WEST LONG BRANCH – The Monmouth University Board of Trustees elected its new slate of officers and four members last month, with terms beginning July 1. Jeana M. Piscatelli (’01 ’02M) was elected chair of the board, the first woman in the university’s 87-year history to hold the position. John A. Brockriede Jr. (’07 ’10M) and Leslie N. Hitchner will serve as vice chairs, Christopher D. Maher as treasurer and John C. Conover III as secretary. The board is composed of 32 regular members who are elected to four-year terms.
Piscatelli, of Holmdel, is senior vice president, director of treasury management at OceanFirst Bank. She has been a member of the university’s board since 2010. At OceanFirst, she is responsible for implementation of overall strategy and management of corporate treasury. Piscatelli succeeded Michael A. Plodwick (’82) as chair.
Jeana M. Piscatelli (’01 ’02M) is Monmouth University’s first woman elected board chair; Miles J. Austin III (’18), Tasha A. Youngblood Brown (’97 ’03M), Jeremy Grunin, and James S. Vaccaro III were also elected to the board.
Miles J. Austin III (’18), Tasha A. Youngblood Brown (’97 ’03M), Jeremy Grunin, and James S. Vaccaro III will join the board as its newest members.
Austin, of Rumson, is a former offensive quality control coach for the San Francisco 49ers and former wide receiver who played professional football for 10 seasons, the majority with the Dallas Cowboys. He is founder of the Austin Family Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to support and promote youth programming focused on character development and community involvement in lower income areas. He was a standout wide receiver for the football team from 2002-2005. Austin’s jersey was retired in 2014 and he was inducted into the Monmouth University Athletics Hall of Frame in 2016.
Brown, from Long Branch, is a managing director in the Government and Public Sector practice of Ernst & Young, and has 24 years of expertise in the areas of auditing and accounting, information technology, risk management, and business strategy across different industries. A community leader, she also serves as the vice president of the Long Branch Board of Education and as board treasurer of the Eastern Minority Supplier Development Council (EMSDC), working with minority-owned, women-owned businesses and corporations as an advocate for supplier diversity.
Grunin, of Toms River, is president of the Grunin Foundation, a grant-making organization focused on economic growth at the central Jersey Shore. He is also a partner of Grunin Holdings, LLC, a New Jersey partnership specializing in the development and management of commercial real estate, as well as investing in third party commercial ventures. An active philanthropic and community leader, Grunin serves as board chair of Fulfill (formerly the Food-bank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties) and as an executive board member of the Count Basie Center for the Arts, among other local nonprofit boards.
Vaccaro, of West Allenhurst, is chairman, president, and CEO of Manasquan Bank, which operates 15 offices and branches located in Middlesex, Monmouth, and Ocean counties in New Jersey. A civic and philanthropic leader, Vaccaro is a board member of RWJBarnabas Health and Monmouth Medical Center.
The article originally appeared in the July 23 – 29, 2020 print edition of The Two River Times.
