In addition to Jonas’ mother, all Board members of The Jonas Fund have close personal ties to the Penn family.

Jane Becker has been a close friend of the Penn family since Jonas was a baby. Jonas and her son were playmates since they were a few months old. A retired Distinguished Member of Technical Staff of Lucent Technologies, Jane currently sings with, manages and serves on the Board of the New Yiddish Chorale. She also serves on the Board of the World Fellowship Center and chairs their Finance Committee. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Hunter College/CUNY and a Masters in Computer Science from Stevens Institute of Technology. 

Cheryl Bierman stands god-mother to Jonas, and has known both Arthur and Marlene Penn since time immemorial. She has been a computer software trainer and consultant for the last 20 years. She has worked with a variety of major corporations, several law firms, as well as one-on-one with career-changing executives. Prior to that, she was a Juvenile Intake officer and an adult caseload Probation Officer with the Essex County Probation Department. Cheryl received her Bachelor’s degree in Educational Psychology and English Literature from Temple University.

Pamela Litwack is a next door neighbor who watched Jonas grow up since the Penns moved to Medford. She is currently employed with Jewish Family Services as a Vocational Coach for Special Needs Youth in Burlington and Camden Counties. Pam has been involved in a broad array of volunteer activities, including being a patient volunteer for 15 years with Samaritan Hospice and organizing the bookstore at the JCC Festival of Arts, Books & Culture. Pam has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology & Social Work from Russell Sage College in Troy, New York. 

Marlene Penn was catapulted into the world of children’s mental health in 1998 as an advocate for her own son, Jonas. What she found frustrated and discouraged her. She found that services were difficult to access, and once obtained, families did not have a voice in what happened to their children. On behalf of all of the families depending on social services, Penn took action, learning first how to support her own child and ultimately spearheading a family advocacy movement in Burlington County, New Jersey. She advocated for a system of care that empowers families. With empowerment as both a mission and vision, she became co-founder and first Executive Director of the Family Support Organization of Burlington County.

Today Marlene consults with mental health providers, governmental entities and families all over the country to provide technical assistance on building “full family voice” into their systems. She has trained and coached extensively throughout communities in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Texas. She serves on the faculty of Georgetown University’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health Technical Assistance Center, Leadership Academy, and is on the advisory board of the University of South Florida’s Research and Training Center for Children’s Mental Health. Marlene received her Bachelor’s degree from Montclair State University in Communication Science and Disorders and a Masters in Social Work from Rutgers University.

Together we strive to remember and keep alive the important work Jonas began.