The Ashley Lauren Foundation was founded by a woman with a passionate, focused vision of helping children in NJ who suffer from cancer - stemming from her own experiences with her daughter’s diagnosis of cancer. She was immediately joined by three others that shared in that same vision. Their first Board Meeting, held at a local diner, brought like-mindedness regarding the plans and goals for the future of the organization. Thus, The Ashley Lauren Foundation was born and became incorporated with the State of New Jersey on July 6, 2005.
Board of Directors
Monica Vermeulen - Executive Director
Monica Vermeulen is the Founder/Executive Director of the Ashley Lauren Foundation. A cancer survivor herself, Monica experienced, first hand, the pain involved in having a child with cancer. Her daughter, Ashley Lauren, was diagnosed with Wilms Tumor at the age of three. Having lived through the unexpected hardships of pediatric cancer, she realized how important the need for support was during this difficult time. Her passion is to reach out with hope and help to other families that are coping with the same difficulties.
Monica has been a Brick, NJ resident for over 32 years. She is married and has two children. Monica has a B.A. in Non-Profit Management (Focus-Pediatric Cancer) from The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey – graduating Summa Cum Laude/Program Distinction. She served as a former Alumni Representative on the Ocean County College Board of Trustees and is President of Phi Theta Kappa, Beta Chapter. Monica is also a Director/Choreographer and Board Member of The Guild Theatreworks, Inc.
Diane Lehman - President
Diane Lehman, a Trustee with the Ashley Lauren Foundation, has been a resident of Point Pleasant for the past 16 years and the mother of 2 sons. She has an extensive background in working with Corporate Boards and has been employed with Ansell Limited in Red Bank for 14 years. Previous career history has been with Simon & Schuster, American Express, Associated Merchandising Corp. and GTE contributing on project management, administrative management and conference planning. She is a graduate of Katharine Gibbs School and studied at Georgian Court College. She is currently a supporter of the Susan G. Komen Foundation and the National Museum of Women in the Arts.
Victoria Ali - Vice-President
Victoria Ali, a graduate of Monmouth University, resides in Red Bank and is employed at TD Ameritrade. She also has an extensive background in event planning, owner of Elite Events LLC, a boutique firm that caters to clients such as Private, Corporate, Political and Charitable Organizations. Victoria is also a current supporter of Collier Youth Services.
Jim Booth - Secretary
Jim Booth is currently the President and Chairman of the Board of SoftNet Technology Corp., an IT consulting company based in Iselin, NJ. Prior to his appointment, he was the Sr. VP- Operations. Jim entered business through the Human Resources profession and possess many years of Human Resources experience in executive assignments. His employment includes senior level positions with Cingular Wireless, BellSouth Wireless Data, Black & Decker and Merck. Jim earned both BS and MA degrees from St. Francis University in Pennsylvania
Jim is a former Board member of Inspara Networking Technologies and former President / current Executive Board member of a number of civic, professional, and non-profit organizations including the American Red Cross and Catholic Charities.
He is a resident of Red Bank, NJ where he lives with his family and spouse Kathleen.
Cynthia Soto - Treasurer
Lori Klein/Immediate Past President - Trustee
Lori Klein is currently the President of the Board of Trustees for the Ashley Lauren Foundation. Lori, a New Jersey native who grew up in southern California, oversees the interiors department for Posen Architects, LLC in Elizabeth, NJ. She is married to Scotch Plains mayor Martin Marks and has 2 children. Lori has been involved with many good causes such as the ACS Relay for Life, and the Emmanuel Cancer Foundation as a board member and volunteer for over 12 years. She has also been an active member of Sisterhood at Congregation Beth Israel in Scotch Plains serving as president, and has served on the synagogue's board of trustees.
Lori holds a B.A. of Painting, Sculpture and Graphic Arts from U.C.L.A., and received her design certification from there as well. She has been working in her field for over 20 years in N.J. while volunteering and raising her family.
Carolyn Walker - Trustee
Carolyn Walker is currently the Secretary of the Board of Trustees, a life-long resident of New Jersey, currently resides in Brick, having grown up in Cranford and living in three other counties of the state. She is employed as a Trust Officer in the Estate Settlement Unit for Wachovia Trust in Toms River, NJ.
Carolyn graduated Magna Cum Laude from Georgian Court University with a BS in Business Administration having been a member of the Delta Mu Delta Business Honor Society as well as the Alpha Sigma Lambda Honor Society. She also is a graduate of Cannon Trust School and is a Certified Trust Financial Advisor. Carolyn is the proud mother of two daughters and is a founding member of the Harvest Party for Children with Cancer held annually at Ocean County College. She is also a member of the Beta Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa at Ocean County College.
Kevin Burton - Trustee
Kevin Burton is the Vice President of Operations with the New Jersey based manufacturing company Alpha Associates, Inc. He has previously held positions as the Director of Engineering, Research & Development with global technology and product development responsibilities, and is currently responsible for all of the daily manufacturing operations at Alpha Associates. Kevin holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University, where he was a Caldwell Scholar, studied at Oxford University – Manchester College, and took MBA coursework at Wake Forest University’s Babcock School of Management before joining a start-up manufacturing firm in the greater Pittsburgh area.
Kevin, his wife and their two children live in Brick where they are involved in a variety of community events through their church and the Kidz-4-Kidz children’s theater.
David DeDominicis - Trustee
David DeDominicis, is originally a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, relocated to Hoboken, New Jersey and now resides in Brick. He has been residing in Brick for almost 20 years with his wife Grace and their 3 children---Matthew, Arianna and Joshua. As a father of 2 boys with special needs, David knows first-hand the struggles of children and their families dealing with impairment and illness. This gives him a strong desire to help other children and their families who are also affected. Additionally, David knows all too well the struggles a family faces when dealing with a cancer diagnosis as he waged his own battle with cancer in 2010.
David has been a sales management executive in the consumer products industry for over 25 years as is currently self-employed as the owner of 3-D Sales & Marketing. He also serves on the Advisory Board of Kidz-4-Kidz, the children's theatrical arm of The Ashley Lauren Foundation. Additionally, David assists with fundraising for the Search Day Program helping autistic children and also with Challenger Athletics in Brick.
David dedicates his efforts in helping children and families affected by childhood cancer to the memory of his mother, whom he lost to cancer.
Janeen Yodakis - Trustee
Janeen Yodakis is a dedicated advocate for children of all ages. She describes her
motivation as “the simple heart of a mom combined with a passion to see suffering eased and self-esteems raised.”
Janeen is a graduate of The College of New Jersey, the owner of Be A Duck LLC, the owner of Lolli The Clown LLC and board member of The Ashley Lauren Foundation.
Janeen created “Be a Duck” to enable her to help children learn that they are special and should be treated with dignity and respect.
In her role as a Board Member of The Ashley Lauren Foundation in Colts Neck, NJ, Janeen works tenaciously to raise funds for the children and their families who are battling cancer throughout the state. Janeen also enjoys spending time with the children and makes it her mission to bring a smile to each child’s face she meets.
Janeen has been married for more than 8 years to her wonderful husband and has two young children of whom she is very proud.
Joseph Spano - Trustee
Joseph Spano is a managing director of Spano Partners, LLC, his family’s diversified real estate development business, started in 2006. Prior to that, he ran the family’s fashion accessory import business, Buy-Rite, Inc., for over 20 years before selling it to private equity in 2005. Joe was a CPA with Price Waterhouse upon his graduation from Rider University in 1979.
In 2006, Joe founded The Spano Family Charitable Foundation, supporting many local causes, especially those associated with children. He is an active board member of The Friends of the Monmouth County Child Advocacy Center, having recently completed construction of the Center, a safe, child-friendly facility for the victims of child abuse, neglect, and assault as well as their caregivers. He is also active with Swaziland Relief Fund, building a church, health clinic and school in this severely depressed country in Africa. Joe is a retired EMT of 12 years with Freehold First Aid and Rescue Squad, currently an honorary member as he is with Veterans of the Vietnam War and Veterans Coalition.
Joe lives in Freehold Twp. with his wife of 29 years, Diane, and one of his 3 sons. He is a long-time congregant at St. Rose of Lima Church there, where he also teaches religious education.
Joe is a terrible golfer but an enthusiast nonetheless. He travels extensively and is a founding member of Maverick Business Adventures and an active member of Entrepreneur’s Organization.
Howard Levine - Trustee
Howard is currently the Chief Information Officer for SeniorBridge, Inc., a Care Management firm based in New York City. Howard has over 20 years of experience in various Information Technology roles. Prior to joining SeniorBridge, Howard was the Director of Information Technology for Loews Cineplex Entertainment in New York where he was responsible for application development and operation support activities. Prior to Loews, he was a consulting Manager with Ernst & Young, LLP, and Senior Manager with International Systems Services. Mr. Levine holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Information System Services from Stockton State College in New Jersey. He has chosen to dedicate his free time to assist children and their families that are dealing with cancer in memory of his 9 yr. old son Mark Levine who he lost to bone cancer in 2010. Howard is a resident of Marlboro, NJ where he lives with his family.
Brian Ceraolo - Trustee
Brian is the founder and owner of Peerless Media, a B2B publishing company based in Framingham, MA. Prior to that, Brian held positions as Group Publisher at Reed Elsevier and Senior Vice President at Keller International Publishing. Brian holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Marketing from Fairfield University in CT. Brian proudly joined The Ashley Lauren Foundation’s board after his daughter, Jacklyn, successfully battled bone cancer in 2009. He also works with Jacklyn and his son, Kyle, on their foundation, The Beauty Foundation Friends (BFFs), which has raised money for The Ashley Lauren Foundation and other organizations as well. Brian currently lives in Marlboro with his wife Lori and 4 children.