twice traveled to the Gulf Coast to help with Katrina relief. This year I was elected to Habitat’s Board of Directors. In 2009, I was the Republican candidate for Mayor of Plainfield and managed to attract over 28% of the vote.
A member of Crescent Avenue Presbyterian Church Church, I have served on the Board of Trustees and presently serve on the Board of Deacons and am a past moderator of this group. I also serve on the Strategic Planning and Finance Committees. I have been President of the Crescent Cultural and Educational Association since 1998 and also have served as secretary of Crescent Concerts for many years.
Born in 1946 in Bethlehem PA, I graduated from Lehigh University in 1968 and was elected to both Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Xi. I received a PhD from the University of Michigan in 1972 where I was a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow. I have been married since 1981 to Joan Van Pelt, an attorney who has recently retired from the NJ Public Advocate. Our two sons attended Cook School in Plainfield. Douglas is currently studying law at theWashington University in St. Louis, and Charlie, a volunteer EMT and fire fighter, is a freshman at Richard Stockton College.
