Our Board of Directors is comprised of community leaders with expertise in a wide range of areas, including the arts, advocacy, education, finance, law, and development. The Board meets monthly and is responsible for taking care of the strategic and financial health of the organization on an ongoing basis. Board terms are two years. Officers are elected annually.
Betsey Barnum, Secretary
Betsey initially got involved with Welcome Home because she had been the Associate Director of a school for English as a Second Language in Prague, Czech Republic and thought she could utilize those skills in her new hometown of Jersey City. Knowing several other Welcome Home volunteers through her children’s school, Betsey realized there were so many ways she could use her organizational skills. With the initial help of Founder, Laura Dunn McBride, she began her work in clothing, backpack, and holiday drives, helping out with moving storage items, and the general overall aid of Welcome Home. Volunteering at Welcome Home Jersey City has reinforced for Betsey just how important it is for all of us to be humanists when it comes to all struggles, both local and international, and to help when one is able. Betsey joined the Board in 2018.
Jeanette Dobrowski
Jeanette Dobrowski has been managing global programs at Google for over four years, driving business sustainability and operational success around Workspace for Education, a suite of tools that include Google Classroom and Google Meet. She is passionate about connecting with teachers and students where they are and bringing to market products that benefits those who need it most. Over the last ten years, Jeanette has gained invaluable experience across the education and non profit space, from teaching in a remote factory district in Thailand, and working as a disaster relief volunteer in Nepal, to organizing higher education programs for underserved preschool teachers in New York City, She has been volunteering with Welcome Home Jersey City since 2019 and truly values being an active part of her community.
Priti Chitnis Gress, Vice Chair
Priti Chitnis Gress has volunteered with Welcome Home since 2018. She currently serves as Board Vice Chair and also chairs Welcome Home’s Donations, Drives, Deliveries Committee and serves on the Hardship Assistance Committee. Priti immigrated to the U.S. from India as a young child with her parents. She so appreciated the help and support of friends and neighbors when her family came to the U.S. and is grateful for the opportunity to support new friends in the same way through Welcome Home. She has served on the boards of the South Asian Women’s Creative Collective (SAWCC) in New York City as well as the Performing Arts Parents Organization (PAPO) at High Tech High School. She is publisher of Hippocrene Books, an independent press specializing in foreign languages and international cookbooks. She resides in Hoboken, N.J. with her husband and two children, who have all also made deep connections with Welcome Home through volunteering and fundraising. Priti joined the Board in 2021.
Dawit Kibreab, Treasurer
Dawit began volunteering with Welcome Home after hearing in the local news that Welcome Home needed translation assistance for the newly arrived refugees. Having left his country as a refugee himself it has always been important for Dawit to give back and be involved in the community. Professionally, Dawit has extensive work experience as a management consultant with major Consulting firms. Currently, he works as an independent consultant with Education Technology companies. Dawit joined the Board in 2020.
Dave Mammen, Board Chair
Dave Mammen has been the Administrator of Rutgers Presbyterian Church in New York City since 2011. He has led the church’s efforts to co-sponsor 4 refugee families and co-sponsor the Refugee Employment Project with B’nai Jeshurun. He is trained as a city planner and has served as the CEO of nonprofit organizations concerned with international development. Dave was elected as a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and was a Fulbright Research Scholar in Japan and visiting professor at Kyoto University where he authored the book Creating Recovery: Values and Approaches in New York after 9/11, published in both English and Japanese. Dave has been a member of the Board since 2020.
Bess Morrison
Bess started her career singing opera, but has spent most of her time performing in musical theater both in the US and Europe. She has taught voice at the Eugene O’Neill Center’s National Theater Institute, as well as privately in New York City. She continues to teach both voice and piano in her Jersey City studio. When looking for a way to teach English to refugees in 2016, she found Welcome Home, and fell in love with the work and the people. Bess Co-Chairs the Employment and Education Committee with her husband Fred Miller. Bess joined the Board in 2018.
Kara Murphy, Founder
Kara founded Welcome Home Jersey City in 2017 with Alain Mentha and Laura McBride to help support newly resettled refugees in Jersey City, Professionally, Kara serves as Chief Investment Officer of Kestra Investment Management, a wealth management firm committed to helping individuals make sound financial decisions. After earning a couple of degrees in International Politics, Kara made her way to Wall Street and held a number of investment-related roles at Morgan Stanley, AIG and Goldman Sachs. When not focused on the stock market or supporting refugees, Kara spends time with her husband and three rambunctious children. Kara joined the Board in 2018.
Makiko Oku
Makiko Oku is Visiting Scholar at the Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights at Rutgers University. Her academic work examines the intersections of gender, human rights, and violence, and she has supported women and men who have experienced sexual and gender-based violence in conflict and post-conflict situations. Her research also extends to the “comfort women” issue in Asia and memories of A-bomb survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. She received her B.A. from Ritsumeikan University and Ph.D. from Rutgers University. Originally from Japan, she grew up in the US and Japan, San Diego and Sapporo to be more specific. She is a proud mom of 2 children and an avid runner. Makiko joined the Board in 2021 and chairs the Fund Development Committee.
Hana Zalatimo
Hana is a Palestinian who grew up in Jordan and moved to the United States in 2003. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Biological Sciences from her university days in Jordan. When Hana moved to the U.S., she followed her passion for cooking and opened a catering business. Her Mediterranean food was sold in a range of stores throughout Jersey City and at the Hamilton Park Farmers Market. In 2017, a friend asked Hana to help Welcome Home as a translator. Since then, she has built friendships with the families and loves being part of this amazing organization. Hana joined the Board in 2021.