The County College of Morris (CCM) Board of Trustees held its annual reorganization meeting on November 18, elected new officers and welcomed three new members.
Elected as officers were Trustee Joseph L. Ricca of Morris Township as chair, Trustee Paul R. Licitra of Flanders as vice chair, Trustee Laurie Bogaard of Chester as treasurer, and Michael A. Van Allen of Montville as secretary.
New to the board are Francis Giarratano of Green Pond and Lance Tkacs of Randolph. Also reappointed to the board was Thomas A. Pepe of Morristown, who previously served a term as CCM trustee from 2009-13. All three were appointed by the Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders.
Ricca was appointed to the board in 2011. He serves as superintendent of schools in the Elmsford Union Free School District in Elmsford, NY. Prior to that, he served as superintendent for the East Hanover Township Public School District. Ricca has an extensive background in education having previously served as a principal, vice principal and social studies instructor. He is a member of numerous professional associations including the New York State Council of School Superintendents, The Horace Mann Society and the Business Council of Westchester County. As a governor appointee, Ricca also serves on the New Jersey Anti-Bullying Task Force. He earned his Ed.D. in educational leadership from Walden University, his M.Ed. in administration from Harvard University, M.A. in educational leadership and administration from Caldwell College, and B.S. in history and education from Seton Hall University.
Licitra was appointed to the board by the Freeholders in 2012. He is office administrator for Senator Steven Oroho, Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose and Assemblyman Parker Space. He also possesses extensive experience in insurance spanning more than 40 years and covering all aspects of risk management for large domestic and international clients. In the public sector, he served as mayor of Mount Olive from 2000-04 after serving eight years on the Township Council. He earned his bachelor’s degree from St. John’s University, where he also taught as an adjunct professor in the College of Insurance.
Bogaard, an attorney, was appointed to the board by the Freeholders in 2013. She has a law practice in Mendham and more than 25 years of legal experience. She concentrates in the field of residential real estate. Bogaard continues to be called upon by various real estate companies to lecture on current issues and legal developments, and also serves as a mentor to young real estate professionals and Drew University students. Bogaard earned her J.D. from The Dickinson School of Law and her bachelor’s degree from Drew University. She is a strong believer in community service and has volunteered and served on various municipal boards such as the Environmental Commission, Board of Health, Planning Board and Chester Area Pool Committee.
Van Allen, a governor appointee, began serving on the board in 2010. He also chairs the Morris County NAACP Criminal Justice Committee, serving as racial justice advocate against mass incarceration. Before retiring from the Newark Public Schools in 2015 as a school administrator, Van Allen taught chemistry at Arts High School and served as the Science and Math Department chair for Malcolm X Shabazz High School. Additionally, he was a biochemist at Merck, Sharp & Dohme Research laboratories in Rahway. He received his B.S. in biochemistry from Upsala College, did his graduate studies in biochemistry at Columbia University, and pursued his education in the Doctoral Education Leadership, Management and Policy Program of Higher Education at Seton Hall University.
Giarratano is president/COO and partner of SGW Integrated Marketing Communications, which serves a wide range of corporate and nonprofit clients including those in higher education and health care. He has served for more than 12 years as a member of the Rockaway Township Board of Education, including two terms as president, and is a member of the Parish Council and Finance committees at Saint Simon the Apostle Church in Green Pond, and on the board of directors for the Green Pond Yacht Club. He earned his MBA from Seton Hall University and bachelor’s degree in marketing from Rutgers University.
Tkacs is director of operations for Protameen Chemicals Inc., which supplies ingredients to the cosmetics, personal care, pharmaceutical and food related industries. He has been a resident of Randolph for more than 15 years and is a current member of the Randolph Planning Board and Randolph Economic Development Committee. He earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering technology from the New Jersey Institute of Technology and his AAS degree in mechanical engineering technology from Middlesex County College.
Pepe is chief financial officer for Communications Strategies, Inc., a family-owned public relations and marketing agency. During his previous service on the CCM Board of Trustees, he served as treasurer, chair of the Finance and Budget Committee and as a member of both the Personnel and Audit committees. He also is a member of the CCM Foundation Board of Directors. Included among his other community involvement, he is immediate past president of the Patriot’s Path Council, Boy Scouts of America, and serves as treasurer and trustee of NORWESCAP, the community action program of northwest New Jersey.
Continuing their service on the board are Jeffrey M. Advokat, Esq. of Denville, senior partner of Advokat & Rosenberg Esqs. in Morristown and a former Morris County assistant prosecutor; Dr. Barbara L. Hadzima of Morris Township, a retired elementary and middle school teacher and administrator; Roger Jinks, interim executive county superintendent; and Dr. Joseph S. Weisberg of Parsippany, professor emeritus of geoscience at New Jersey City University.
