Ajay Bansal
LIVINGSTON, NJ — The Metropolitan YMCA of the Oranges recently welcomed four new members to its board of directors to help set policy and strategic direction as the organization works to carry out its mission of youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.
“These members each bring invaluable leadership and professional experience to the board. Their own Y experience and commitment to our cause will be instrumental in helping our association create new opportunities to benefit all in the communities we serve,” said Richard K. Gorab, president and CEO of the Metropolitan YMCA of the Oranges.
New appointees are:
Ajay Bansal, a business leader with extensive global experience across all aspects of finance in different industries and services. Currently, he works at Novartis as the vice president of finance in East Hanover. He has lived in India, Singapore, Switzerland and the United States, and worked across many other countries. Outside of work, he volunteers by coaching and supporting local robotics teams, the Livingston High School marching band and jazz band, and is a past executive committee member of Sanskriti of New Jersey, a nonprofit organization. He lives with his wife, Rupali, and his two children, Shourya and Arjun, in Livingston.
“The Y has been part of my family’s life since we moved to the USA close to 10 years ago and has had an extremely positive impact on us,” Bansal said. “Youth development, healthy living and social responsibility are all areas that are close to my heart, and I look forward to the opportunity of giving back and making an impact.”
José Briones, a senior partner at PennantPark, where he oversees originating, underwriting, executing and monitoring investments, and serves as a portfolio manager. He also oversees various strategic initiatives for the firm, which he joined in December 2009. Most recently he was a partner of Apollo Investment Management LP and a member of its investment committee since 2006. He is a member of the advisory board in New York for the Hispanic Scholarship Fund and member of the dean’s advisory council for Princeton University. He lives in New Vernon with his wife, four children and the family dog.
“Our children were members of the Y in Madison and I look forward to giving back to the community,” Briones said.
Kristi D’Angeli, founder and CEO of Jersey Staffing Solutions LLC, a national recruiting, recruitment process outsourcing, employer branding and human resources consulting services firm based in Whippany. In 2022 she founded the Kaleidoscope Project with five other women leaders. She has previously served as president and in various board roles for Morris County Society for Human Resource Management, sat on the board of directors for the New Jersey Staffing Alliance, and is an adviser to the Dress for Success–Northern NJ’s 10-counties board. She is married to her business partner, Lou D’Angeli, with whom she co-founded Morris Technology Partners in 2014, and together they have four rescue dogs.
Jenifer Thoma, executive vice president and chief human resources officer for Lakeland Bank in Oak Ridge. She has more than 25 years of business experience and has served as the senior human resources executive at numerous companies. She previously served as executive board member for the Boy Scouts of America Northern New Jersey Council’s nominating committee. She lives in Vernon with her husband, Dan, and teenage daughter, Michaela.
“I am looking forward to serving on the board to give back to an organization that gave so much to me as a child,” Thoma said. “As a Y kid, the Y helped me excel in school, taught me responsibility, and provided me opportunities and experiences that I would not have normally had as a child.”
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