is a Board member of Head Start of Morris County; the Morris County Development Revenue Sharing Advisory Board; The Sharing Project; and the Brookside Community Club. She is a Past President (and current member) of the Rotary Club of the Mendhams; and a Merit Badge Counselor for Patriots Path Council, Boy Scouts of America.

Bob moved to Mendham with his family in 2019. Bob and Chris have two daughters that both attend Mendham schools. Bob has come to know and love Schiff and all it has to offer. Schiff is literally in his backyard and he and his two dogs are privileged to enjoy its beauty daily. Bob currently teaches 8th grade science at Mount Olive Middle School where he is also the adviser for the Science Club. Bob graduated with a degree in Biology and Ecology from the Ohio State University and has a master's degree from Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH. Bob has taught both Biology and Environmental Science at the high school level throughout his career as an educator. Bob has a passion for both education and the environment. He hopes to use his knowledge and skills to help Schiff exceed its goals and bring the beauty of nature to the community for many years to come.

Ken was raised in Princeton. Growing up he spent summers with his family on a lake in Western Maine. It was there that he gained an appreciation for the natural world. After graduating from Rider College he began work in construction before becoming involved in property management. He served twenty-five years as a member of the volunteer Princeton Fire Department, reaching every rank. Ken spent four years with an emergency management consulting firm which sparked his interest in climate change and its impact on disaster planning and the future. Between 2000 and 2008 he worked for Granary Associates with the project management team overseeing construction for Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and Children's Specialized Hospital. Later he spent several years as the facilities manager for a property management firm in Union before getting back into commercial construction. Recently retired, Ken joined the Schiff board in 2016. He lives with his partner Deborah in Peapack. Both are avid organic gardeners, grandparents and like to get out for hikes and kayaking, here and in Maine.

Janis has been involved with Schiff as a volunteer, educator and a regular in the book group for many years. Janis was with the Morris County Park Commission as a naturalist from 1993- 2020, based out of the Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center and Pyramid Mountain Visitors Center. She teaches environmental education to all ages from preschoolers to adults, though the pre-k level is her passion. Janis is currently teaching at The Dogwood School in Chester. A graduate of Gettysburg College with a BA in business and a minor in Sociology, Janis went on to get a MLS in Library and Information Service from Rutgers and a masters in Environmental Education from Montclair State. Living in Mendham since 1997, she joined the Schiff board in 2015. Janis previously served on the Mendham Borough Environmental Commission, was a Girl Scout leader and is currently a Boy Scout Merit Badge Counselor. Her interests include bicycling, backpacking and camping, hiking, cross country skiing, travel, yoga, swimming, gardening and chicken tending. All these passions she shares with her two daughters and husband.

After leaving a corporate career in New York, Barry has been engaged with many architectural and local history projects and has been an author and frequent lecturer. In his corporate career, he last served as senior vice president, chief administrative officer and member of the five-officer chairman's group of the multinational retail holding company, Woolworth Corporation, now called Foot Locker, Inc. The co-author with the late John K. ("Jack") Turpin of the two-volume work, New Jersey Country Houses: The Somerset Hills, Barry has also written a number of articles on various aspects of local history that have appeared in The Black River Journal and other publications. In addition to his research and writing, he is a frequent lecturer on various aspects of architectural and local history. Barry has volunteered his services as history consultant for several of the Mansion in May fund-raising projects sponsored by the Women's Association for Morristown Medical Center, including the one coming up in May 2020 at Tyvan Hill in New Vernon, and passed ones at Alnwick Hall / The Abbey in 2017, Blairsden in 2014, Glynallyn in 2012, and Froh-Heim in 2008. Barry was born and raised in Peapack-Gladstone in the Somerset Hills area of New Jersey, where his family has deep roots. He received his undergraduate education at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, and later studied architecture and urban planning at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. Over the years, Barry has served as a director, trustee, or officer of several not-for-profit organizations and foundations, and he has also consulted on various management and corporate governance matters. These organizations and foundations have included The Downtown Alliance, which manages the Downtown-Lower Manhattan Business Improvement District; The Bruno Walter Foundation; The New York Choral Society; The Arc of New Jersey; Friends of P.S. 165, Inc.; and The National Retail Foundation. Barry was also the executive producer of two documentary films, one promoting the employment of people with developmental disabilities (narrated by James Earl Jones) and one concerning the history of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Mural in Washington, D.C.

lan Weinstein, a businessman and entrepreneur, had a long and successful career in the restaurant and catering business. He started the Greenhouse Restaurant in Morristown in 1976 and then in 1982, purchased The Park Savoy. The Park Savoy originally opened as a restaurant & dance club. Alan saw its potential for private celebrations and thus, the 19th century landmark underwent renovations, making it a premier venue for weddings in New Jersey. During his time at the Park Savoy, he partnered with the Morristown Community Soup Kitchen by donating specially prepared as well as unused food to the Soup Kitchen for 25 years. Alan was broadly recognized in 2013 for organizing a broader collaborative effort among 40 local restaurants which ensured the continuation of the charitable services provided to the Soup Kitchen. Alan and his wife, Judy moved to Mendham in 1976. They have four children who all attended the local Mendham schools. He has served on the Planning Board for many years and has been an active hiker and horse rider throughout the Schiff property since the 1970's. Alan joined the board in in 2018 bringing with him an interest in sustainability and currently provides his family with pasture raised beef, chickens, honey, and organic vegetables. Alan is now retired after a long career in the restaurant and catering business. Alan and Judy, currently own Wendover Farm on Pleasant Valley Rd. which they purchased several years ago from long time Schiff trustee and former Board President, Alan Willemsen.

Tom and his wife Nancy have lived in Mendham Borough since 1981, where their three children all attended Mendham public schools. Tom has served on the Borough Environmental Commission, the Zoning Board, and as a coach for the West Morris Soccer Club. Tom retired in 2020 from The Nature Conservancy (TNC), an international conservation organization, following fifteen years as Director of New Jersey Government Relations. Prior to his tenure at TNC, Tom was with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) as the Director of the Green Acres Program - New Jersey's open space preservation and parks improvement funding program. Before joining state government, Tom was the Assistant Director of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, the state's largest land conservation organization, where he led the effort to enact New Jersey's landmark Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act. Tom began his career with several landscape architecture and urban design firms in New York City and northern New Jersey. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from Rutgers University and a Master of Landscape Architecture Degree from the University of Michigan. When he is not biking or hiking on local trails, Tom enjoys surfing, sailing and water-skiing with his family in Southern New Jersey, where he was born.