Helen Archontou, MSW, LSW, Chief Executive Officer
Helen Archontou, Chief Executive Officer of the YWCA Bergen County, has 15+ years of executive management experience in the not-for-profit sector. Prior to joining the YWCA in July 2011, she was the program director of Saint Clare’s Hospital Center for the Protection of Children in Denville, NJ, and previously served as the founding executive director for Wynona’s House, the first co-location child advocacy center for the State of New Jersey, in Essex County. She has served as multi-disciplinary team coordinator for the Sex Crimes/Child Abuse Unit with the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and executive director of Literacy Volunteers of America – Bergen County. Helen is a registered governmental affairs agent in the State of NJ and an adjunct professor in the graduate program for the Center for Child Advocacy at Montclair State University. An active member of the International Institute of New Jersey’s Cultural Competency Taskforce, she holds a Master of Social Work from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, a Certificate in Public Management from Farleigh Dickinson University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Montclair State University. She is also a graduate of the New Jersey Child Abuse Institute and Finding Words NJ.

Michelle Arpin Begina
Michelle Arpin Begina, CFP®, CIMA, is Vice President - Wealth Management in Paramus, New Jersey, serving clients through a personalized, process-oriented approach anchored in financial planning. Michelle began her financial services career at American Express Financial Advisors and went on to become District Investment Specialist for Northwestern Mutual Life/Robert W. Baird, where she later added the role of Annuity and Compliance Specialist. Named one of Worth Magazine’s “Best 250 Financial Advisors” for 2001 and 2002, she has been quoted in numerous industry publications and appeared on ABC’s Money Sense. Michelle lives in Northern New Jersey and also manages her own lifestyle photography business, PB&J Photography LLC. She joined the YWCA board in May 2011.

Laura Carabello
Laura Carabello has been an entrepreneur and strategy consultant in both domestic and international businesses related to healthcare and technology since 1985. She has a particular interest in medical travel, healthcare information technology, managed care and employee benefits, pharmaceuticals and other related business-to-business and direct-to-consumer companies. Founder and Principal Owner of CPR Strategic Marketing and Communications, Laura has more than 25 years experience and has worked with more than 1,000 companies in the areas of business development, marketing and corporate positioning. She is a member of the advisory board of the International Medical Tourism Association and in 2009 was named Humanitarian of the Year” by the American Chiropractic Association. Laura has been invited for membership status in the Heallthcare Women's Leadership Trust and honored by the NJ Association of Women Business Owners. She joined the YWCA Board in January 2010.

Jennifer C. Dolan
Jennifer Dolan has 15 years experience in brand management and financial analysis.  After earning her MBA at Yale University, Jennifer worked as a financial analyst at IBM and then transitioned into Brand Management, managing leading brands and developing products at both Novartis Consumer Health and Colgate-Palmolive.  A resident of Ridgewood, New Jersey, Jennifer is also the co-founder and former President of the MOMS Club of Ridgewood, Area Representative for Youth For Understanding (YFU) and current Board member and incoming Board President for West Side Nursery School.  Prior to joining the Board of Directors in 2011, she was a Board Member of the Ridgewood Newcomers and has served on the YWCA PR & Marketing Committee since 2009.

Dorothy Mello Laguzza
Dorothy Mello Laguzza, 2nd Vice President, is an Attorney with Cole, Schotz, Meisel, Forman, and Leonard, PA in Hackensack, New Jersey. Her practice focuses on all aspects of environmental law, and she represents and counsels clients on state and federal environmental issues arising in real estate and corporate transactions and coordinating due diligence for those transactions. She also has experience in environmental litigation matters, including state and federal cost recovery claims and insurance coverage claims. Dorothy has been a YWCA Board Member since January 2007.

Patricia R. Preztunik
Patricia Preztunik is President and Owner of BrightStar Healthcare of Greater Hackensack, part of a national healthcare company with over 100 locations in 30+ states providing a continuum of home health services for patients of all ages, as well as specialized staffing and transportation services outside the home. She has held leadership positions in areas of global consumer products and technology with a variety of organizations, most notably IBM, and has established active business networks in South Africa, China and Japan. Patricia is a member of Health Care Business Women and the NJ Home Care Association, as well as the Network of Executive Women (NEW) and New Jersey Association of Women Business Owners (NJAWBO). She joined the YWCA Board in December 2009.

Colette J. Tretola, Treasurer
Colette Tretola enjoyed a successful 13-year career in the real estate investment industry.  She most recently served as Senior Vice President and Controller at iStar Financial Inc., a $7 billion REIT.  She was responsible for the oversight of all accounting functions, financial reporting and budgeting.  Colette earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Boston University.  She served on the Board of the Ridgewood Newcomers as Treasurer and has served on the Finance Committee of the YWCA of Bergen County for two years.  She was most recently elected Treasurer of the Board for the 2011 year.

Sheila L. Thorne
Sheila L. Thorne is President/CEO of Multicultural Healthcare Marketing Group, LLC and Associate Clinical Professor at Stony Brook University School of Social Welfare. Recognized as one of the nations leading experts in health issues of communities of color and cultural competency, Sheila has spent almost three decades designing and implementing multicultural healthcare marketing and cultural competency campaigns for diverse populations and the healthcare professionals who treat them. A former senior executive in five of the nations most preeminent health marketing communications companies, Sheila now heads up her own firm of multicultural, multilingual health educators and marketing communications professionals, specializing in the fields of strategic planning, health policy, commercial and social marketing, public relations, and community and government relations. Dedicated to the elimination of racial and ethnic health disparities, she has worked on behalf of the top 50 pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device companies throughout the United States and on their behalf in Western Europe and Latin America. She is often sought by media for commentary on diversity and cultural competency issues in health and healthcare, and is published in a number of pharmaceutical trade and health publications. She joined the YWCA Board of Directors in December 2010.