Board of Directors
Nicks Hope is administered by a Board of Directors, led by founders Melissa Kevlahan and Laura Luminello.
Melissa Kevlahan
President/Founder
Melissa is retired from a 20 year career in Commercial Property & Casualty Insurance specializing in Real Estate Development. Her ability to apply critical thinking, to manage and execute projects, combined with many years of account management allows her to lead the Nick’s Hope organization. She served as the point person on office charity and fundraising efforts and as a board member of alocal nonprofit. Melissa co-founded Nick’s Hope in 2020 shortly after retiring. Her experience and skills enable her to manage the Nick’s Hope mission and operations while simultaneously planning for the growth and expansion ahead.
Laura Luminello
Vice President/Founder
Laura recently retired from a successful 20-year career in dispatch administration at United Parcel Service (UPS). Her retirement followed the loss of her son Nicholas, in whose memory this mission was initiated. Currently, working as a part-time nanny provides her the flexibility to support Nick's Hope as needed.
Laura oversees travel logistics for our Pop-up events, collects donations, and fosters personal connections with our supporters. Her insights and advice are invaluable to our board and the success of our mission.
Geri Ricciani-Beltran
Secretary
Geri has 20+ years of leadership experience in project and account management servicing a variety of industries and technologies. She is currently a Client Management Manager at Accenture. Geri has supported Nick’s Hope since 2021 as a volunteer and webmaster for Nickshope.com. With passion for helping her local community she also volunteers for dog rescue organizations and is the Accenture co-Relationship Manager for Covenant House New Jersey. She holds a BS degree from Roger Williams University, Bristol, RI.
Jenny Clancy
Treasurer
Jenny Clancy was born and raised in New York City before moving to New Jersey 34 years ago. She graduated from NYU with a BA in Psychology and has over 16 years of working in the Banking and Finance industry, working for Bankers Trust, Bank of New York and Prudential. Her roles included Brokerage Retirement Operations, Client Services Management for Corporate Clients and Project Management. Jenny took a career break in 2002 to raise her daughter but remained active by volunteering at her daughter’s nonprofit independent school, managing the PTA, fundraising and organizing school-wide events. Since November 2021, she has been volunteering for Nick’s Hope where she is involved in many aspects of the organization and recently assumed the role of Treasurer.
Kathleen Bubniak
Board Member and Trustee
Kathleen has 25 years experience in engineering, strategic development and project management. Kathleen has been volunteering with Nick’s Hope since 2021, along with her children and husband. She is also an active leader and counselor in Scouts USA as well as a volunteer in her local parish, St. John Vianney RCC in Stockholm, NJ. Kathleen holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University, a M.S. in Chemical Engineering from University of Maine and an MBA from Florida Institute of Technology.
Nancy Zajdel
Board Member and Fundraising Chairperson
Nancy graduated from York College with a degree in Therapeutic Recreation and began her career at Spa 23, where she also met her husband. For more than 30 years, she has proudly called Jefferson home.
After deciding to stay home and raise her children—while also caring for others—Nancy later became a childcare director, a role she held until retiring in 2021 to help care for two of her five grandchildren.
Deeply rooted in her community, Nancy has volunteered in both her parish and the town of Jefferson. She has coached softball and basketball, served on the cheerleading board, and co-chaired the original Creative Playground project, which was built entirely through fundraising and volunteers before the age of cell phones and the internet.
Since April 2022, Nancy has been a dedicated volunteer at Nick’s Hope, continuing her lifelong commitment to giving back.