Board of Directors

David Sokoloff

Founder and CEO

David was born in Princeton and remained in New Jersey until moving to Pennsylvania for his undergraduate degree. He received his B.A. from Gettysburg College in Economics and his M.A. in International Development Studies from the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University. David got involved with community service through the D.C. Central Kitchen, Martha's Table, and N Street Village helping disadvantaged people in the Washington D.C. area. In 2003, David received the opportunity to serve with the U.S. Peace Corps in the Republic of Kiribati. He developed the idea to help disadvantaged children through education during his time in Kiribati and in 2006, after completing his service, he turned this vision into For Granted, Inc.

Evelyn Parr

Vice-Chair

Originally from Tennessee, Evelyn first became aware of the positive effects of community awareness, support, and service when she completed 100 hours of volunteer service for a High School graduation requirement. Upon graduation, Evelyn then ventured to an unfamiliar Albuquerque, where she majored in Community Development and minored in Construction Management at the University of New Mexico. During her time at the University of New Mexico, Evelyn served with AmeriCorps as a Team Leader in their Literacy Program targeting underserved communities in the greater Albuquerque area to improve reading levels and make learning fun. After receiving two Segal Scholarship awards for her volunteer service, Evelyn decided to take her understanding of community development internationally with the U.S. Peace Corps. Her efforts as a volunteer included the creation of a Kindergarten Teacher’s Association, a Fisherman’s Association, and building ten 5,000-liter rainwater catchment systems in the Republic of Kiribati. Evelyn recently received her Masters in Urban Policy Analysis and Management at The New School University in New York City. She plans on returning to Tennessee where she will continue working in public service both at home and abroad. She is very proud to take part in the efforts of For Granted addressing the problems faced by children throughout the world.

Frank Lee Merwin

Treasurer

Lee Merwin was born and raised in Mahwah, NJ. In 1997, Lee graduated with honors from Gettysburg College with BA's in political science and management. He continued with his education receiving an MBA from Regis University in 2003. Lee began his professional career at Zapata Lamporlanese and Merwin, SA, a financial services firm. He later moved on to Industrial Candles, Inc, serving as CFO and briefly as COO. In 2005 he left the business world for the nonprofit, joining the Joffrey Ballet Center as their Managing Director. In 2010 he left Joffrey to help Gelsey Kirkland and Misha Chernov found the Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet (GKA), as the Executive Director. Having succeeded in successfully establishing GKA, Lee returned to the Joffrey Ballet Center in 2012 as the Chief Operating Officer. Having traveled extensively outside of the U.S., Lee has seen first hand the need for organizations like For Granted and is grateful to have this opportunity to put his skills to good use.

Isha Nirola

Director of Communications and Program Development

In addition to her role as a board member, Isha Nirola is currently the Community Health Director at Possible, a non-profit healthcare company in Nepal. She leads the Community Health strategy and oversees operations at two key levels of Possible’s hub-and-spoke healthcare model – clinics and community health workers. Previously, Isha worked for over 3 years as Regional Manager at the Carter Center, where she managed parts of the Guinea Worm eradication program in South Sudan – and where she and her team achieved a 92% reduction in Guinea Worm cases within 2 years. Prior to her work in South Sudan, Isha contributed to a number of fact-finding missions for the Human Rights Law Network’s Reproductive Rights Unit; served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Republic of Kiribati as a Health and Community Development worker; and worked as a Health Advocate in Baltimore City. Isha graduated from the University of Maryland Baltimore County with a B.A. in Health Administration and Policy, and earned her Master’s in Public Health at New York University.

Dr. Jeremiah Duncan

Dr. Jeremiah Duncan is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Plymouth State University in Plymouth, NH, where he teaches a variety of chemistry courses and does research in nanomaterials and environmental chemistry. Dr. Duncan received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Princeton University in the area of inorganic synthesis. Along with his background in chemistry, Jeremiah has long had a passion for travel and a desire to help the disadvantaged citizens of the world that he has often seen first-hand. Seeking a way to combine these after grad school, he became a Peace Corps Volunteer in the central Pacific island nation of Kiribati, where he taught math and science at the Kiribati Teachers' College on the capital island of Tarawa. Although he now lives a "normal" life back in the U.S., Jeremiah has been delighted to be a part of For Granted nearly since its inception.

Dr. Todd Hobelmann

Todd Hobelmann is an Anesthesiologist in the Baltimore area where he was born and has spent most of his life. He initially became involved in charity work through the national service foundation, Alpha Phi Omega, while attending college. He has been a board member of For Granted since its inception and has been involved in educational supply procurement, fund raising, and planning of the annual Golf Tournament. He lives with his wife, Allison and his 2 daughters, Cassidy and Scarlet.

Dr. Ann Sokoloff

Dr. Ann Sokoloff has taught preschool through fifth grade. She taught fourth grade in the Princeton Regional School District in Princeton, NJ. She received her Doctor of Education in 2004 in Curriculum Theory and Development K through 12th grade from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. She is interested in developing integrated, multicultural curriculum that includes computer technology. During her retirement from teaching, she supports many deserving charities in Sarasota, FL and Princeton, NJ.