Marguerite S. Baber is the founder of the Simpson-Baber Foundation. She and her husband, Superior Court Judge Mark A. Baber are parents of James, Stephen and Marguerite. A lifelong Bayonne resident, Mrs. Baber serves on the Bayonne Local Redevelopment Association. As a parent of a child with autism, Mrs. Baber is actively committed to creating life span services to individuals with autism.

Kenneth Kopacz is a life long resident of Bayonne and a product of the Bayonne
Public School system. Kenny completed his undergraduate and graduate studies
at Saint Peter's College. He began his career as a teacher at Henry E. Harris School and has  worked as an administrator in Woodrow Wilson School.  He is currently Acting Principal at Washington Community School. In addition to his charity work, Kenny coaches football, basketball and baseball for the Bayonne High School Bees and has worked as a Math Coach for the Bayonne School District..

Patricia L. McGeehan, Ed.D., began her career in education as a teacher at the Lincoln Community School. She was principal of Mary J. Donohoe School, Roberson School and the Midtown Community School. In July 2000, she was appointed Superintendent of Schools, a position which she currently holds. Dr. McGeehan is a Bayonne resident, mother of three children and grandmother of ten.

Tish Kraszyk, along with her husband Ron have been Bayonne residents since 2005. They are the parents of two daughters, Desiree and Samantha. As the parent of an adult child on the autism spectrum, Tish enjoys working with the Simpson Baber Foundation and continuing to advocate for children and adults with special needs. She is employed as Advertising Manager for The Hudson Reporter Newspaper Group. She serves on the advisory board of The Windmill Alliance, an organization that serves the developmentally disabled, and is a founding member of the board of trustees for I Believe in HFA, Inc. Tish is most proud of her and Ron's accomplishments as former New Jersey foster parents and child advocates.

Dr. Joseph E. Ryan has been the Public Information Director of the City of Bayonne since 1996. He handles press and public relations for the municipality. Prior to that, from 1989 to 1995, he was a research scholar at the New York office of Freedom House, an organization that monitors international human rights and democracy. Dr. Ryan was educated at Georgetown University, here he earned three degrees: B.S. in Foreign Service, M.A. in Government, and Ph.D. in Government.

Robert C. Craig, a long time child advocate, began as a teacher at John Bailey School. He continued on as principal of Mary J. Donohoe, John Bailey, and Washington Community Schools. In 2000, Robert Craig became Assistant Superintendent of Schools where he continues to educate and mold all children into productive adults. Mr. Craig is a husband and father of two children.

Ted, a U.S. Army veteran, retired in 2000 as Director of Human Resources from Omnipoint Communications and previously after 30 years from the IBM Corporation as a Human Resources executive. He is currently the vice-chairman of the Bayonne Planning Board, an executive board member of the Bayonne Medical Center, a board member of the Temple Beth Am, and was recently named to the Pamrapo Bank Advisory Board. He is married to the former Phyllis Wasserman, is the proud father of Gary and his wife Lisa and Shari and her husband Stuart. He is the devoted grandfather of Ethan Jack, Aiden Ross, and Jared Frank.

Mr. Kane has worked for 45 years in hospital management.  Of particular note is his leadership in guiding Bayonne Medical Center through a bankruptcy and sale while maintaining hospital operations and community support.  He was also CEO of Englewood Hospital and Medical Center for 14 years during which many new programs and services were developed.  Mr. Kane has served as a Board Member of NJHA from 1993-2000 and Chairman from 1999-2000, as well as his service on Regional Advisory Board-2 and the Executive Council of the Metropolitan Hospitals section of the American Hospital Association.  He was recently honored as the recipient of the 2010 New Jersey Hospital Association's Distinguished Service Award.
 
Mr. Kane has served on the boards of numerous community and civic organizations and along with his current membership on the board of the Simpson-Baber Foundation.  Bayonne Medical Center is a partner with The Simpson Baber Foundation in the Busy Bee Program.

With a 20 year background in the financial industry, Mark Rodrick is a Vice President with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney within their Wealth Management division. Mark has enjoyed being involved with the Simpson Baber Foundation ever since 2003, when he was invited to a SBF golf outing by a former board member.  A Jersey City native, Mark stays rooted and active in Hudson County events. In addition to his work for The SImpson Baber Foundation, Mark is on the Board of Trustees for The Jersey City Museum and is a member of  Robbins Reef Yacht Club in Bayonne. He resides in Springfield with his wife and two daughters. 

Mrs. Nikki Dias is the daughter of Betty Duffy. She is a graduate of Kean University, Class of 2004. She graduated with BA in Public Administration and Criminal Justice. She has been employed with the Bayonne Police Department for the past 16 years, 13 of which she has been a detective. She is an active member of the Bayonne Police Department Blue Mass Committee. Married to Danny Dias, she is the parent of three children, Danny, Aiden and Grace.

Mr. Sanchez is a Bayonne resident with an extensive and impressive background of community service.  An honored veteran of the United States Navy, Mr. Sanchez continues his dedication to our armed services by participating in numerous  veterans' organizations.  In addition to his contribution to the Simpson-Baber Foundation, Mr. Sanchez dedicates himself to a variety of charitable and civic organizations.  He is a past chairman and current member of The United Way of Hudson County and Chairman of the Bayonne Local Redevelopment Authority.  Mr. Sanchez is also actively involved with UCP of Hudson County, the National Conference for Community and Justice, Bayonne Public Library and Cultural Center, Concerned Citizens of Bayonne and Chairman of the Bayonne Community Museum.  Mr. Sanchez is a father of four, grandfather of 10 and great-grandfather of 11.

Ellen Greaves was born and raised in Jersey City, NJ. She graduated from St. Dominic's Academy and worked for R.W. Mansfield's Stock Chart Services. With her husband, Bayonne Councilman Ray Greaves they moved to Bayonne to raise their family. She is the mother of three children, Raymond 21, Lea 19, and Kyle 16.

Ellen is a member of St. Vincent De Paul Parish where she served on the Decorating Committee. She has also donated her artistic ability with a mural to the Horace Mann School. Ellen has been employed by the Bayonne Department of Municipal Services Division since 2002 as a Preschool Recreation Leader in the young children's program.

In 1996, along with his daughter Marguerite, Dr. Ross Simpson became a founding member of the Simpson Baber Foundation for the Autistic.  Born in 1919 in Bayonne, New Jersey, Dr. Simpson was educated in St. Henry's School, as well as the Bayonne public schools.  He was a St. Peter's College graduate and obtained his medical degree from New York University Medical School.

Dr. Simpson was a captain in the U.S. Army and served as the Chief of Chest Surgery at the Osaka Army Hospital in Japan during the Korean War.  He received the United Nations and the Korean Service Medals for his service.

Dr. Simpson opened his surgical practice in 1952.  He was a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the International College of Surgeons.  He was a diplomat of the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery.  He was Chief of Surgery at Bayonne Hospital and Pollack Hospital, as well as attending surgeon at St. Francis Hospital, St. Mary Hospital, Morristown General and the French Hospital in New York City.  Dr. Simpson's work on foreign bodies of the chest and heart was of national renown, and he was published in the Annals of Surgery and in the AMA Journal.

At Bayonne Hospital, Dr. Simpson served as the President of the Medical Staff, President of the Board of Trustees and Chairman of the Board of Trustees.

Dr. Simpson was married to Marguerite O'Reilly and was the proud father of five children and grandfather of 15 grandchildren.

Patricia Berezny, a school district psychologist and inclusion facilitator, has taken a leading role in supporting the growth of inclusive programming in the Bayonne Public Schools. Patricia works with parents and community members to help them understand inclusive practices and why effective and meaningful inclusion is so important to the future of all children.
She has worked with studentswith autism since 1992. Patricia helped to establish one of the first public school programs for autism and served as its Behavior Specialist.

Biography Coming Soon