The Gem Project
Board of Directors
Supporting Youth Who Lead Change
Sandra Florent
Director, Member Experience
Hudson County Chamber of Commerce
With over a decade in digital strategy, Sandra Florent leads SHI International’s social media presence. As founder of Solo Dove Consulting, she advises small businesses on social media and crisis communications. Her expertise spans launching brand ambassador programs and managing large-scale events, showcasing her innovative approach to digital engagement.
Jeff Furman
Emeritus Board Member, Ben & Jerry's | Founder, Social Ventures
Jeff Furman is a recognized social justice business leader who holds business and law degrees from New York University. In the 1970s, he helped Ben & Jerry’s get started and served on its corporate board for 40 years, shaping its social mission and securing a living wage commitment in the sale to Unilever. He co-founded the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation and founded Social Ventures in Ithaca, New York, an incubator for more than 60 local organizations. His latest work includes Rejoice the Vote, honoring John Lewis, and most recently leading a group of young people on a civil rights history tour to Montgomery, Alabama.
Lana Perez
VP of Community Outreach, Provident Bank
Lana Molina, with 30 years in financial services, focuses on expanding access to consumer lending in underserved areas. Formerly with PNC Bank and Spencer Savings Bank, she now leads outreach at Provident Bank, which was named New Jersey’s #1 Best-In-State Bank by Forbes. Residing in Wayne, NJ, she champions community engagement.
Anthony Frasier
Founder & CEO, ABF Creative
Anthony Frasier is a Newark native and serial technology and media entrepreneur who has spent more than a decade opening doors to entrepreneurship for young people of color. He is founder and CEO of ABF Creative, a Webby Award-winning multicultural podcast network whose children’s audio content has reached more than five million streams and replaced traditional bells in over 100 schools. Earlier, he co-founded The Phat Startup and founded Brick City Tech, Newark’s first startup networking community, and served as an entrepreneur-in-residence at Newark Venture Partners. He is the author of “Don’t Dumb Down Your Greatness.”
Dr. Timothy K. Eatman
Inaugural Dean, Honors Living-Learning Community (HLLC) at Rutgers University – Newark
Dr. Timothy K. Eatman is an educational sociologist and publicly engaged scholar who became the founding dean of the Honors Living-Learning Community and professor of urban education at Rutgers University-Newark. His research on institutional policy and equity in higher education is widely published, including co-editing the Cambridge Handbook of Service Learning and Community Engagement. He previously served as faculty co-director of the national consortium Imagining America: Artists and Scholars in Public Life. Nationally, he chairs the board of the American Association of Colleges and Universities, advises the Carnegie Engagement Classification, and contributes to the AAC&U Summer Institutes.
Zandi Zungu, MBA
CEO and Founder, Porta-Sloane Advisory
Zandi Zungu is an interim executive director and turnaround CEO with more than sixteen years transforming multi-million-dollar social-service organizations across the United States and the United Kingdom. A dual US/UK citizen, she has led nonprofits through operational turnaround and revenue diversification, securing more than $6.5 million in funding over her career, with work centered on housing, homelessness, and youth development. She is founder and CEO of Porta-Sloane Advisory LLC in New Jersey and has held interim chief-executive roles on both sides of the Atlantic. She holds an MBA in Finance from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business.