2025 Board of Directors Slate

OFFICERS (1 YEAR TERM)

Chair - Edward Bethea serves as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Gateway Community Action Partnership. He oversees all financial, managerial and revenue-generating departments and activities within the agency. He is the chief negotiator of all contracts and leases and serves as chief developer on all construction projects. He is responsible for the Operations, Finance and Human Resources Departments as well as, Head Start, Health Services, Economic Development, Social Services, Information Technology, Weatherization, Property Management and Facility Maintenance. He brings years of experience in tax consulting, financial planning, cash flow projection and asset management to Gateway, and maintains approval authority on all agency spending. He is also directly responsible for the interactions between Gateway and financial institutions and governmental entities. Mr. Bethea currently serves as President of the Bridgeton City Municipal Council and joined the Network Board of Directors in 2020. 

Vice Chair - Pilar Hogan Closkey, PE, PP, AICP joined Saint Joseph Carpenter Society in 1998 as the Operations Manager and, in 2004, was named the Executive Director. Ms. Closkey graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a B.S. in Civil Engineering and worked for seven years in the field of consulting engineering. She then pursued her Master’s degree in Regional Planning at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill and worked for a non-profit tax credit developer.  She is licensed as a Professional Engineer and a Professional Planner in New Jersey and is nationally certified with the American Institute of Certified Planners.  As the Executive Director, Ms. Closkey reports to the Board of Trustees and is responsible for the day-to-day activities of SJCS.She returns to the Network Board of Directors in 2023.

Treasurer - Dan Antonellis has served as President of Region Nine Housing Corporation (RNHC) since 2012, developing high-quality affordable housing and providing services to families, seniors and disabled individuals. Prior to becoming RNHC President, he served as a Staff Representative for the Communications Workers of America, Local 1038 and spent nearly 25 years at the New Jersey Department of Labor prior to that. He is a former Vice President and Board President of the ARC Mercer and a founding member of the Board of Orphan Sponsorship International (OSI). Mr. Antonellis joined the Network Board of Directors in 2018.

NEW BOARD MEMBER – CORE (3 Year Term)

Khaatim Sherrer El is the Executive Director of Clinton Hill Community Action (CHCA), a nonprofit community development corporation working to revitalize Newark’s Clinton Hill neighborhood. He brings more than twenty years of experience leading place-based initiatives, managing strategic partnerships, and building organizational capacity. Since its founding in 2019, he has grown the organization to 23 full-time staff members with an annual budget of $4.5M -- 95% of the organization's staff lives in the neighborhood, representing $2.5M of economic development being reinvested into the community. CHCA's priorities include Housing & Environmental Justice, Food Security & Economic Justice, Arts & Creative Placemaking, Community Building, and Citizen Journalism & Advocacy. To-date, CHCA has assisted nearly 700 residents with securing emergency rental assistance to prevent evictions, cleaned up and added decorative murals on 62 abandoned properties, secured $700,000 in housing subsidy to build 10 new units of affordable housing, and collaborated with 8 local food pantries to serve 1,000 neighborhood residents in need each month.

Sarah Steward is the Chief Executive Officer at HomeFront, a non-profit agency dedicated to ending family homelessness and breaking the cycle of poverty for families in Central New Jersey.  At HomeFront, Ms. Steward offers forward-looking strategic leadership to HomeFront, ensuring the organization continues to adapt and innovate to best meet the current and future needs of the community and achieve HomeFront’s ambitious mission.  In her capacity as CEO, Ms. Steward directs all aspects of the organization including operations of over 35 programs, management over 120 staff, financial oversight, resource development and external relations.  Ms. Steward also currently serves as a Councilwoman in the Township of Ewing.