Board of Trustees | Forman S. Acton Educational Foundation

Jean S. Blauvelt, Chair

Larry Van Meter, President

Larry was raised in South Jersey. His mother, Margaret Minch Van Meter, who grew up in Salem, was a graduate of Salem High School Class of 1934. His father grew up in Mannington Township and graduated from Woodstown High School.

Larry has worked in education as a teacher and administrator for 31 years, most recently as the Head of School at Moorestown Friends School in Burlington County, New Jersey, from 2001-2018. He has served as a nonprofit CEO for more than 32 years across a variety of educational and environmental organizations.

He is a graduate of Hamilton College (BA), Rochester Institute of Technology (AAS) and Dartmouth College’s Amos Tuck School of Business Administration (MBA). He and his wife, Margaret, have a home in nearby Hopewell Township, Cumberland County, New Jersey.

Kathryn Markovchick

Kathryn grew up in South Jersey. She was a trusted advisor of Dr. Acton and talked to him many times about his vision of supporting students from Salem who showed academic promise but were not as able to access rich educational experiences. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Buffalo with a concentration in Inner City Education and Learning and Behavior Disorders. She’s worked as a special education teacher, administrator, faculty member and president of the non-profit Syntiro. Kathryn served for four years as the Foundation's first president and CEO from 2014-2018.

Karen Washington

Born and raised in New Jersey, Karen Washington has been an educator for almost 40 years. Throughout her illustrious career, she has served in numerous teaching and administrative roles in both public and independent institutions across Southern New Jersey. Most recently, she has served as the Director of Diversity & Inclusion at Moorestown Friends School since 2007.

Outside of the classroom, she has also devoted time to the New Jersey SEEDS program, where the organization works to match underprivileged students with independent schools. Karen prides herself on being an advocate for students who may be overlooked and works to nurture and build the skills of the entire student population she oversees. Karen sees the Forman S. Acton Foundation as one of the region’s best opportunities to give opportunities to deserving students, while helping to create discussion around identity and widen the lenses of cultural perspectives. A graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson University, she received her Masters of Arts in Bilingual/Bicultural Studies from LaSalle University.

Darrell Edmonds

Darrell Edmonds began his professional career with S.O.D.A.T. (Services to Overcome Drug Abuse Among Teens) of New Jersey, Inc. shortly after graduating from The University of Delaware with a BA in History. At S.O.D.A.T., Darrell was the Program Manager of the TLC Teen Center where he developed programming for teens including anger management, goal setting, and documentary film making.

In 2003 he returned to the Atlantic City area to work for AtlantiCare Behavioral Health with the Atlantic City Family Centers. At the family centers he quickly rose to the position of lead case manager and later, program coordinator for the 21st Century Community Learning Center Program. In 2006 he received his Masters of Science in Non-Profit Management from Eastern University. In the same year, Darrell was promoted to the position of Director of the Oakcrest Teen Center. In 2009 he was recognized by the Greater Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce as one of the Top 40 young professionals under the age of 40 (Top 40 under 40). In 2011 he was named Man of the Year by Phi Delta Kappa Sorority. In the same year, he was named Omega Man of the Year by the Upsilon Alpha chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. In 2013 Darrell was part of the planning committee for the first ever New Jersey Celebration of Fatherhood event, as well as a partner with President Obama’s Fatherhood Buzz initiative.

In 2013 Darrell founded the non profit organization Friday Is Tie Day, Inc., so called because it encourages young men to wear ties to school on Fridays. The mission of the organization is to build men through male youth mentoring and responsible fatherhood. Friday Is Tie Day is responsible for starting the area’s first chapter of the All Pro Dad dad’s day breakfast, a national program endorsed by Tony Dungy, former coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Super Bowl-winning Indianapolis Colts, and also well-known author. Over the first year the group grew from eight teens at one high school to over 50 teens at five high schools. They meet monthly for lessons on goal setting, college awareness and leadership development. The group has made college visits to West Chester University, Temple University, Rutgers University, and the University of Delaware. The teens have participated in projects for Hope For Liberia and a suit drive for their 2014 MLK Day Community Service Project.

In June 2014, Darrell was awarded the prestigious Starting Bloc Fellowship for social innovation. Starting Bloc brings together entrepreneurs, activists, educators, and innovators working to create change. In August of 2014, Darrell was selected to attend the International Young Leaders Assembly at the UN with change makers from around the globe.

Helen H. Reinhart, Secretary

Helen grew up in South Jersey and has lived there continuously as an active and engaged member of the community, raising her children, serving on her local school board, running a small business and running a small nonprofit devoted to providing college scholarships for students from her hometown of Greenwich. Helen is a registered nurse and currently uses her nursing skills as a volunteer emergency medical technician with the Greenwich Fire Department.

Najwa Tatum

Najwa Tatum was one of our first Forman Scholars and she's the second scholar to serve on our Board of Trustees. Najwa grew up in Wildwood, NJ, and moved to Salem City in middle school, where she excelled in both academics and sports. She graduated from Stockton University in December 2016 with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology. She serves a vital role to our board by providing us with firsthand insight from her recent experience attending school in Salem and completing college.

Steve Waddington

Steve was born and raised in Mannington Township in Salem County, NJ. For almost 30 years he owned and held several jobs in his family’s large commercial dairy manufacturer, Richman’s, which included the beloved Richman’s Ice Cream shop located in Pilesgrove Township.

For the last 10 years, Steve has worked for construction company BRECO managing the remodeling program and equipment logistics for several convenience store locations in the area each year. Following in his parents’ philanthropic footsteps, he has supported and served on several executive boards for local organizations, including Friends Services for the Aging and as chair of the board at Friends Village at Woodstown. In both of these roles he has retained membership involvement and significantly improved quality of life for many residents in assisted living communities and programs through Quaker organizations.

Steve has believed in the mission of the Forman S. Acton Educational Foundation long before he joined the Foundation’s Board of Trustees and frequently shares information about how families and students can get involved. For the last three years he served as a Community Ambassador to advise and help enhance the Foundation’s efforts to nurture the needs of Salem’s youth.

Steve enjoys spending time at his summer cottage on the Delaware River at Oakwood Beach.

Ken Aldridge

Ken Aldridge has always loved learning and has had a passion for helping students in the community since his early days of being a teacher. His knack for listening to others and watching them grow makes him a perfect fit on the Board of Trustees at the Forman S. Acton Educational Foundation.

Currently, Ken serves as Head of School at Wilmington Friends School in Wilmington, Delaware, where he has been since 2014. He began his teaching career at George School, where he taught science in the International Baccalaureate Program, coached swimming and tennis, and served as Assistant Dean of Students. Before these impressive career accomplishments, he taught at Germantown Friends in 1996, where he headed the Science Department. Ken earned a B. A. in Chemistry from the College of Wooster and a Masters of Chemistry Education from the University of Pennsylvania.

Throughout his impressive background in education he has been consistently recognized with awards, including the Price Teaching Chair for Young Faculty Award and the American Chemical Society’s (Philadelphia Section) Excellence in Teaching Award.

Ken has several years of experience serving in various leadership roles for many organizations including as a trustee for the Kendal System and Friends Council on Education. He is also on the Board of the Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools (PAIS) and serves as a University Appointed Mentor for graduate students in the University of Pennsylvania’s School Leadership Institute. Ken is also the former Chair of the Board for Breakthrough of Greater Philadelphia.

Ken and his wife, Cassandra, have three children and live Wilmington.