L.I.N.D.A. Board
DONALD FIZZINOGLIA
L.I.N.D.A.'s PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD
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Professor Donald Fizzinoglia, M.S., M.A., a graduate of Yale University, is an independent video and filmmaker, who has written, produced, directed and edited a wide variety of shows, including documentaries, film and television drama, talk shows, music videos, promotional and educational programs. Since the 1990s, Fizzinoglia has focused on Cinema Studies and contributed numerous productions to the AMC Network, writing, producing and directing such award-winning documentaries as Reel Radicals: The 60s Revolution in Film; Censored; The Sun, The Moon and The Stars; and Blocked: The Novelist’s Experience in Hollywood; as well as the series The Shots Seen 'Round the World.
Professor Fizzinoglia has also produced an independent feature documentary film, Free Spirits (2006), about the Brotherhood of the Spirits, the largest “hippie” commune in the country, which existed from 1968-1988. Released theatrically and screened in numerous festivals including the Rome Int’l Film Festival, the Ojai Film Festival 2006, Oxford International Film Festival, the Mendocino Film Festival, the Cinema City International Film Festival in L.A.
Fizzinoglia is professor and chair of the New York Institute of Technology Communication Arts Department and is the originator and curator of NYIT’s Free Flicks, the university’s classic and revivalist film series, (weekly, since 2006).​
MEGHAN MEADE
L.I.N.D.A.'s VICE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD
Meghan Meade is an associate at K&L Gates's Newark office. Meghan represents management in employment-related litigation, including defense against federal and state law claims of employment discrimination, retaliation and whistleblowing, wage and hour disputes, employment contracts, misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair competition, and non-competition and nondisclosure agreements. She practices before state and federal courts, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and other administrative agencies. Meghan also counsels clients on various areas of employment matters, including compliance with federal, state, and local antidiscrimination laws, wage and hour laws, implementation of workplaces policies, and employee handbooks, and labor and employment issues relating to mergers and acquisitions. Meghan represents clients in a range of industries including health care, technology, and real estate. Meghan was selected for inclusion in the 2018 and 2019 New Jersey Super Lawyers publication as a “Rising Star.”
NICOLE SWIDERSKI
L.I.N.D.A.'s REGISTERED AGENT & TREASURER
Dr. Nicole Swiderski (Sachs) is a Research Scientist at the New Jersey State Parole Board and Adjunct Professor at several universities throughout the state of New Jersey.
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Nicole earned her Doctorate degree in Criminal Justice at Rutgers University – Newark in 2018; she also holds a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice from Rutgers (2013), Bachelor of Arts degrees in Crime, Law, & Justice and Psychology from Penn State (2010) and a Minor Certificate in Sociology from Penn State (2010). Nicole’s research focuses include: the cognitive effects of violent victimization; the relation between sports and domestic violence; violence against women; prisoner reentry; and police and media. In addition to actively conducting research, Nicole is working on co-authoring two books with LINDA founder Beth Adubato.
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Nicole has consulted on and project managed the research components of the Second Chance Act Reentry Demonstration Program and Second Chance Act Reentry Program – Phase II for the New Jersey State Parole Board, funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. She has also served as a consultant for the UK College of Policing.
While earning her Master’s degree, Nicole worked for the State of New Jersey as an Investigator Public Defender for the Law Guardian division, interviewing children under the care of the Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCPP, formerly DYFS).
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Nicole has experience participating in and organizing a number of fundraising events for local and national charities, including the National MS Society MS Walk and Westfield, New Jersey PBA and FMBA annual Spring Classic hockey tournament.
STEPHANIE SILVA
L.I.N.D.A.'s SECRETARY
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Stephanie Silva joined the L.I.N.D.A. Organization as a volunteer in 2017. During her time as a volunteer, she also served on the Take Back the Night Council at Saint Peter’s University. Her passion for social justice, human rights, and equality led her to pursue a career in the nonprofit sector. Ms. Silva joined the Board of Directors in 2019 and currently serves as Secretary of the L.I.N.D.A. Organization.
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Stephanie holds a B.A., Summa Cum Laude, in Criminal Justice with a concentration in Research and Analysis from Saint Peter’s University. While completing her undergraduate studies, Stephanie became a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success, as well as Alpha Phi Sigma, the Criminal Justice Honor Society. She is currently pursuing her M.P.A. at Rutgers University, Newark and is a member of The American Society of Public Administration.
MARIE MELE
BOARD MEMBER
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Dr. Mele is an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at Monmouth University. She is a graduate of Rutgers School of Criminal Justice and American University’s School of Public Affairs. Her research interests include repeat victimization and intimate partner violence. Dr. Mele's publications center on police responses to domestic violence, women’s and men’s protection order experiences, and victim advocacy. Before joining academia, Dr. Mele served as an advocate for domestic violence victims with the Morris County Prosecutor's Office in Morristown, NJ. She also served as a program specialist with the National Institute of Justice in Washington, DC. Currently, Dr. Mele teaches courses in criminology, victimology, and research methodology.
LISA ADUBATO PARK
BOARD MEMBER
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Lisa Adubato Park holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Accounting from the Villanova School of Business, Villanova University. After completing two years of public accounting, her accounting degree took her into several different and diverse fields. Most recently Lisa held the position of Administrative Assistant at UNICO National, an Italian American Non-Profit Service Organization located in Fairfield, New Jersey. Her duties included the accounting and administration for the Foundation and the editing and layout of articles in the organizations bi-monthly publication, ComUNICO.
Prior to joining UNCIO, Lisa received her Real Estate Sales-Person’s License in May 2006 and worked for Grubb & Ellis and Newmark Knight Frank’s Tri-State Capital Markets Group as a managing director. With more than 25 years of banking and investment sales experience, she focused on Capital Markets investment sale transactions as a partner of the Tri-State Capital Markets Team.
Lisa was the founder and Executive Director of the Verona After School Enrichment Program. Working with grants and local donations, she was able to offer an affordable and quality after school alternative to working families in Verona, New Jersey.
In addition to her private sector work experience, Lisa has been involved with local politics and community service. She has served on the Verona Township Council, The Essex County Open Space Trust Fund and the Verona Centennial Commission and the Assistance League of Santa Clarita, California. She has also been active in the local Woman’s Clubs, UNICO National and has served on her church’s Endowment Trust Fund as well as a CCD Teacher.
Lisa is the mother of three children and one grand-child.
MARILU MARCILLO
BOARD MEMBER
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Dr. Marilú Marcillo is a tenured Associate Professor of the School of Business at Saint Peter’s University joining the faculty in Fall of 2014. In her role as Associate Professor, Dr. Marcillo works with students studying all areas of Business Management, Business Ethics, Marketing and Sustainability.
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She is the former director of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Saint Peter’s reporting directly to University President. She serves as the chair of the advisory council for The Center for Undocumented Students (TCUS) at Saint Peter’s University. She currently serves on the four faculty senate committees: Curriculum, Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Access (IDEA), Honors and was elected Chair 2017 of the University Service Committee. She is also involved in the SURGE STEM committee which helps to encourage more minorities to pursue STEM at Saint Peter’s. She is a member of the Sustainability Council and Latin American and Latino Studies Advisory Committee at Saint Peter’s. Finally, in 2019 she was elected President of AAUP (American Association of University Professors).
Degrees Earned
Institute for Advanced Studies at Colorado Technical University, D.M.
Centenary College, M.B.A.
Alfred University, B.A.
OBNIECE WALKER
BOARD MEMBER
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Obniece Walker has been volunteering for the L.I.N.D.A. Organization as of 2017. She has also been a part of the Take Back the Night Committee for several years at Saint Peter’s University. The knowledge obtained in her years in academia has provided her with the passion to strive for social justice as Obniece is feels strongly about Women’s Rights, Criminal Justice Reform, Immigration Reform, and overall Human Rights. As an undergraduate, Ms. Walker interned at the Jersey City Municipal Courts at a program called Jersey City Community Solutions where the mission is to divert low level non-violent offenders into community and or social based services that are geared towards their needs this way they are paying their debt back to society and getting rehabilitated at the same time. This internship allowed her to see how community outreach programs work and see the different organizations that Jersey City Community Solutions partnered with such as Women’s Rising and Hudson Speaks. These experiences as well as being a resident of Jersey City has made her zealous about social justice, serving the public, and being a part of a nonprofit organization.
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Obniece has a Bachelor’s Degree, Magna Cum Ladue, in Criminal Justice, a concertation in Law and Justice and an Urban Studies Minor. As an undergraduate student, Ms. Walker was the Treasurer of the Criminal Justice Alpha Phi Sigma Honor Society, has been apart of fundraising events for the Honor Society, and donation drives for The L.I.N.D.A. Organization. Ms. Walker is a current graduate student at Rutgers University, Newark and is pursuing her M.P.A.