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Elspeth Moore, PDG, Chairwoman
Elspeth Moore was a high school teacher for more than 30 years and is an active member of the West Milford Lions Club in West Milford, New Jersey. She is a Past District Governor and is a Campaign Sightfirst II District Coordinator. She has been awarded several Lions Club awards, including the International President’s Leadership Award, International President’s Certificate and International Melvin Jones Fellowship.

She earned a Bachelor of Science in Home Economics from the College of St. Elisabeth and completed her Masters of Library and Information Science at Rutgers State University.

Rev. Lois Schembs, Vice-Chairwoman
Lois Schembs has been a priest in the Episcopal Church since 1982, serving congregations in Indiana, Iowa, greater Washington, DC, and in numerous New Jersey locations. Previous to the ordained ministry, she first worked as a researcher and educator at an outdoor living history museum and then she procured funding for and directed several ecumenical programs on aging, all of which were in Indianapolis.

Lois has been a Lion since 1994, and is a member of the Westfield Lions Club. She has been President of the Club numerous times and a Melvin Jones Fellow. She has served Lions District 16E as a Zone Chair, Region Chair and Cabinet Secretary. Lois currently serves as the district Chaplain for the Lions of both District 16A and 16E. She is the past Executive Director of the Lions Eye Research Foundation (LERF), a former staff member of the Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey (LEBNJ) and became a LEBNJ Board member in 2007. She is a former Chaplain for the Hospice Team of the Visiting Nurses Association in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and is a consultant and Past President of the Board of Directors for Youth and Family Counseling Service in Westfield, New Jersey.

Lois received a Bachelor’s in History and Anthropology/Sociology from William Smith College, a Master’s in American Folk Culture from the Cooperstown Graduate Program in New York, and a Master of Divinity from Virginia Theological Seminary. She and her husband PDG Doug have one daughter, Jennifer.

Stanley Grossman, PID, Treasurer
Stan Grossman, a retired teacher and school administrator, has been a member of the Springfield Lions Club since 1967. He has served three terms as club President and seven terms as treasurer, as well as multiple terms on the club’s Board of Directors. Stan was elected District Governor in 1990-91, and in 1998 was elected to the 33-member Board of Directors of Lions Club International for a two-year term.Stan and his wife, Ruth, were named Visionaries of the Year in 2008 by the Lions Eye-Bank of New Jersey.

Ralph DeVito, PDG, Secretary
Ralph DeVito has been an active member of the Mt. Olive Lions Club since 1974. He is a Past District Governor, and has held a variety of leadership positions at the local and district levels. Through the years, he has received many Lions Club awards and honors, including a Melvin Jones Award and a Lions International Presidents’ Award. He has also dedicated much of his time to non-Lions Club-related community service, and is a veteran of the United States Navy. Ralph has a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Fairleigh Dickenson University. He spent much of his career in the aerospace industry and owned a retail business for 38 years.

Isabel Baquero, CS
Isabel Baquero has spent her career in the field of education, working as a teacher, program coordinator and guidance counselor. She is currently the Supervisor of Bilingual/ESL Education Pre-K-12 for the Elizabeth Board of Education in Elizabeth, New Jersey. She is a member of the Elizabeth Colombian Lions Club. Isabel was named a Visionary of the Year in 2009, for her tireless work to promote eye, organ and tissue donation within the Latino community.

Richard Chittum, PDG
Richard "Rick" Chittum is a retired trader and portfolio manager from Bankers Trust Co. He served 30 years in the municipal securities industry in sales, underwriting and trading. He is a Broker with Met-Life Insurance and also works part-time with Riewert Funeral Home. Rick has been a Lion for 28 years; is a Progressive Melvin Jones Fellow and a Past President of the Bergenfield Lions Club. He served as President of the old LEBNJ during the merger period with Midwest Eye-Bank, and is the current Vice Chairman of the Board of the Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey.

Rick serves on the board of the Eyeglass Recycling Center and advisory board of Camp Marcella for Blind Children. He is President of the 16A Charitable Foundation and President of the NJ PDG Assn.

Rick umpired Little League games for about 5 years and served on the Bergenfield Recreation Committee for about 10 years. He received a B.A. in Economics from the University of Richmond, studied Russian at Syracuse, and served in the U.S.A.F. Rick and his wife Barbara have two sons, and four grandchildren.

William Constad, M.D.
In addition to his faculty appointment as a Clinical professor of Ophthalmology at the University of medicine and Dentistry of new Jersey-New jersey Medical School, Dr. Constad has been in private practice with Hudson Eye Physicians and Surgeons since 1985.

He has served on multiple committees for the Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA) and Jersey City Medical Center, and has been named among the New York metro Area's Top Doctors by Castle Connolly Medical, LTD. Dr. Constad has been directly involved with the Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey since 1988, and has served as its Medical Director from 1992-95 and from 1997-present. He also serves on the Board of Directors for both the Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey and Midwest Eye-Banks.

Dr. Constad resides in Martinsville, New Jersey.

Stephen Domovich, PDG
Lion Steve Domovich has been an active member of the Hunterdon Hills Lions Club, District 16-D, since November, 1968. He has served many offices and chaired committees on the club, sub-district and multiple district levels. He has attended 38 State Conventions, 15 International Conventions and six USA/Canada Leadership Forums. He is a recipient of the Harold P. Nutter Award and a Progressive Melvin Jones Fellow.

Steve worked for 42 years at the Mountainview Correctional Facility. He served as a teacher, Director of Education and as the Chief Executive Officer during his last 18 years of employment. He continues to serve on the Board of Trustees for the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women after ten years of membership.

Steve is a graduate of East Stroudsburg State College with a BS degree in Health and Physical Education and earned an M.Ed. in Personnel and Guidance from Rutgers University.

Steve served in the Army during World War II, and received five battle campaign stars, including the landing on Omaha Beach on D Day.

Beverley Henderson-Hartsfield, R.N., B.A.
Beverley Henderson-Hartsfield is a strong believer in community service, with a track record to back up her beliefs. She is currently the Executive Director of Echoes – the Grief Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to grief, death and bereavement issues. She has also served as the Director of Maternal Child Health Services at the Hospital Center at Orange and was the first woman to hold the position of Executive Director of the 100 Black Men of New Jersey. She has dedicated her time to serving her community in various ways, and has received numerous awards for her efforts. Beverley is a registered nurse and a graduate of Queensboro School of Nursing and Baruch College. She resides in East Orange with her husband, David. They have two daughters and three grandchildren.

Eugene Renkar, PDG
Eugene “Gene” Renkar has been a Trustee of the Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey since 1998. A Lion member for 33 years and past President of the Maplewood Lions Club, he has also served as District Governor of district 16E in 1998-1999. Lion Gene is a proud Progressive Melvin Jones Fellow with seven diamonds. He has also served with the Lions Eye Research Foundation of New Jersey, the Charitable Foundation of 16E and the New Jersey Eyeglass Recycling Center for many years. Gene is the recipient of three International President Certificates of Appreciation, as well as the International President’s Award 2003-2004.Gene is a graduate of Rutgers University, College of Pharmacy with a Bachelor of Science Degree. He successfully owned and operated his own pharmacy for 36 years. Now retired and living in Brick, New Jersey with his Lion wife Joann who is a Progressive Melvin Jones Fellow with six diamonds. They have three adult children, Steven, Kelly and Christopher.

Ben Yashinski
Ben Yashinski is a retired manager from Verizon Corporation where he spent 35 years in New Jersey, Philadelphia and New York in varied positions in engineering, finance and human resources. He holds a bachelors degree in social and political studies from Seton Hall University and served in the United States Army Signal Corps from 1967 to 1969.

Lion Ben was invited to join the Metuchen Lions Club in 1981. He has held all officer and director positions within the Club including multiple terms as president, secretary and treasurer, and is the current Club Treasurer.

He served as District 16-D zone chair; President of the District 16-D Eye & Ear Foundation; District 16-D Membership Chair; and 16-D Mission 30 Coordinator; and is currently a trustee on the boards of both the 16-D Eye & Ear Foundation, and the 16-D Audio-Visual Screening Foundation.

As a current district governor, Lion Ben is a trustee on the board of the Lions Eye Research Foundation, representing District 16-D. He is also a member of the advisory board of the New Jersey Camp for Blind Children.

Bradley Tennant, Senior Vice President
Bradley Tennant graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Biology from Olivet College, Olivet Michigan in 1983. He was hired by the Michigan Eye Bank as an Eye Bank technician in March of 1987. In December of 1987 he successfully passed the Eye Bank Association of America's Certified Eye Bank Technician exam and has been a CEBT ever since. Bradley was promoted to Vice President, Clinical Operations for Midwest Eye-Banks in 1999. In that role he was responsible for ensuring that all of Midwest Eye-Banks clinical laboratories operate in full compliance with Midwest Clinical Policies & Procedures, FDA Good Tissue Practice Rules & Regulations and other applicable State laws, in order to provide the highest quality, safest tissue for transplantation and the highest quality service possible. He is a volunteer member of the Eye Bank Association of America's Medical Advisory Board and Accreditation Board and currently serve as the Co-chair of Medical Review Subcommittee. Bradley was also a member of the Deerfield Public Schools Board of Education from 1995-2003 and for the last seven years has served as the Treasurer for the Board.

Bradley is married with four children and two grandchildren, and is a resident of Deerfield, MI.

Kevin W. Ross, President/CEO
Kevin Ross has worked with the Eye-Bank since 1990. He developed software to track donors and recipients of corneal tissue, and to support all Eye-Bank staff responsibilities. As Vice President, Finance and Information Systems, Kevin led the implementation of a $2.5 million tax-exempt bond issue to finance the Eye-Bank’s Ann Arbor headquarters and Michigan Eye-Bank lab facility. In November, 2007, Kevin was named Midwest Eye-Banks’ President and Chief Executive Officer. He holds Master’s degrees in Computer Science and Public Health from the University of Michigan, and serves as a member of the Ann Arbor (Host) Lions Club and the Michigan Alumni Pep Band. Kevin and his wife, Suzanne, live in Ann Arbor.

Margaret Chaplin, Executive Director
Margaret Chaplin joined Midwest Eye-Banks in 2006, when she appointed Executive Director of the Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey. Prior to that, she spent 13 years with the St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, including seven years as Administrative Director, Professional Services. She has a Master’s degree in Health Services Administration from George Washington University, and has worked in the health care industry for more than 20 years.

Midwest Eye Banks board members

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