2024 Community Coalition on Race Leadership Bios
Executive Director, Nancy Gagnier: Nancy develops pro-integrative strategies that help to build a community that is supportive of racial equity and inclusion. She brings professional and academic writing, non-profit development, public relations, strategic planning, community leadership positions, community organizing, teaching, and service on nonprofit boards to her role. In her time as Executive Director, she has designed anti-racism trainings; led a team of researchers in reporting on demographics over two decades to inform areas of challenge and success in integration; and developed strong partnerships within the community and beyond. Nancy can reached at [email protected] 

Executive Board

Anita Gundanna, Board Chair Anita Gundanna joined the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families as Co-Executive Director in 2017. She has worked throughout her career to prevent and address violence against women and children, and to promote healthy families, primarily in minority and immigrant communities of New York City. Prior to her return to the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF), Anita worked as a consultant with several small and growing community-based non-profit organizations mostly serving Asian American and immigrant communities. Anita holds a PhD from Columbia University School of Social Work. She conducts research on organizations, social movements, and coalition-building. She teaches program evaluation and advocacy to students in the master’s degree program in the schools of social work and public affairs. Anita has lived with her family in South Orange for 8 years. She joined the Community Coalition on Race board of trustees in 2021 and has worked on Finance & Development. 

Vice Chairs

Elizabeth Baker has lived in Maplewood with her husband and two daughters for over two decades, and she was an elected member of the South Orange Maplewood School District Board of Education from 2015 through 2020.  As the SOMSD BOE President from 2016 through 2018, Elizabeth led the school district through major initiatives to ensure integration, educational equity, and academic success for all students, including the STEM curriculum realignment, the adoption of numerous civil rights and anti-discrimination policies, the launch of the district-wide elementary school integration plan, and the approval of more than $160 million in bonding for the expansion and revitalization of district schools.  Elizabeth is a labor lawyer and serves as the N.Y. Metro Bargaining Director for S.E.I.U. Local 32BJ where she oversees negotiations on behalf of more than 90,000 service workers; she is also a Trustee and Deputy Trustee on 10 pension, health, and welfare funds.  Elizabeth graduated from N.Y.U. School of Law, where she was awarded a Hays Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Fellowship, and she brings to the Coalition experience in not-for-profit governance, fair housing, and voter protection. She joined the Coalition Board in 2024 and is a member of the Coalition’s Schools Committee.

Carol Barry-Austin is a founding member of the Coalition on Race and has dedicated her time and talents to the growth and success of the organization for over 20 years. She served as Chair from 2006-08 after serving on the Executive Committee since the organization’s inception and currently co-chairs the Schools Committee. Under her leadership, the committee has shaped community discussion regarding the Academic Achievement Gap by providing forums, parent advocacy workshops and Achievement Gap Study Groups. Carol is often cited for her consistent efforts on behalf of the youth of the community and her commitment to integration and fair housing. Her advocacy on behalf of students began early on with the PTA’s as President of the various schools her 3 children attended. She has represented the community throughout the region on panels to discuss integration and youth advocacy. Professionally, Carol served as a consultant for a New Jersey-based communications company and she spent fifteen years working for New York Telephone Company, designing and implementing communication systems for major New York corporations. Carol also shares her time with the Columbia High School Scholarship Fund, South Orange Civic Organization, and the Tuxedo Park Neighborhood Association. She and her husband have lived in South Orange for over 40 years.

Robert A. Marchman, Immediate Past Chair : Robert has taken an active role in community life since moving to Maplewood in 1991. He is a founding member of the Coalition on Race, where he served as chair in 2004. From 2010 until 2019, Robert was the Executive Vice President and Head of the Market Regulation Department’s Legal Group at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the premier securities industry regulator. Prior to that time, he was responsible for managing the New York Stock Exchange Regulation’s Enforcement Division and Regulatory Risk Group. In 2019 the Securities and Exchange Commission appointed Robert as Senior Policy Advisor on Diversity and Inclusion. In this newly created role within the SEC's Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI), he focuses on working with Commission divisions, offices, and advisory committees to develop and implement strategies to promote diversity and inclusion, both within the SEC and through external engagement with agency partners and market participants. Robert has had a long career in diversity and inclusion efforts in Corporate America and in nonprofits and has received numerous awards in recognition of his work to promote diversity management in the securities industry. Robert served on the Conversations on Race team and as Coalition on Race chair most recently for 3 years in 2017-2019, and again in 2024.

Terry Martin has lived in South Orange since 2001 when he moved here from Belle Meade, NJ to shorten his commute to New York City. He joined the Community Coalition in 2023 and is currently a member of the Marketing and Nominating Committees. In addition to his work with the Coalition, for the past three years Terry served as a committee member and/or Chair of the American College of Toxicology DEI Subcommittee. Terry is the Executive Director of Toxicology at Intra-Cellular Therapies where he assures that drug candidates are safe prior to conducting clinical trials. Terry is also involved with many community service projects as a member of the South Orange Elks Lodge and the Chi Sigma graduate chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Incorporated. Most importantly, he has been married to his wife for 31 years and has two incredible daughters and three grandchildren.