As a newcomer to South Jersey in 2021, Beth’s interest in IMPACT100SJ was piqued when reading the profile of a Leadership Council member in a local lifestyle magazine. She checked out the organization’s website and its robust offerings, which sealed the deal on her membership application. She completed the paperwork, joined the Grant Finance and Grant Review committees and there was no looking back.
No stranger to nonprofit and board engagement, Beth is impressed with IMPACT100SJ’s mission of leveraging the power of collective giving and making a significant impact on local non-profits via IMPACT100SJ’s grant-making process. Being new to the area, Beth was curious to learn more about the area and its needs. Win-win. Beth is a longtime “joiner” and, more importantly a “doer”.
As a retired CPA financial advisor, Beth has so far enjoyed analyzing grant proposals, making onsite visits and conferring with committee members about potential grantees.
During her many years as a Boston-area resident, Beth was involved with The Boston Foundation Professional Advisors Committee, Dana-Farber Women’s Cancers Executive Council and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst Foundation Board. It was as a member of the Foundation Board that Beth co-founded Women for UMass (WFUM) to encourage alumna giving.Through Beth’s leadership, WFUM became a grant-making organization, focusing on female-centric programs and providing seed money to programs such as the Women of Isenberg Conference.
Beth’s interest in philanthropy traces back to her parents and their rich community engagement. Both of her parents were deeply involved in the Springfield, MA Jewish community, holding numerous leadership positions. After decades of dedicated service, the Springfield Jewish Family Service honored Beth’s parents for their volunteer service.
Beth earned an undergraduate degree in Sociology and several years later pursued an MBA at UMass-Amherst. After earning her MBA, she taught college level accounting and finance for 2 ½ years while raising three small children (she was pregnant with twins during her last semester of grad school) before beginning her career at Price Waterhouse (now PWC).
Using her public accounting experience as a steppingstone, Beth and a colleague embarked upon their entrepreneurial journey of serving wealthy individuals as trusted financial planners. She enjoyed this enriching professional experience until she retired in 2020.
Beth regards forming, growing and selling a successful financial planning firm, founding WFUM, involvement with the AICPA (American Institute of Public Accounting) and a national study group of CPA financial planners as well mentoring among her top professional accomplishments.
She has been married for 54 years to husband John, a retired FBI agent. They have three children and five grandchildren.
Beth is an avid reader, loves to cook and work out. Together, she and her husband enjoy classical music, opera, travel…and, of course, their grandchildren.