WMF | Board Members

Board of Directors

Tom Wells, President

Tom is an attorney and the founding partner of Wells, Jaworski & Liebman, LLP, Attorneys-at-Law. Tom practices from New Jersey and Vermont. He is active in civic organizations in both New Jersey and Vermont. Tom is also the principal of Wells Mountain, LLC which develops and operates real estate properties in New Jersey and Vermont. Tom has traveled to Africa and Haiti numerous times and has been active in the YMCA, in particular its World Service Program, for 42 of his 57 years.

Carol Wells

Carol is currently the Executive Director of the Bristol Downtown Community Partnership and a member of the Bristol, Vermont Select Board (town council). She has been very active in numerous community organizations, such as Bristol Friends of the Arts, PTO, the Five Town Business Council and Art on Main. The former owner/manager of an independent bookstore, she uses her expertise in literacy to shape and develop two WMF programs, Book Angels and Imagination Library. She visited our African programs in 2006.

David Bolger

David is a highly successful businessman, banker and philanthropist. David's civic accomplishments are numerous and his philanthropic causes even more so. He has provided continued support to West Bergen Mental Health Center, Valley Hospital, Mt. Bethel and Westside Presbyterian Churches, Northfield Mount Herman, Kay Espwa ( Project Hope) and hundreds of other charities. The Bolger Foundation is WMF's single, largest donor.

Jordyn Wells

Jordyn graduated from Bard College with a double major in Anthropology and Studio Art and a minor in Africana Studies. Having first traveled to Ghana at 16 with a high school trip, Jordyn has been back 5 times, the last three times as a volunteer with the JAC. She has traveled to Senegal as an assistant leader on the Ridgewood YMCA ICP Senegal trip and has led the Ridgewood ICP Mexico trip for the last three years. She currently works at Do Something, a national non-profit that inspires, supports and celebrates young people changing the world, where she heads up the Grants program. Jordyn visited all of our Africa scholarship recipients in November, 2007.

Ruth Bernstein

Ruth graduated from Saint Michael’s College in May 2006 with a double major in Psychology and Elementary Education. Throughout her time at Saint Michael’s, she was active in the campus volunteer organization (MOVE or Mobilization of Volunteer Efforts). During the summer of 2005, Ruth traveled with MOVE to Southern Uganda, facilitating the distribution of scholarships to displaced Sudanese living in refugee settlements. She also worked with Save the Children in the western highlands of Honduras for a summer. Here in Vermont, Ruth spent two years volunteering on the pediatric ward of the local hospital. After taking time off to spend time with newborn son, Joseph, Ruth is currently teaching 5th and 6th grade at Leicester Elementary School in Leicester, Vermont.

Bob Dill

Bob and his wife Marianne, owned and operated The Rinks, classic roller rink and entertainment establishments in Bergenfield and Montvale, New Jersey for more than 20 years. Bob now manages various commercial real estate properties owned by his company R2D2, LLC. Bob got involved in the recreational industry after leaving a position as Vice President for Human Relations of the American Stock Exchange. Bob has been active in Ridgewood YMCA for many years, and serves on the World Service Committee. Four years ago, he visited the YMCA of Haiti.

Rick Claydon

Rick has devoted his professional life to the Ridgewood YMCA and has served as CEO since 1994. Rick is a long-time member and past president of the Ridgewood PM Rotary and heads up the International Youth Exchange as coordinator and counselor. Additional volunteer positions include serving on the Board of Directors at the Phoenix Center, a not-for-profit school for young people with disabilities and board member and past president of the New Jersey Association of Y Professionals, advancing the professional development of YMCA staff members. He has traveled to Kenya and Haiti to observe our projects and programs in action.

Brent Edmonds

Brent is the President and founder of E.C.I. (Edmonds Contracting, Inc.) which was established in 1984. He is a 16 year member and Past President of the Bergen Highlands/Ramsey Rotary Club. He has also served as the Vice President of the Upper Saddle River Education Foundation for the past 4 years. Brent has supported the Center for Food Action for over 10 years and has just completed his largest mission to date by fundraising and building a new 5200 square foot Food Center in Mahwah, NJ.

Katherine Cheng

Katherine's personal and professional passions are social change, media/art, and exploring innovative ways to combine the two. She started her career at the youth organization Do Something, where she oversaw the transformation of the BR!CK Awards into a nationally-televised awards show. More recently, she has lent her marketing and research experience to a PBS documentary and the creation of a photography museum. She studied Religion and Ethics at Haverford College (near Philadelphia, PA) and lives in San Fransisco CA.

Wells Mountain Foundation, Inc