Conservancy Leadership

Brookdale Park Conservancy officers and trustees serve two year terms and are elected at the BPC's Annual Meeting of the Membership every March. 

board of trustees

Don McLoughlin, ChaiRPERSON

Don and his wife Sue have lived in Montclair for over 20 years and have long enjoyed Brookdale Park. In our crowded and busy corner of the world, Don sees Brookdale Park as a local jewel and a wonderful place that has something for everyone to enjoy.  He began as a volunteer in the Rose Garden and has since worked on numerous projects throughout the park.

Locally, Don is a certified Master Gardener with the Master Gardeners of Essex County, a member of the Glen Ridge Country Club, and a member of the Commonwealth Club in Montclair.  Further afield, Don also supports The Fells Historic Estate and Gardens and the Lake Sunapee Protective Association, both in New Hampshire.

Professionally, Don is an independent marketing consultant with past work experiences at Accenture, MasterCard, and ADP.  Don holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MBA from the University of Connecticut. 

Sarah Olson, Vice Chair

Brookdale Park was the first stop that Sarah and her husband Paul made when they drove out from NYC to explore the area for a new apartment.  Since that time they have visited the park on almost a daily basis either for exercise, walking a dog, attending an event, or taking their kids to the playground.  Their backyard in Montclair has been Brookdale Park for over 30 years, literally.

Sarah has been an active member and volunteer for the Conservancy for many years providing help and woman power wherever it was needed.   She feels strongly about improving and maintaining the beauty of the park in an environmentally and wildlife  safe fashion so that it will provide generations of families  years of tranquility, a sense of community, and a healthy environment for exercise.  

After retiring from the fashion industry, Sarah spends her time volunteering as a Court Appointed Special Advocate of Essex County for 2 teenage youth, volunteering for the Conservancy and is a board member of the Montclair Garden Club.  She loves to garden, read, cook, and exercise.

Gregory Babula, Treasurer

Growing up on the Jersey Shore and now a 15+ year resident of Bloomfield, Greg was captivated by the classic Olmsted-designed “serene oasis” that is Brookdale Park and was motivated to join the Brookdale Park Conservancy to help the organization continue its work to preserve, protect, and restore the park in a way that balances the needs of park users and the community with the natural and historical significance of the park. Greg currently serves on the Membership Committee, collaborating with other Conservancy leaders to increase and improve member recruitment and engagement.

Having a strong interest in conservation, land use policy, and historic preservation, Greg currently serves on the Bloomfield Planning Board, Bloomfield Environmental Commission, and as the current chairperson of the Bloomfield Historic Preservation Commission. He also serves as a trustee on the Bloomfield Center Alliance, the non-profit organization that administers and promotes the downtown Bloomfield business improvement district.

Greg is a graduate of Rutgers University, New Brunswick with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting, and holds a Master of Science in Information Systems from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and he currently works as a software developer for a small New Jersey-based technology firm.

Karen Mahrous, Secretary

When moving from NYC a few years ago, my family and I made Brookdale Park our beacon and, as we hoped, landed in a home just a few feet from the park. Between our kids and the dog, we are in the park every single day. Professionally, I am the Head of ESG/Sustainability for a large commercial real estate company. I have a masters in Sustainability Management and I also have previous career experience in events and hospitality, including owning a catering company.

I have a passion for and have been working on expanding the community element of the park. My ultimate goal is to build a large group of passionate and engaged stakeholders in the park that do show up at the volunteer events, meetings, donate, and have a voice in park initiatives. I am also interested in connecting our park to more community events, such as film events, art, local businesses, and others to position the park as the invaluable member of the Essex community that it is.

Over the past year, I started the Membership Committee with the Brookdale Park Conservancy team. I look forward to continuing my work in that capacity.

Diana welch, Assistant Treasurer

Diana and her husband have lived in the Montclair/ Bloomfield area for the past 14 years and we’ve always loved Brookdale Park. We first started going to Brookdale  Park to walk our dog and attend the summer music concerts. Now that we have two young boys, the park feels like an extension of our backyard. We are in the park at least a few days a week when the weather is nice. One of the things I love most about Brookdale Park is that there are always other people there enjoying it too. I think it’s wonderful  that we have such a beautiful, peaceful place amid all the hustle and bustle in Essex County. It’s important to me to keep it beautiful and to help it continue to be a place for the whole community to enjoy. 

Danielle Schaefer, Assistant secretary

Danielle and her family have been Essex County residents since 1997. While living in Belleville before moving to Nutley, she and her husband Paul used to ride bikes with their two sons in Brookdale Park. Now that her boys are grown, she enjoys doing laps around the park with her fellow pacer Jayne Ballantyne. She rarely misses the Rose Squared Arts and Crafts show when it comes to town!

Danielle is a member of the Nutley Rotary Club and no stranger to service. When an opportunity to combine her love of the outdoors with community service presented itself, she jumped at the chance.

Danielle is a District Environmental Principal for EFI Global and manages environmental groups in NY, NJ, PA, and throughout DelMarVa. She is certified by the American Indoor Air Quality Council as a Microbial Investigator and licensed as an asbestos inspector and project designer in multiple states. She has extensive experience with other hazardous materials such as lead paint, mold, legionella, mercury, and PCBs.

Nicole Bouchard, At-Large Trustee

Gardening and spending time in parks were a big part of my life growing up and so when I was considering a move to NJ a few years ago after years of living in big cities, I knew that finding a good local park would be a critical factor. The moment I walked through Brookdale Park, I knew I had found the area I wanted to call home. Fast forward a few years, and I’m finding great joy in having such an amazing multi-use green space at my doorstep.

Working with the Conservancy has been a wonderful chance to make hands-on improvement to the park. I regularly participate in the volunteer days and for the past year I’ve been a member of the project committee, helping to plan, organize, and lead various planting projects around the park. I’d like to join the board as an At-large Trustee to continue my work making these volunteer opportunities interesting and accessible for all members of our community.

Jacoba Coes, At-Large Trustee

Brookdale Park is a short walk from Jacoba's house. There the family explored, walked the dogs and enjoyed the gardens, landscape and playground. The park was part of the fabric of life. Indeed, finding peace in being outside is an essential part of Jacoba's life, as long as she can remember her days have included working in the garden or walking in parks and nature reserves.

A Botany major at the University of Michigan, Jacoba made her career in retail operations. She retired recently from Bloomingdale’s and is now a Master Gardener intern and volunteers at MAM as a docent.

Brookdale helps the community to “breathe" by providing beauty and a place to unwind; Jacoba's focus as a trustee is on preserving and enhancing the park to keep it as an integral part of the county.

Rui DosSantos, at-Large trustee

Brookdale Park has held a special place in my life as long as I can remember. Growing up in Newark, some of my fondest memories are of playing with my youth soccer team on the lush grass fields of Brookdale.  The park was an inviting outdoor space, welcoming to the kids of the city, for some of whom usable outdoor space was in short supply.  

My connection to soccer is extensive, as I’ve served as an admin, referee, and youth team and high school soccer coach. Currently I am a coach at Seton Hall Prep in West Orange, assisting in winning several titles in recent years.  For nearly two decades, I have served on the Board of Northern Counties Soccer Assn, North Jersey’s largest youth league.

These days, as a resident of Belleville for the past 7 years, I visit the park often with my wife, Bernadette, and our golden doodle Valentine. Enjoying the fresh air as we walk or just sitting and enjoying the birds sing, every visit is unique.

In 2022, I became a Rutgers Certified Master Gardener and have volunteered with the Tree Pruning and the Rose Garden teams.

Helping to maintain the park has become a great interest. My goal is to assist and enhance the seasonal color of the park and serve to drive programs that will increase the utility and beautification of the park so it can be enjoyed by all..

Tara Kender, at-Large Trustee

Tara Kender has lived in the Brookdale Park section of Bloomfield for the last eight years. Since moving here, Brookdale Park has served as a backyard for her family. She has been a member of the park for two years and volunteered to help with social media outreach last year. Keeping the community informed about the conservancy's activities, whether it is event announcements, new plantings, park clean-up, restoration, etc., allows everyone the opportunity to be more involved.

Sarah Paulsen, At-Large Trustee

Sarah marvels at just how lucky she got when she purchased her home in 2013 on a street that dead ends into Brookdale Park. She and her husband fell in love with their Tudor house and loved the proximity to the park but had no idea how central the park would be in her family’s life. In the first years, she regularly walked in the park with her dog and infant son multiple times a day—the dog, a terrier, had excessive energy to burn and her son wouldn’t nap unless in motion. The park was the perfect antidote for both. In the years since, the park has served as a backdrop to tree climbing, sledding, tennis, kite flying, baseball, picnics, and birding. 

 It’s the park’s rich ecosystem that has recently drawn Sarah’s attention and the efforts being made to replenish habitat. She has watched with delight at the establishment of the pollinator gardens and volunteered with the Conservancy to beautify the entry from the lower parking lot with native plants. As an At-Large Trustee, she would like to focus on ecosystem restoration, creating beauty and biodiversity in the park.

Sarah is a graduate of Brown University and the French Culinary Institute. She is a television producer specializing in travel and food. She is a certified Master Gardener of Essex County and a member of the Native Plant Society of New Jersey.

George Prell, trustee Emeritus

George was a BPC founding member in 2008, was elected co-chair in 2010, became ‘acting chair’ in 2011, then elected chair in 2012. He stepped down in 2014 and has continued as a Board member-at-large. Under his leadership, the BPC, having suffered severe drops in memberships, was rebuilt by increasing visibility through volunteer projects, increased recruitment and monthly membership meetings. He initiated periodic meetings between BPC officers and senior County officials and reached out to other park Conservancies, often attending their meetings to share experiences. 

George places strong emphasis on park safety, infrastructure and maintenance. He lobbied successfully to get park benches repaired, then replaced; repairs were done on the playground, ball fields and dog park; dozens of hazardous trees were pruned or removed. As the BPC became far more active, he convinced the County to give us exclusive use of part of the Park Maintenance Building, tools and a maintenance/golf cart with a trailer to transport equipment, water tanks, soil, plantings, etc. 

 George walks the Park multiple times a week, checklists in hand, on the lookout for hazards or needed emergency repairs (e.g. water leaks, electrical hazards, fallen tree damage) for the BPC to alert the County. Looking ahead, we plan to restart projects with local scout troops and to initiate a ‘Chess area’ with an ‘in-ground’ chessboard and chess tables.  

 George, a native of Syracuse, NY, obtained a BS in Chemistry (Clarkson U), a Doctorate in Pharmacology (U of Ottawa School of Medicine) and was subsequently recruited by Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Now retired, he works there part-time. He lives in Montclair with wife Chantal, their children Phillip and Celine, and puppy Cocoa.