Meet Our Team
Impact Charity Services is governed by a passionate Board of Directors and funded entirely through individual donations, corporate giving, community partnerships, and fundraising events.
Stronger Communities. Brighter Futures.
Your Impact. Your Legacy.
Sam Vella
Vice President, Impact Charity Services
Howard Bock - President/CEO
(Vice President of Royal Petroleum Corp)
Sam Vella has served as Vice President of Impact Charity Services (ICS) for the past fifteen years. In this role, he has been instrumental in driving the organization’s substantial growth and continued success.
Before joining ICS, Mr. Vella built a strong foundation in business ownership and operations. He spent twenty years in casino management in Atlantic City, after which he owned and operated one of South Jersey’s largest private ambulance companies. The company delivered critical transportation services to nursing homes as well as rehabilitation and dialysis centers.
A dedicated leader within the organization, Sam continues to contribute to the mission of Impact Charity Services.
Jo Sue Kaufman - Executive Director of Operations & Founder
Jo Sue Kaufman is our Executive Director of Operations. After many years working in a successful career in Law enforcement, she founded Impact Charity Services along with her good college friend Joette Van Ness. They founded the organization in 2008, and ICS became incorporated in 2009. Jo Sue and Joette have taken the charity from a small Holiday Party to a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, all-volunteer nonprofit charity with many facets today. She is a retired Supervisory Special Agent. Jo Sue is a graduate of Rutgers University with a B.A. in Psychology. She is also a graduate of John Jay College of Criminal Justice with an M.A. in Criminal Justice.
Jo Sue is retired and spends many hours working for the many causes Impact Charity Services provides, from finding partners for our causes to working with the Marines during the holiday season, delivering toys. She is a huge dog lover and spends her spare time on dog-friendly adventures and bike riding. Jo Sue's many contacts and friendly disposition have helped to generate funding for our organization. ICS is her passion!
(Supervisory Special Agent ATF, retired)
Joette Van Ness - Executive Director of Programs & Founder
Joette Van Ness is our Executive Director of Programs. Joette is the other co-founder of Impact Charity Services, Inc., along with Jo Sue Kaufman. Joette graduated from Rutgers University Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa and has a B.A. in Psychology. She holds two master's degrees from Columbia University in Vocational and Rehabilitation Psychology and Counseling Psychology. She was the Township Administrator for Eagleswood Township Municipal Government from 1986-1998. In the past, she was the Director of Admissions for the Omega Institute and the Executive Director of Taylor Business Institute as well. In 2016, Joette retired from 28 years with the State Department of Human Services as a CRC (Nationally Certified Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor) for the NJ State Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired, having coordinated both Atlantic and Ocean Counties client services.
ICS has been a continuing joy of bringing dreams and goals to reality, while changing lives and communities for a stronger and sustainably employed and trained workforce.
Joette spends her spare time finding underserved candidates for our NJ Scholarship program LIFT. She has gotten this program off the ground, doing incredible work for Impact Charity Services. She is a Girl Scout leader and is a dedicated grandmother to her two grandchildren. Joette’s dedication is one of the reasons Impact Charity Services has been so successful. She is passionate and dedicated to our causes.
(VR Counselor, NJ State Commission for the Blind, retired)
Judy brings over 40 years of experience as a professional educator at state and national levels, designing award-winning STEM* programs and delivering them to schools nationwide, across the socio-economic spectrum. She and her staff amplified their resources and impact by forming associations with such diverse entities as colleges and universities, the Challenger Center for Space Science Education, the National Academy of Engineering, NASA, the US Patent Office, and the White House.
Currently, she works with Rutgers Environmental Stewards and with the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve, providing public education on the issues of climate change and sea level rise.
*Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics are her passions.
(Director National Talent Network , retired)
Judith E. Burr - Director, Academic/Educational Program Development
Fred has been a volunteer with Impact Charity Services since 2016. He is retired with over thirty years of public federal service and over thirty years of military service while in the 108th NJ Air National Guard. His partner for over twenty two years, Liz is one of his biggest supporters as well as his three sons. He has two fantastic grandchildren who are bright and very active in soccer.
Fred's hobbies include saltwater fishing, boating, and riding his Harley Street Glide motorcycle with his local American Legion Riders, Post 252 Williamstown, NJ.
"The reasons I volunteer for Impact Charity Services are that we make a difference in the lives of young men, women, children, and families; he says. "Secondly, the other volunteers are just as passionate about what the organization does and its belief."
(Federal Law Enforcement, retired)
Fred Jennings - Director of LEAP Activities
Mary Jo Tegethoff - Treasurer
(Accounting Supervisor)
Mary Jo has been a volunteer with Impact Charity Services since 2015. She has over twenty years of accounting experience; seventeen of those years were spent as an Office Manager/Accounting Manager for a small law firm.
She is presently working in the Facilities Maintenance Industry as well as ICS. MJ has been married for over 30 years. Her husband Rich has also been noted to lend a helping hand when needed at ICS. She has two adult children and is a grandmother for the first time. MJ is a dog lover and enjoys taking long walks with her dog Bailey, a Border Collie Australian Shepherd mix. She is passionate about everything Impact Charity Services does for the underserved youth and children of our military in our community.
David worked for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as a Caseworker and then Psychiatric Social Worker for thirty-six and a half years. He currently works for a nonprofit in Philadelphia after volunteering for a number of years. He has been involved with ICS for about six years and has been on the board for about four.
David continues to volunteer for several other nonprofits in the Philadelphia area as well. He has two children, two stepchildren, and five grandchildren between the ages of five and eleven that keep him busy in his free time. He enjoys bowling in the colder months and golf as the weather turns warmer. He enjoys the beach as well with his grandchildren and their parents.
(Pennsylvania State Social Worker, retired)
