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Meet the 2023 The PINNACLE Society Inductees
Adenah Bayoh, BS'01 | Timothy Gearty, BS'77 | Patrick Kissane, BA'11 & MAS'15 | Donald Schwamb, BS'62 | Robert "Bobby" Stern, BS'08 | Maroa Velez, BS'77
Adenah Bayoh, BS'01
Adenah Bayoh embodies the American dream. At age 13, she escaped the civil war in her native country of Liberia, immigrated to the United States and is now one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the state of New Jersey. Inspired by her grandmother, who owned a restaurant in Liberia, Adenah is now the owner of 8 restaurants including 4 IHOP franchises in northern New Jersey. She opened her first IHOP in Irvington Township, New Jersey at the age of 27, making her one of the youngest franchisees in the country at that time. In late 2017, Adenah launched Cornbread, her first independent fast casual, farm-to-table, soul food restaurant, which she co-founded with fellow entrepreneur, Zadie B. Smith. They recently opened their second location in downtown Newark, and a third in Brooklyn, NY. Additionally, in keeping with Adenah’s mission of bringing high quality food and services to urban communities, in the summer of 2021 she launched her latest restaurant concept, Urban Vegan, in downtown Newark.
In addition to her restaurants, Adenah is a successful real estate developer with a portfolio of several major residential and mixed-use urban redevelopment projects across northern New Jersey, including the former Irvington General Hospital site, and several other urban locations. Most recently, she was awarded a 9% NJHMFA affordable housing credit for her 100% affordable, 40-unit property located in Newark’s Southward, making her the first black woman developer in the US to accomplish the feat.
Despite her numerous successes as a restaurateur, real estate developer, and philanthropist, Adenah's proudest achievement is being a mother to her 2 children.
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Timothy Gearty, BS'77
Timothy F. Gearty, CPA, MBA, JD, CGMA is a partner in Gearty & McIntyre, LLP, CPA, which he started in 1981. The firm has developed a reputation as a specialist in tax planning, business advisory services, litigation support and forensic accounting. Tim is a nationally recognized expert and speaker on a variety of accounting, tax, audit and business topics. Many fortune 500 companies as well as many national associations regularly feature Tim as their keynote speaker. Among the more noteworthy positions that Tim holds, he is the National Director and Editor-in-Chief for the world’s largest accounting and tax training program, the Becker Gearty CPE professional program. Tim has frequently been called upon over the past twenty-five years to present accounting, tax, auditing and business topics to large groups, organizations, and corporations, accounting firms and in legal proceedings.
Tim is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He is also a member of the New Jersey Society of Public Accountants and has been a trustee of the organization. Tim is also a member of the New Jersey and American Bar Associations. Tim holds a BS in Accounting from Fairleigh Dickinson University where he was inducted into their Hall of Fame, and both an MBA in Finance and a Law Degree (JD) from Seton Hall University.
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Patrick Kissane, BA'11 & MAS'15
Patrick Kissane, retired Deputy Chief of Police and Operations Commander of the Fort Lee Police Department, is currently the Director of School Safety and Security, and the Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying Coordinator for the Edison Township Public Schools.
As the founder and Executive Director of the New Jersey Association of School Resource Officers, a non-profit 501c(3), Kissane was instrumental in developing, introducing, and passing the Safe Schools Resource Officer Training Law. A certified New Jersey Police Instructor, he has been teaching the Police Training Commission (PTC) SRO/Liaison Training Course for the New Jersey Association of School Resource Officers over the past 16 years. Since the inaugural class, he has instructed Law Enforcement/School Relations as part of the School Safety Specialist Certification for the New Jersey Department of Education Office of School Preparedness and Emergency Planning (OSPEP).
With over 30 years of experience in public safety, Patrick Kissane is recognized as an expert in school safety and school-related policing.
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Donald Schwamb, BS’62
Donald Schwamb has deep roots in the Garden State, but his birthday perhaps foreshadowed the international business theme of his life.
Schwamb was born on July 14, 1939 – French Independence Day (“Bastille Day”) – and spent over 30 years of his career working for international companies based out of Switzerland and Germany well before the term “global economy” became a staple term of American business.
After joining Bloomingdale’s Executive Training program upon graduation from FDU in 1962, Schwamb spent seven years there before joining Swiss-owned Spinnerin Yarn Company as Vice President of their Sport and Ski apparel division. This would lead to an association with Bogner of America, based out of Munich, Germany, in 1973. His first role was as Eastern Sales Manager for the innovative, family-owned company who was at the time, the world’s leading producer of high-end fashion ski, tennis and golf apparel.
Schwamb would go on to spend over 25 years with Bogner, moving up the ladder to National Sales Manager and Executive Vice President of Marketing before retiring in 2000 as its Chief Operating Officer. While working with Bogner, Schwamb in 1982 became the managing partner of the first franchised Callahan’s Hot Dogs location in New Jersey, a legendary staple of the Garden State for decades.
Besides his family, one of Schwamb’s greatest loves has been the FDU men’s basketball program. He began playing basketball at age 11 and went on to have a Hall of Fame career on championships teams at Cliffside High School which led to a basketball scholarship to FDU in 1958. He has remained an ardent and passionate supporter of the program since his graduation.
The eldest of two children, his family owned The Maple House, a legendary upscale North Jersey furniture store and he developed a love of music from his mother and of fishing from his father. His grandmother owned an ice cream parlor in Jersey City and his maternal grandfather was a diamond cutter in New York’s famous diamond district. He has traced his family roots back to 1538 in Germany.
He met his wife JoAnn (Cusanelli) in 1957 and the high school sweethearts have been married for over 60 years. Together they raised three children – Stephen, Wendy and Tracy.
Besides his volunteer work on behalf of FDU, where he was recognized in 2015 as its “Volunteer of the Year,” Schwamb has stayed busy in retirement giving back to his communities. He is a member of the Park Ridge, NJ Planning Board, currently serving as Chairman and spent five years as co-chairman of the Park Ridge Open Space committee. He spent 14 years as Vice President of Bears Nest Board of Directors and 20 years a co-chair of the landscape committee.
An avid tennis and golf player, he also enjoys boating and fishing and has been a long-time member of the Hackensack Golf Club and the Long Beach Island Yacht and Tennis Club.
Not surprisingly, given his long ties to international businesses, he loves to travel with family and friends. Besides seeing nearly all of Europe he has also visited Australia, New Zealand, Grenadines, St. Croix, Jamaica, Japan, Macao and the Dominican Republic as well as extensive travels across North America.
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Robert "bobby" Stern, BS'08
Bobby Stern is the President of Riviera Hospitality Group, a premier on- and off-premise food service company. Bobby and his team are dedicated to providing healthy, nutritious and culturally sensitive food to all walks of life regardless of age, infirmity, economic status, social standing, or workplace environment.
Since the start of Riviera Hospitality Group in 2012, Bobby has managed the sales, marketing, and production of 4000+ immersive events. His culinary experiences have garnered the attention of Fortune 500 companies and luxury brands, including Nike, Google, Disney, PepsiCo, Forbes, and Univision, and won him many accolades including BizBash’s Caterer of the Year award, Top 500 and 1000 Most Influential Event Planners in the country, and Forbes Magazine's 30 Under 30 2016 nomination. Bobby’s key to success is that he adapts his business model to meet the needs of the surrounding community. When the Covid-19 pandemic began in March of 2020, he worked with the Department for the Aging and Department of Sanitation in New York City, to safely deliver 650,000 meals a week to homebound seniors. In August 2021, the US Military tasked Bobby and his team to provide 13,000 Afghan refugees with 24/7 food services at a NJ military base. Currently Bobby and his team are providing meals to the homeless and migrants in New York City. Since 2020, Riviera Hospitality Group has served over 36 million meals and counting.
As a graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson’s Silberman College of Business, Bobby strives to give back to the institution that laid his foundation as a young entrepreneur. He has invested in the next generation of FDU students with generous contributions made towards endowments and scholarships including Uncle Billy Stern Believe and Achieve Scholarship, Rothman Institute of Entrepreneurship, and the Stern Professional Development Program Student Fund.
In addition to generous donations, Bobby lends his professional expertise to FDU events and committees. In positions including Chair of Council of Alumni Engagement, Charter Day 2022 and 2023 Gala Planning Committee Member, and 2022 Hall of Fame Gala Planning Committee Member, Bobby continually uses his passion for event planning to create positive alumni experiences. He helped bring from concept to reality, a bi-annual alumni event “Cars on the Lawn”. This curated car show of exquisite automobiles takes place on the lawn of Hennessy Hall “The Mansion” to raise money for the Silberman College of Business. Regarding his favorite place at FDU, the Silberman College of Business, he has presented in classes, been named one of the 50 Under 50 Alumni Business Leaders, sits on the current Executive Board of Advisors, and most recently was inducted into the Hall of Fame as the youngest alumni to receive this accolade.
Whether it is a luxury client, unprecedented emergency, or an FDU event, Bobby continues to be at the forefront of innovation in the catering and event industry.
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Maroa Velez, BS'77
Maroa Velez is a Partner and served as the Head of Service Delivery, which encompasses the BBH’s Operations and Client Service divisions. Maroa joined BBH in 1995 as the head of the Audit department. She served as Comptroller from 2000 until 2007. Maroa was appointed Partner and assumed oversight of Operations in 2008.
Prior to joining BBH, Maroa was the general auditor at Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield and, before that, she managed the audit division of Manufacturers Hanover Trust Co., with responsibilities for the global audit program of capital markets trading activities, trust, securities services, private banking, and finance. Maroa has also worked in the public accounting area of Deloitte & Touche, where she specialized in brokerage and banking institutions.
Maroa holds a B.S. degree in accounting from Fairleigh Dickinson University. She is a Certified Public Accountant.
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LIST OF THE PINNACLE SOCIETY MEMBERS
Questions
For additional information or questions, please email Jen Herr-Gil in the Office of University Advancement or call (201) 692-7011.
