Board of Directors
Donna Kirkland, Co- President
Donna Kirkland is Senior Director of Community Engagement with the New Jersey office of the Trust for Public Land. Donna joined TPL in September 2006 as an intern for the Parks for People—Newark program and became a full-time staff member in September 2007. She engages students and community residents in participatory design and long-term stewardship of TPL’s completed and future parks and playgrounds. In particular, she works closely with community-based committees at TPL’s project sites, helping them to grow into their role as local stewards and serving as a liaison with schools, the city administration, the police, and other community organizations. A longtime Newark resident, Donna’s extensive volunteer experience includes working with a hospice program; running summer art programs at Quest, Inc. and Pilgrim Baptist Village Housing Complex; teaching the art of giving unconditionally for children with behavioral problems; and serving as Art Director for Street Warriors, Inc., team leader for the Girl Scouts, and team leader for the relay walk for cancer. She has been Chair of Community Engagement for the Newark Arts Strategic Plan, Co-Chair of the Newark Environmental Commission, and a member of the Sustainable Jersey Arts and Food Task Force, the Greater Newark Conservancy Community Advisory Board, the Newark Arts Education Roundtable, the working group for Trauma informed Care, and the Mayor’s Children’s Cabinet. She is the Board Secretary for the Newark City Parks Foundation and a member of Collaborative New Jersey, Believe in a Healthy Newark, and the TPL Community Cohort.
Richard A. Whitten, Co-President
Richard A. Whitten was born and raised in Newark, New Jersey. His working-class parents believed in giving back to their community and instilled strong family values in him. He is the father of an adult daughter, Krystle, and a school-aged son, Aaron.
Richard currently serves as a board member with the Greater Newark Conservancy. He is an adviser for Eyes Like Mine, which advocates for persons who are blind or visually impaired. He currently serves as a community ambassador with Project Ready, assisting with campaigns that engage parents and caregivers around the expansion of educational and health opportunities and voter education. For the last 20 years, Richard has been part of a group of community volunteers who distribute poultry to families in need during the year.
Richard has distinguished himself as a political adviser and campaign strategist in Newark’s Central Ward. He worked on Cory Booker’s successful 1998 campaign for the Central Ward seat on the Newark City Council, serving on the campaign strategy team and introducing Booker to community members, business people, and other local stakeholders. After the election he served as a legislative aide for Booker. He played similar political and campaign roles for Dana Rone when she ran for a seat on the Newark school board in 2003. In 2006, he worked on her successful campaign for the Central Ward seat on the city council.
During his free time, Richard enjoys bowling, running, and cycling. He has a heart for seniors and enjoys working with young people.
Rhenotha Whitaker, Treasurer
Rhenotha Ophelia Whitaker was born and raised in Newark, NJ by way of Scotland Neck, NC where her family is from. She received her undergraduate degree in Economics from Drew University and a master’s degree in Public Administration from Rutgers University. At the age of 8, she began singing after learning the words to the great Whitney Houston recording of The Greatest Love of All. Since then, Rhenotha has been making hearts smile through TV and radio alike. As an overall entertainer, Rhenotha is a SAG-AFTRA and Equity actress and print model with Funny Face Today Agency. She owns and is the lead writer of Full Figured Fabulous and On The Way To Fit, an online lifestyle publication. By day, she is the Deputy Director of Clinton Hill Community Action, a member of the Mildred Helms Park Resurrection Committee, and the Treasurer of United Parks As One. She gives all glory and honor to the one and only true living God her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for helping her always be in the right place at the right time to receive a blessing.
Elizabeth McGrady, Secretary
Elizabeth McGrady is a community advocate who started advocating for both students and parents alike when her children where in school. She acknowledges all of her varied interests, while helping and informing others. Her affiliations speak soundly to her belief, “What good is the information if you don’t share it?”
Some of her community involvement includes the following:
Founding member of United Parks As One
Former Co-President of United Parks As One
Founding member of The Friends of Nat Turner Park
Secretary of The Friends of Nat Turner Park
Secretary of Wynona Lipman Gardens Tenant Association
Immediate Past President of Newark University Area AARP 5398
Certified Data Collector for the Food Desert Survey of the South Ward
Newark Environmental Commission
Essex County Senior & Disabled
Design Team Member for the Safety by Design Toolkit that the State of New Jersey is currently using in parks systems
Hajjah Dena Corbin
Hajjah Dena Corbin is a retired Special Education Teacher, having worked 32 Years; a wife; a mother; a grandmother; and best-selling author of Change Balance & Flow: An Essential Oil Journey, which highlights her transition from working all her life to living the rest of her life, and the impact using Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils made in balancing her mentally, emotionally, and physically through it all. She is a Certified Horticultural Therapist, certified in the Utilization of Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils for Holistic Transformation, a Master Gardener, and a 2023 graduate of the Rutgers Environmental Steward Program. Being selected to present a TEDx Tara Blvd talk on Reframing the Idea of Gardening was a transforming experience for her. In 2021, Dena earned a Certificate in Applied Positive Psychology (CAPP), which focuses on the concepts and tools of flourishing and applied approaches to optimal functioning. She is the grateful 2022 recipient of the Greater Newark Conservancy Nelson Mandela Freedom Award for service to the Greater Newark Conservancy and the Newark community.
Fallon Davis
Fallon Davis is a non-binary visionary, radical educator, creative scientist, philanthropist, and true activist for changing the lives of Black and Brown individuals. As a pioneer in queer fashion, developing the first masculine of center fashion show movement and Queer Fashion Week in the world, they understand what it takes to have a vision and stick to it despite any adversities life throws their way. Fallon’s long-term vision has always involved changing society, changing policies, and changing the systemic disparities Black and queer POC folks face. They obtained their Master’s in Education with a focus on Curriculum and Instruction and a dual concentration in Equity, Equality, and Justice and S.T.E.A.M. Since obtaining this degree, Fallon implanted their knowledge in different arenas: launching a Real-World Academy STEM After School Program in a low performing high school; mentoring teenage counselors to grow a performing summer camp; helping build a college-readiness S.T.E.A.M-based program for high schoolers; implementing over eight S.T.E.A.M programs for a Therapeutic Rehabilitation program for youth and adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities; and implementing pilot programming across the globe. Currently Founder, CEO, and President of STEAM URBAN, they are putting their Black body, Black voice, Black mind, and Black soul on the line daily for their community.
Evelyn Fuertes
Evelyn Fuertes, NDTR, is a bilingual Community Cancer Control Specialist for the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey. After almost 20 years of working for corporations in New York City, Evelyn decided to make a change and devote her work to the community, where her efforts can make a difference. In 2014, Evelyn earned her Nutrition & Dietetic Technician Registered credential, enabling her to teach and create evidence-based nutrition curriculums. Since 2014, she has held roles at the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, SNAP-Ed, and Whole Cities Foundation, a Whole Foods non-profit.
Evelyn joined the Cancer Institute in 2019 and works to increase awareness about cancer prevention and screening in the community, with a focus on the Latino community. Her goals are to empower people to advocate for their health. When she's not working, she enjoys "couch-time" with her husband and dogs, reading, and taking hikes.
Damon Rich
Damon Rich works as a designer, urban planner, and visual artist. He's been a Newark resident in the North and East Wards for 15 years. With Jae Shin, he's a partner at HECTOR, an urban design practice working on projects including the rebuilding of a 100-year-old neighborhood park in southeast Philadelphia, an educational exhibition in San Francisco featuring Newark artists, and the installation of the first scale model of the entire city of Newark on the second floor of City Hall. Also in Newark City Hall, Damon previously served for seven years under Mayors Booker, Quintana, and Baraka as Planning Director and Chief Urban Designer. He's taught art, architecture, and planning at Barnard College, Harvard University, and Sussex Avenue School.
Julia Somers
Julia Somers has strong skills in community organizing, environmental policy development, advocacy, non-profit management, personnel management and training, development, and fundraising. Her experience includes serving as the Executive Director of the New Jersey Highlands Coalition since 2006, when she was recruited to transform an informal coalition of 25 organizations with a common interest to protect the natural resources and cultural resources of the 1500 square mile Highlands region into an independent NGO, with its own Board and funding. Today, she leads a true coalition of over 100 organizations with a six-person, highly collegial staff. The Coalition has established a formidable advocacy voice in and outside of the region and at all levels of government and has achieved a greater recognition of how the region’s natural resource values contribute to its economic stability and quality of life and that of the State.
Prior to 2006, Julia was the founding Executive Director of the Great Swamp Watershed Association, where over 16 years she built a small, volunteer-driven watershed association into a highly respected organization with eight full-time employees and permanent offices, working to protect all the environmental and cultural resources of the ten-town Great Swamp watershed, which include a National Historical Park, a National Wildlife Refuge, and important parts of two county park systems.
Renee Williams
With over 20 years of experience in public school education in Newark, Renee Williams has established herself as an Educational Leader, Innovator, Student Support Specialist, and Professional Development Trainer. Her active engagement in school district initiatives and community-based ‘green projects’ has afforded her opportunities to promote extended learning experiences to educators as well as students. She has a noted track record for positively influencing growth outcomes in student academic achievement through partnerships she has been privileged to cultivate with non-profit organizations such as the Trust for Public Land, United Parks As One, the Great Swamp Watershed Education Center of New Jersey, and the Community Food Bank of Hillside. She also serves as a certified volunteer for Children's Specialized Hospital and is a member of Essex County Civic Club.
Renee has a Master’s Degree with Distinction from Saint Peter’s University, with a concentration in Educational Leadership and Supervision. Her undergraduate degree is in Writing and Television Production, also with distinction, from Ramapo University. She possesses production credits for her work in film and television. Her literary work, “Azure Angel Reigns,” is a collection of inspirational poems. Renee is a member of several professional organizations and Antioch Baptist Church in Springfield, New Jersey. She is the proud recipient of the 2020 United Parks As One Marion Bolden Education Award.
Renee’s professional mantra follows this simple precept: “Lead in a manner in which others will want to follow; have a work ethic that is authentic and fruitful.”