Executive Team
President
Deana Luchs
This year, 2026, marks Deana’s seventh year as the JFK Club president. Prior to 2020, she served the organization as its corresponding secretary. Currently, she is the Franklin Township Ward Two Democratic Committee chairperson and a member of the Somerset County Democratic Committee.
A lifelong Democrat, Deana grew up in Passaic, NJ. Her late father established and organized the Passaic County Clerk’s union. Politics runs in her blood. She learned to cherish Democratic values such as caring for those who have less, helping those in need, and believing in the greater good. Prior to retirement, she was the president of her local education association and was active for many years in the Morris County Council of Education Associations and the New Jersey Education Association. In retirement, she was the president of her condominium association and a member of the Community Associations Institute of NJ Board of Directors.
She is married to Bob, also a JFK Club member. Together they raised three children and have five grandchildren and an adorable dog named Kofi.
In Franklin Township, Deana serves on the Open Space Advisory Committee. She is a past member of the Advisory Council on Disability Issues in Somerset County. She still volunteers her time on the Government Affairs Committee in the Canal Walk community, where she lives. Volunteerism and service are important to Deana and her involvement in the JFK Democratic Club is one of the most rewarding decisions she has made. She is honored and proud to serve as your president.
1st Vice President
Arnold W. Schmidt
Arnie has a BS in environmental science and worked as a New Jersey Licensed Registered Environmental Health Specialist. In 2018, after 30 years, he retired from his Union County position where he coordinated and supervised the County’s Environmental Compliance and Enforcement programs enforcing NJ environmental regulations.
Due to an issue in his Franklin Township neighborhood in 2000 Arnie got involved, for the first time in his life, in a political issue that also happened to be an environmental and public safety concern. Arnie was soon thereafter appointed, by the Township Council, to the Environmental Commission (chair for 3 years) and subsequently thereafter to the Open Space Advisory Committee (vice chair 2020 - present), Shade Tree Commission and more recently the Township Sewerage Authority Board of Commissioners. In 2006, Arnie was appointed by Governor Corzine to the NJ Noise Control Council (chair 2014 - 2023) and reappointed by Governors Christie and Murphy. He was also an appointed member of the Board of Trustees of the NJ League of Conservation Voters from 2018 - 2024. An active member of the Democratic Party, Arnie serves as chair of the Township Democratic Committee’s 5th Ward and is a member of the Democratic Party Municipal Screening Committee. Arnie moved to Franklin from New York in 1983.
2nd Vice President
Linda Powell
Linda, a resident of Franklin Township since 1989, learned about the JFK Democratic Club around 2007. She has served as the Club’s first, second and third vice president and has been involved in voter registration and the get out the vote (GOTV) campaigns. Currently, she serves on the Club’s program and membership committees and previously she participated in the scholarship and nominating committees. Linda also serves as a member of the Municipal Democratic Committee in Ward 3.
As a Steering Committee member of the Franklin Township Task Force (on the Northeast Supply Enhancement [NESE] Project, which proposes building a compressor station in Franklin and pipeline under the Raritan Bay), Linda was a liaison to the Township Council and kept JFK Club members informed about and encouraged participation in the fight against this dangerous polluting project.
Linda was honored to be the 2019 Franklin Township recipient of the Eleanor Roosevelt Distinguished Volunteer Service Award from the Somerset County Federation of Democratic Women for her environmental work. She has also been recognized by the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, the Franklin Town Council and the Franklin Environmental Commission.
Linda is a longtime activist. Her involvement as a volunteer at a community health center led to a career in health care as a renal dietitian nutritionist working with people with kidney disease and dialysis for the past 45 years. Since 2017, Linda has served on the Franklin Township Advisory Board of Health.
Linda remains active in groups fighting for social and environmental justice and defending democracy.
3rd Vice President
Vanessa Davenport
Vanessa earned her B.A. in economics, M.B.A. in corporate finance, and M.S.-Ed. in school finance from Fordham University (NYC). Originally from New York City, where Vanessa embarked on a career in corporate finance for 20+ years, after obtaining the M.S. in education (her first love), Vanessa switched to a career in school finance working with the CFO of the NYC Public Schools. While she was attending Fordham’s Graduate School of Education, Vanessa and her husband moved to Franklin Township and soon after completing the graduate program, Vanessa obtained a position in the New Jersey State Department of Education, where she remains currently employed.
Vanessa has served on the Board of Directors of her homeowners association since 2011, and has been the HOA’s Board President for the past 7 years. She was also a member of the Board of Directors for the NJ Chapter of the Community Associations Institute (CAI-NJ) from 2018 through 2021, where she served as the Board’s Liaison to CAI-NJ’s Legislative Action Committee.
Vanessa's first involvement with political volunteering was in 2008 when she helped Barack Obama's first presidential campaign (assigned to GOTV efforts in PA.). Most recently, she volunteered with the JFK Franklin Democrats’ GOTV efforts for the 2020 and 2022 elections which led to joining the Somerset County Democratic Committee and the SCDC’s Black Caucus, and serving as a local Democratic committee person. In January 2023, Vanessa was elected to serve on the JFK Club’s Executive Board as Assistant Corresponding Secretary. In her spare time, Vanessa enjoys music festivals and Broadway plays.
Recording Secretary
Bernadette Maher
Bernadette has resided in Franklin Township for over 32 years and has raised her family here. Her professional background has been in the NYC non-profit sector at a multi-service community based organization. In addition to membership in the JFK Club, she was also a member of the steering committee of the Franklin Township Task force to Stop NESE (Northeast Supply Enhancement Project) and Compressor Station 206 and several other organizations that espouse her goals of environmental and social justice. Bernadette served as the recording secretary for the JFK Club during 2020 and is pleased to have been elected for another term.
Corresponding Secretary
Michele Rollino
Michele has been a resident of Franklin Township for 25 years. She and her husband are raising two daughters, one a freshman in college and one a sophomore at FHS. Michele grew up in Bergen County, NJ, and holds a bachelor’s degree in marine biology and a master’s degree in environmental studies. She has worked for the National Park Service and FEMA as an environmental manager and for a small consulting firm doing environmental compliance. Public service has been a prominent fixture in her life from an early age. Michele’s father was a volunteer firefighter and EMT and both parents were very involved in the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary. That passion prompted Michele to also become active in the US Coast Guard Auxiliary, holding many local and regional leadership positions.
Michele has always been interested in environmental and social justice causes. However, it was her older daughter, who has an intense interest in government and politics, who saw the JFK Club walking in the Memorial Day Parade and first joined the Club. A neighbor who was part of the group provided information about the organization to Michele for her daughter, Ava. Over the years, after hearing from Ava about the work that was happening, Michele started to attend Club meetings with her. She joined in 2025 and, in 2026, she was elected the Club’s corresponding secretary.
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Assistant Corresponding Secretary
Isaiah Thompson
Isaiah, a lifelong resident of Franklin Township, attended Franklin Public Schools for his K-12 education. He graduated from high school in 2023 and is now a double major in political science and criminal justice, with a minor in history, at Rutgers University.
On campus, he is a member of the Rutgers University Student Assembly, where he serves as the Cook Campus representative, a member of the Legislative Affairs and Academic Affairs committees, and a member of the Referendum and Elections Commissions.
In Franklin, Isaiah has served as an intern for his assemblyman and for the Somerset County Democratic Committee, helped organize canvassing efforts for the 2025 election, and is a member of the Franklin Township Redevelopment Agency.
Isaiah has been a member of the JFK Democratic Club since early 2023, during his senior year of high school, and began serving as the assistant corresponding secretary in January 2026. He joined to be more engaged with local politics in his town and meet like-minded people who were passionate about making the world a better place. Since he joined, he has assisted the Club with community organizing initiatives and expanding civic engagement. He works hard and strives to do all he can to make the world a place that can truly be fair, safe, and free for all of its inhabitants. In his free time, Isaiah spends time with friends and family, learning about the world, and playing video games.
Treasurer
Ronald Murph
Ronald resides in Franklin Township, where he has lived for over 33 years and where he raised his family. Professionally, he is an experienced senior tax manager specializing in corporate, state and local indirect taxes. During his career, he has worked as a senior tax manager for Fortune 500 companies, including AT&T and Verizon, and as a director of taxes for The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. He also has served as an active member of the Council on State Taxation, the Tax Institute, and the Financial Executives Network Group.
Ronald earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from North Carolina A&T State University and a master’s degree in taxation from Seton Hall University. Currently, he is employed by RGP, a tax consulting firm, as a senior tax consultant.
Ronald joined the JFK Democratic Club in February 2023. At the request of its Executive Committee, he agreed to serve as treasurer upon the resignation of Dalya Youssef from the position.
Assistant Treasurer
Kiki Anastasakos
Kiki, a 20-year-resident of Somerset County, holds a Ph.D.in government & politics from Temple University and has taught in several four- and two-year colleges in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. From 2003 to 2018, she worked as a tenured professor of political science at Northampton Community College in Bethlehem, Pa.
In addition to teaching courses in American National Government, State and Local Politics, Women and Politics, and other topics, Kiki taught study-abroad courses, taking students to countries such as Costa Rica, Russia, Turkey, and Finland. She was also faculty advisor to the student-run Political Science Club that organized voter registration drives, candidates' forums, and other activities to engage students in the political process.
In addition, Kiki was a founding member of the Peace Forum, a faculty-student club which organized an annual Peace and Conflict Resolution Conference in collaboration with local non-profits, community-based organizations, and government agencies. The conference focused on a wide range of issues such as food insecurity, voting rights, war & peace, and many others in the U.S. and abroad.
Kiki has been a life-long activist, volunteer, and organizer on many issues such as women's rights, peace movements, immigration, and climate change. Recently, she has focused on local environmental issues in Franklin Township, specifically in the Canal Walk retirement community where she now lives. She also volunteers as a tutor for the Literacy Volunteers of America.
Born in Greece, Kiki emigrated to the U.S. with her family in 1972 and became a naturalized U S. citizen in 1985. She is a proud mother and grandmother and the happy guardian of her rescue dog Ashby. Kiki was elected assistant treasurer of the JFK Cub in January 2024.
Franklin Township Municipal Chairperson
Ron Jordan
Ron has worked in various roles in the pharmaceutical industry. After settling in Somerset, N.J., Ron became active in Pop Warner Football in Franklin Township and through this participation, he became a member of the Franklin Township Recreational Council where he served as vice chairman. In 2005, working with a small group of dedicated fathers, he founded the Franklin Heat Youth Basketball league which has served hundreds of young men in the Franklin Township area. The League is in its 15th year of operation.
His participation in youth sports opened doors to a political career that began with service as a local committee person and for the last six years, as Democratic chairman in Franklin Township. During his tenure as chair, Franklin – for the first time in history – has an all-Democratic Council as well as mayor. Also, Franklin has been instrumental in helping Somerset County turn blue as all constitutional officers in the county, as of November 2020, are Democrats. Ron, a proud member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc., was recently appointed a commissioner with the Somerset County Department of Parks.
Immediate Past President
Teresa D. Ford
Teresa is the past President of the JFK Democratic Club of Franklin Township. She served as president of the Club from 2017-2019. Teresa is currently a commissioner on the Franklin Township Sewerage Authority. Through her employment as an assistant deputy public defender in Essex County, she serves on the Essex County Model Court Committee as co-chair of the Well-being of Children Subcommittee and as a member of the Equity, Fairness and Justice Subcommittee.