MEET THE TEAM
We are a totally volunteer driven non profit with a base of 37 regular and part time volunteers and a board of nine members.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Laura Delaflor - Executive Director
Laura Delaflor graduated from the Universidad del Valle de Mexico with a degree in Public Relations. In 1999. Due to her husband’s job they temporarily relocated to CT with their two children. The temporary assignment was extended until it eventually became a permanent job. Laura volunteered for many years in the Greenwich Public School system until her children graduated from Greenwich High School. She was also a Girl Scout troop leader in Cos Cob School for 5 years and Co-Chair of the YMCA Marlins Swim Team Parent Association for two years. She has also volunteered at Greenwich Hospital where she was a member of the Auxiliary Board for 4 years. Laura is now part of the Steering Committee of Woman Owned Greenwich, a group of diverse women who own local businesses and lead nonprofits.
BOARD MEMBERS
Joe Hadley - Board Chair
​Joe is a retired partner of the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, where he practiced corporate law in New York and London from 1987 to 2021. He is a graduate of Cornell University, with a BS degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Columbia Law School. A father of two, he and his wife, Anne Marie Reilly, live in Greenwich.
Debra Ponzek - Vice Chair
​Debra graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1984. After cooking in top New Jersey restaurants she was hired by Drew Nieporent as sous-chef at the fledging Montrachet. Ten months later Debra was promoted to chef, a position she held for seven years and where she earned three consecutive three-star reviews from the New York Times. She opened Aux Délices, a gourmet prepared food shop, cafe and catering business in Greenwich, CT in 1994, with stores to follow in Darien and Westport. She also manages Aux Délices Events, a full service catering and event planning division of Aux Délices. Debra is married, has three children and resides in Greenwich, CT.
Maria Cheng - Treasurer
Maria Cheng was born in Taiwan, moved to Okinawa as a young child and then to the USA in 1968. She grew up in the New York metropolitan area and eventually graduated SUNY Stony Brook with a degree in Economics. Maria started her career in Finance with Bank of America in Los Angeles, California. Over the next 30 years she held positions in various financial and private institutions, specializing in real estate, infrastructure finance and municipal high yield bond finance. In 2019, she left her position as managing director of a monoline financial guarantor and established a financial advisory firm, MC Advisors LLC. The firm provides advisory services to distressed debt holders and distressed debtor organizations. Maria moved to Greenwich in the 90’s and other than a 5 year stint in London UK, has been Greenwich resident since then.
Virginia (Ginnie) Cheney - Secretary
​Ginnie currently lives in Cos Cob, CT and has been there for over 26 years. Prior to that she lived in central Greenwich, CT. She is a graduate of Wheaton College with a degree in Psychology. Her professional career was predominately in the oil industry in various positions ranging from Back Office Manager to Vice President of Operations. The last 10 years of her career were in the agricultural industry where she negotiated master contracts for over-the-counter derivative transactions. Ginnie retired in 2016 and currently volunteers for Kids in Crisis, Cos Cob , Neighbor to Neighbor in Greenwich and The Rummage Room in Old Greenwich. She is also on the Outreach and Allocations committees at First Congregational Church of Greenwich.
Edgar Delaflor
​Edgar is a senior sales executive with extensive leadership experience at IBM across North America, Latin America, and Europe. He currently leads global business development at MFP Technology Services, specializing in IT leasing and circular economy initiatives. An active community volunteer, Edgar has supported organizations such as the YMCA Marlins Swim Team, Greenwich High School Swim Team, and the Kiwanis Club of Mamaroneck-Harrison-Rye. Originally from Mexico City, he earned his BBA and MBA from Universidad del Valle de México and now resides in Cos Cob, CT with his family.
Stacey Higdon
​Stacey brings a strong background in brand management, marketing, and communications, along with extensive nonprofit and board leadership experience. Most recently, she served as President of the Junior League of Greenwich, where she guided community initiatives and strategic growth.
Craig Jones
Craig is the Co-Owner of Greenwich Point Marketing. He is a graduate of Stonehill College, with a BS degree in Business Management, and an MBA from the University of Connecticut. Craig is the Greenwich Representative to the Area 9 Cable Council as well as a board member of Greenwich Emergency Medical Service (GEMS), and Christ Church Nursery School. He spends considerable time helping promote local nonprofits through his company's social media channels “IN Greenwich”. He and his wife, Kristen, live in Riverside with their two children.
Caroline Lee
Caroline has lived in the Greenwich area for 25 years. She is a Healthcare Claims Assistant at Sompo International in Purchase, New York. She graduated from The University of Alabama in 2017 with a Bachelors of Arts in Communicative Disorders and minor in Business. Throughout her four years at the university, she was involved with the University of Alabama Dance Marathon program. Within UADM, Caroline started as a team captain her freshman year and rose to the position of Director of Account Management her senior year. Before college, she was involved with her church, Girl Scouts and was captain of the GHS Girls Golf and Ice Hockey teams. Since she was a kid, she was always willing to give back and help out within her local community with a big smile on her face.
Demetria Nelson
Demetria is the Commissioner of the Greenwich Department of Human Services. She has lived in Norwalk for over 30 years. She is a graduate of Boston University with a BA degree in Psychology. She has an MA degree from Teachers College, Columbia University in Organizational Psychology and an MS degree in Social Work from Columbia University School of Social Work. Demetria has years of experience working as a senior manager in hospital-based behavioral health programs with a focus on substance use disorders. She is an active volunteer of the Norwalk Emergency Response Team.
Amanda Schietzelt
Amanda is a registered nurse with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Quinnipiac University. She began her career at a federally qualified community health center, where she developed a strong foundation in delivering accessible care to underserved populations. She later transitioned to outpatient primary care in New York City, continuing her commitment to patient-centered, community-based healthcare.
Deeply passionate about community impact, Amanda is an active volunteer and currently serves as the Membership Director for the Junior League of Greenwich. Her work focuses on fostering service and collaboration across diverse groups to drive meaningful local change.
Amanda lives in Greenwich with her husband and their four children.
Grace Tseng
Grace Tseng is a 40-year veteran of the information technology industry. After 35 years of service with IBM in both North America and Asia Pacific, Grace retired in 2014 as the IBM Managing Director for Johnson & Johnson. In this capacity, Grace led the IBM relationship globally in delivering industry thought leadership, integrated solutions and innovation in support of Johnson & Johnson’s business objectives. Grace currently serves on the advisory board for Stony Brook University’s Applied Mathematics Department. Grace resides in Old Greenwich, Connecticut.
