The Sharing Network Foundation Announces Election of New Board Officers to Help Guide Lifesaving Mission
(New Providence, NJ) – The Sharing Network Foundation has announced the election of its 2024-2025 Board Officers who will lead strategic efforts in fundraising and resource development to support NJ Sharing Network, the federally designated non-profit responsible for the recovery of donated organs and tissue in the Garden State.
Philanthropic contributions to the Sharing Network Foundation help save and enhance lives through clinical advancement, family support, public awareness, and education about the lifesaving benefits of organ and tissue donation and transplantation. The Board of Trustees is comprised of a diverse group of individuals from both public and private sectors, many of whom have been touched by organ and tissue donation, including donor families and transplant recipients. Effective immediately, the new officers are:
Chair – Ron Oswick of Freehold, NJ
Ron Oswick joined the Sharing Network Foundation’s Board of Trustees in 2018. He recently commemorated the 25th anniversary of his wife Tanya’s lifesaving heart transplant by unveiling a plaque in NJ Sharing Network’s Landscape of Life Meditation Garden. The Oswick’s also celebrate Tanya’s gift of life with a team at the 5K Celebration of Life. Their team, Second Chance, has participated since the inception of the event in 2011. Ron is the Director of Portfolio Administration at Virtus Investment Partners in Park Ridge, NJ. He earned his master’s and bachelor’s degrees in Business Administration and Management at Loyola College in Maryland.
Vice Chair – Lakisha Bray of Plainfield, NJ
Lakisha Bray joined the Sharing Network Foundation’s Board of Trustees in 2022. She is an incredibly strong and resilient woman who is spreading the importance of organ donation through her story of losing her daughter and sister. Lakisha’s daughter, Talea, was born with cerebral palsy and passed away just before her 21st birthday, but she was able to save three lives with her donations. Just six months later, Lakisha’s sister Tabitha died while waiting for an intestinal transplant. Lakisha has become a powerful advocate for NJ Sharing Network’s mission to honor both of their memories.
Vice Chair – Michael Rizzo of Upper Saddle River, NJ
Michael Rizzo joined the Sharing Network Foundation’s Board of Trustees in 2022. Michael has committed his life to doing good, serving as both a paramedic and police officer. Twenty years ago, he faced a devasting arm fracture that threatened his professional career. Thanks to the remarkable gift of donated tissue, Michael’s arm was reconstructed, enabling his heroic work of saving and protecting lives. His journey took another unexpected turn several years later after being diagnosed with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. Through the miracle of a successful heart transplant and his donor hero, Michael was given a second chance at life.
Secretary/Treasurer – Sandy Erwin of Newton, NJ
Sandy Erwin joined the Sharing Network Foundation’s Board of Trustees in 2018. Sandy, now retired, served as the Assistant Director of the Sharing Network Foundation and continues to volunteer with the organization. Sandy has had a long, successful career leading several organizations within the nonprofit sector. She has held roles with Union County Performing Arts Center, United Way of Greater Union County, the County of Sussex, and Domestic Abuse Services, Inc. Sandy received her bachelor’s degree in Education from Monmouth University and graduate credits in Education from Kean University.
“Ron, Lakisha, Michael, and Sandy are respected leaders who bring amazing passion and a wealth of diverse experience, talent, and expertise to further our mission. I am thrilled to have their energy and vision guide us forward as we strive to save and enhance more lives than ever before through organ and tissue donation and transplantation,” said Amanda Tibok, Executive Director, Sharing Network Foundation.
PHOTO CAPTION – (Pictured left-to-right) Sandy Erwin, Lakisha Bray, Ron Oswick, and Michael Rizzo (Photo Credit – Courtesy of NJ Sharing Network)
About NJ Sharing Network
NJ Sharing Network, headquartered in New Providence, NJ, is the federally designated non-profit organization (OPO) focused on saving and enhancing lives through the recovery of donated organs and tissue in the Garden State. NJ Sharing Network partners with an extensive network of 54 local hospitals to provide hope for the nearly 4,000 New Jersey residents currently waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant, and it is part of the national recovery system for the over 100,000 people on the national transplant waiting list. For five consecutive years, NJ Sharing Network has reported organ donation records, and 3.8 million New Jerseyans are registered as organ and tissue donors, according to the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (NJMVC). Among the top performing OPOs in the nation, NJ Sharing Network has been recognized by NJBIZ for six consecutive years as one of the state’s ‘Best Places to Work.’ To learn more, get involved, and join the National Donate Life Registry as an organ and tissue donor, visit www.NJSN.org.
About the Sharing Network Foundation
The Sharing Network Foundation supports the work of NJ Sharing Network, the federally designated non-profit organization responsible for the recovery of donated organs and tissue in the Garden State. The Foundation is committed to increasing the number of lives saved through clinical advancement, family support, public awareness and education about the lifesaving benefits of organ and tissue donation and transplantation. For more information or to make a contribution, visit www.SharingNetworkFoundation.org.