LEADERSHIP
Dedicated Leaders Advancing Our Mission
FROM THE GBCA PRESIDENT AND CEO ROBERT F. HALSCH, JR.
I have been privileged to serve as CEO since the mid-eighties. Unlike most not-for-profit community based-organizations, Greater Bergen Community Action does not focus on only one particular problem. We are over 600 staff members strong and growing, creatively operating in 35 facilities in Bergen, Passaic, and Hudson Counties, addressing the changing face of poverty in North Jersey. By creative, I don’t just mean in the intellectual sense. We are actually building things: new schools, affordable housing, and new offices. We completed our new credit union branch. We built a new health center, began construction on a new apartment building in Hackensack, and continue to create more solar installation.
We are actively aware there exists a huge gap between who the government says is poor (a family of four earning less than $24,000 per year) and the huge cohort of people who are effectively living in poverty at even double that income. In North Jersey, a family of four earning $60,000 is still not earning a living wage. Thus, opportunity solutions require expanded thinking, expanded resources, and expanded relationships.
While GBCA is very heavily engaged in education, we are every bit as much a learning organization as we are a teaching organization. We know that we will not be relevant if we don’t first understand what economic and cultural distress looks like in 21st century New Jersey, and second, if we don’t learn from those who are innovating new approaches to dealing with these realities.
We do not pretend to know all that needs to be done to address the persistent condition of poverty, but we are sincerely committed to evolve and to innovate, to learn from those who can help us better understand, and to be as relevant and impactful as our talents and resources will permit.
We invite all who are interested in our work to step up and join with us, as together, we endeavor to change lives for the better.
GBCA - An Agency Rich in History and a Company Built For The Future.
GREATER BERGEN COMMUNITY ACTION LEADERSHIP
The following staff members are a part of GBCA's Leadership Team.
They participate in the Strategic Planning and overall administrative management of the agency.
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP
Xiomara Guevara
Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer and Chief Legal Officer
Xiomara provides leadership and guidance to the functional areas of external affairs, policy development and planning and provides agency-wide direction to Division heads. She is also responsible for the general management and supervision of all agency components. As Chief Legal Advisor, she is additionally responsible for advising in all legal matters that Greater Bergen is involved in and needs.
Robert Moore
Executive Vice President and Finance & Chief Growth Officer
Robert is responsible for the management of the agency’s fiscal affairs. In his 23 years at GBCA he has been instrumental in establishing financial control systems that managed 580+ employees, growing the agency’s annual budget, and implementing the first successfully New Jersey chartered Federal Credit Union in over 20 years, 1st Bergen. He is a pivotal figure in orchestrating real estate deals for community service spaces and affordable housing, and creating new partnerships that evolve into revenue sources that serve income eligible households like CAP Solar. Robert is a financial wizard, using his financial superpowers to orchestrate the resources of GBCA in ways that empower and change lives.
Haymee Medina
Chief Financial Officer/Operations & Reporting
Haymee is a seasoned financial expert with more than 30 years of experience, including 15 years in the private sector before making the switch to the nonprofit sector. As the Chief Financial Officer, she is responsible for troubleshooting all financial challenges, both externally and internally, while ascertaining the agency’s standing for operational function. Haymee’s role is vital as she maintains the agency’s ability to contribute to the community programs and employ 580 individuals. Her philosophy in life is to be kind and do the right thing even if no one is looking.
SENIOR LEADERSHIP
Mya Martinez
Vice President of Human Capital and Culture
Mya develops strategic Human Resource plans and polices while collaborating with leadership to align the organization’s goals and objectives with employee recruitment, retention, and satisfaction. Her extensive experience in employee relations has given her the tools to successfully develop a culture of trust and consistency within the organization. Mya has served as a foster parent for 18 years and was rewarded Therapeutic Foster Family of the Year for New Jersey, representing Bergen County. She is extremely proud of the contribution her family has made to over 60 vulnerable children in New Jersey by preparing them for a brighter future and family to call their own. Mya’s quote to live by is “one of the secrets of life is that all that is really worth doing is what we do for others”, by Lewis Carroll.
Mike Lamendola
Vice President of Community Development & Real Estate
Mike is tasked with coordinating and implementing community development initiatives, collaborating with staff on agency objectives, and researching program development opportunities and new funding streams. Tenacious research and storytelling, active listening skills, and compassion for others - all skills he acquired while he was a journalist, became essential for the work he does now within the agency. Mike believes that when individuals know that someone cares, and is listening, it opens a pathway to get them out of that hardship in the most efficient way possible.
Mary Cudina
Vice President of Head Start and Early Head Start
Mary supervises and manages all operations of the program in Bergen County, and the cities of Paterson and Jersey City. Her past experience as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in maternal and child health field helps her to ensure that the program prioritizes children, families and staff’s relational health in all the comprehensive services we provide. Mary’s work within GBCA has taught her the value of flexibility and the importance of self-reflection when serving in a leadership role. One of her favorite children’s books is “Leo the Late Bloomer” by Robert Kraus.
Alison DuBois
Vice President of Community Services
Alison provides support and counseling, resolves challenging problems with actionable solutions, manages programs for at-risk individuals, and collaborates with staff in their respective programs to assist clients. With over 30 years of service at GBCA, Alison utilizes her skills as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor to conduct assessments, develop interventions and enhance clients’ social well-being and responsibility. Her philosophy in life is to live by deeds, not words.
Figen Tabakci
Vice President of Education & Immigrant Resource Center
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Figen supervises and leads the EIRC team, ensures classes are running appropriately, student assessments are being conducted, and deadlines for grant applications and reporting are made. As an immigrant herself and over 20 years of work at GBCA under her belt, Figen understands the needs of the immigrant communities we serve such as learning English and gaining the life skills necessary to adapt to life in America. Figen lives by Gandhi’s quote, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”
Justine Russell
Comptroller
Justine is responsible for overseeing financial statements, directing the accounting team, compiling financial reports, and implementing policies and procedures for financial reporting.
KEY LEADERSHIP
Luara Vazquez
Associate Vice President, Head Start
Laura assists the Vice President of Head Start with the management of all Head Start operations and coordination of the comprehensive services we provide children and families.