SERV Behavioral Health Systems, Inc.

Susan L. Swatski

SERV is pleased to welcome Susan L. Swatski, a local lawyer with more than a decade of experience, to the SERV Centers Board of Directors.

“We are pleased to welcome Susan to the SERV family. She brings more than a decade of experience in key areas that are vital to the organization’s future operations and strategy,” said CEO Regina Widdows.

Susan L. Swatski serves as counsel in the Princeton, N.J. office of Hill Wallack LLP. She is also a member of the firm’s Employment Law, Product Liability, Community Associations, and Construction Industry practice groups.

Ms. Swatski is admitted to practice in the states of New Jersey and New York, as well as in the U.S. District Court of New Jersey, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern and Western District of New York. Throughout her career, she has represented grocery stores, pharmaceutical companies, medical practice groups, an international waste management service provider, a nursing staffing agency, daycare providers, a national moving company, retailers, and technology companies in wage and hour disputes focusing on FLSA collective actions and internal workplace investigations. In 2012, she was named to New Jersey Law Journal’s New Leaders of the Bar.

In addition to her career in law, Ms. Swatski regularly presents seminars regarding anti-discrimination and harassment in the workplace and general human resource management. She also serves on the New Jersey Supreme Court District Ethics Committee and as Co-Chair of the Mid-Jersey Chamber of Commerce—Women in Business.

Prior to joining Hill Wallack LLP, Ms. Swatski served as Deputy Press Secretary to United States Senator Arlen Specter and was the Manager of Government Affairs for the Shipbuilders Council of America. She received her J.D. from Seton Hall School of Law and her B.A. from Susquehanna University.

“Susan has been a longtime, passionate advocate for ethics and professionalism,” Widdows said. “We look forward to her leadership as we continue our mission to provide exceptional care to those who need it most.”

Ms. Swatski is also a member of SERV’s Personnel Committee, and she will now serve on the organization’s Legal Committee.

Craig Provorny

Craig Provorny is Chairperson of the Board of Directors for SERV Centers of New Jersey, Inc. Mr. Provorny is the co-Managing Director of Herold Law. His practice focuses on counseling clients in employment related matters, the representation of both plaintiffs and defendants in trust and estate litigation, environmental cost recovery actions, plaintiff insurance recovery, counseling clients in employment related matters, and general commercial litigation. Craig has appeared in both state and federal courts, including the trial, appellate, and New Jersey Supreme Court.

Representative cases for Mr. Provorny include:

• Trial counsel for purchaser of property defrauded by the seller in obtaining environmental approvals from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
• Trial counsel for gasoline station landlord whose property was contaminated with gasoline discharged by the station operator.
• Trial counsel for family who were partners in a business and whose assets were transferred to two other businesses without their knowledge.
• Trial counsel for individuals whose ERISA pension benefits were wrongfully withheld.
• Trial counsel for corporations seeking to obtain insurance coverage for remediation of contaminated property.
• Trial counsel for individual denied disability insurance.
• Trial counsel for bankrupt corporation suing prior officers and directors for breach of fiduciary duty.
• Trial counsel for individuals suffering personal injury from mold exposure.

Prior to joining Herold Law, P.A. in 1992, Mr. Provorny served in the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety as an Assistant Environmental Prosecutor in the Office of the Environmental Prosecutor, as well as a Deputy Attorney General representing the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

Christine Grant

Christine Grant, JD, MBA, is Chairperson of the SERV Achievement Centers Board of Directors and sits on the SERV Behavioral Health System Board of Directors. 

Ms. Grant is a former New Jersey Cabinet member and Commissioner of Health and Senior Services.  She was Vice President of Government and Policy at the former Aventis Pasteur Vaccine Company, and Senior Director of Policy and State Government at Merck. She is a member of the American Bar Association and former Chair of its Science and Technology Section.

She has served on a variety of State and National Advisory and Organizational Boards, including the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity, and continues as National Advisory Chair of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's New Jersey Health Initiatives. She co-hosts “Open Source,” a weekly interview show on Princeton Community TV, among other television appearances.

Ms. Grant earned her juris doctor degree from Rutgers Law School where she was a member of the Law Review and its business manager, an MBA from Wharton and bachelor’s degree in zoology from Swarthmore College. She has written numerous articles on public health law, healthcare and pharmaceutical law and finance.

Michael A. Kovacs

Michael A. Kovacs is secretary for the SERV Behavioral Health System Board of Directors, vice chair of the Board for SERV Achievements, and chair of the Personnel Committee.

Mr. Kovacs is a financial services industry veteran with decades of foundational and institutional experience in the areas of structured fixed income, syndicated loans, credit and capital structure, equity fundamentals, and energy OTC derivatives. He has a proven track record of increasing market share and brand awareness across asset classes, successful management of large project portfolios across multiple lines of business, facilitation of change management, leading collaboration with national and offshore engagements, and in building, developing, directing and championing best in class teams and next-tier leadership. He is currently employed at Refinitiv in New York City as the Director of Product and Content Management in their Capital Markets Insight division, where he is responsible for product oversight of LPC Loanconnector and other best-in-class analytical tools specific to BDCs and CLOs. Prior to Refinitiv, Mr. Kovacs was employed for more than 25 years at Bloomberg LP in Princeton, NJ in a variety of global leadership roles, with his most recent engagement being Global Director within their Fixed Income Credit and Capital Structure Division. 

He is an alumnus of The College of New Jersey with a bachelor’s degree in economics and finance. He is a member of American Corporate Partners, through which he helps to mentor military veterans as they re-enter the private sector.

Mr. Kovacs has served for nearly 25 years on the Board of Trustees of Colonnade Pointe in Princeton. Over the last two decades, he has held the positions of trustee, treasurer, vice president, and most recently, president of the Association Board.

Barbara A. Byrne, CPA

Barbara A. Byrne, CPA, is a member of the SERV Behavioral Health System and SERV Foundation Boards of Directors.

Ms. Byrne is a manager with Rahl & Associates, PC in Newtown, Pa. Her professional affiliations include the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the N.J. State Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Ms. Byrne is an alumna of The College of New Jersey with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, with an emphasis in accounting.

In 2002, she received the Exemplary Volunteer of the Year Award from the Greater Mercer County Chamber of Commerce. She also participated in the MidJersey Chamber of Commerce’s Golf Committee and the Women in Business Committee.

Richard Anderson

Richard Anderson is Past Chairperson of the Board of Directors of SERV Behavioral Health System and Past Chairperson of the SERV Properties & Management Board of Directors. He currently serves as a member of both boards.

In 2018, Mr. Anderson received the SERVice Award for his dedication to the mission of SERV.

A Certified Public Accountant, Mr. Anderson is a principal with Anderson Property Co. He is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the N.J. Society of CPAs. 

Mr. Anderson is an alumnus of the University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. degree in economics and George Washington University with an MBA.

He has served on advisory boards for Sustainable Lawrence and for Cancer Care of New Jersey.  He also led the New Jersey Chapter of Financial Executives International as president and was a member of its board for several years.

Ward R. Bauman

Ward R. Bauman is Vice Chairperson of the SERV Behavioral Health System Board of Directors and a member of the SERV Foundation Board. He also is Past Chairperson of the Foundation Board.

Mr. Bauman is Vice President of Corporate Synergies Group, LLC in Camden, NJ and is a member of the National Association of Health Underwriters. 

He has been an active volunteer with SERV since 2000.

David Sears

David Sears, CFP, CIMA, is a member of the SERV Behavioral Health System, Inc. Board of Directors and serves on its Finance Committee.

As an Institutional Consultant and Account Vice President who joined UBS Financial Services in Princeton in 2007, Mr. Sears was part of a select group chosen nationally to complete a focused wealth management and institutional consulting program. Now as a portfolio manager and consultant, Mr. Sears supports the Princeton Investment Consulting Group with portfolio construction, asset allocation, risk management, investment manager research, equity and fixed income trading, portfolio reporting, and financial planning. The Princeton Investment Consulting Group has been recognized as the Top Advisory Team in New Jersey by Barron's.

Mr. Sears is a Certified Financial Planner® and received his Certified Investment Management Analyst certification from the Wharton School of Business, The University of Pennsylvania. He also is a Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist. He is a member of the Investment Management Consultants Association, a national association for the industry setting standards in Investment Consulting.

He received his B.S. in Finance and Economics with high honors from The Rutgers Business School, Rutgers University. He also is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society.

Mr. Sears is co-founder of Princeton LEEEP, an organization of the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce.

He resides in Asbury Park, N.J.

Alice Hecht Giedekier

Alice Hecht Giedekier is a member of the Board of Directors of SERV Centers of New Jersey, Inc., for which she served as past chairperson. She also serves on the Board of Directors of SERV Behavioral Health System, Inc.  In 2015, she was presented with the SERVice Award for her years of dedication and leadership as a board member.

Ms. Giedekier, a resident of Wyckoff, N.J., is First Vice President-Investments for Wells Fargo Advisors in Wayne, N.J. She is a Certified Financial Planner.

Ms. Giedekier also devotes time to Oasis-A Haven for Women and Children, a nonprofit organization in Paterson dedicated to assisting impoverished families. There, she is involved in teaching financial skills to clients in conjunction with preparation for their GEDs.  Ms. Giedekier also has led the "Money Matters" workshop multiple times at SERV's annual Wellness and Development Conference for consumers and family members.

Paul M. Lehrer

Paul M. Lehrer, Ph.D., is a member of the SERV Behavioral Health System Board of Directors and secretary of the SERV Centers of New Jersey board. He has been a member of the SERV board since soon after its founding in the early 1970s. 

Dr. Lehrer is a clinical psychologist and Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway. His clinical practice and research specialize in management of stress and treatment of physical and emotional stress-related disorders.  

Dr. Lehrer is board-certified as a senior fellow in biofeedback by the Biofeedback Certification International Alliance. He also is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and a fellow of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy. 

He is a member and past president of the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, the American branch of the International Stress Management Association, the International Society for Advancement of Respiratory Psychophysiology, the N.J. Psychological Association, the American Psychosomatic and the Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Ivan J. Punchatz, Esq.

Ivan J. Punchatz, Esq., is a member of the Boards of Directors of SERV Behavioral Health System and  SERV Properties and Management. He is a past chairman of the boards of SBHS, SERV Centers of N.J. and SERV Properties & Management. In 2014, he received the SERVice Award for his 25 years of dedication to these boards.

Mr. Punchatz is Of Counsel to Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney, PC in Princeton.  He has practiced in health care law for more than 40 years and formerly was deputy attorney general for New Jersey. He has argued successfully in many cases before the New Jersey Supreme Court, the appellate and trial levels of the New Jersey and federal courts, as well as state and federal administrative courts.  He represented many health care providers in corporate formation and governance, general business matters and before the State and Federal governments in regulatory affairs.

Mr. Punchatz served on the Assisted Living Task Force appointed by the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Financing Agency. He has represented many developers and originators of assisted living and nursing facilities in the development and financing of projects as well as with day-to-day operations.

He also is a member of the American Health Lawyers Association, the N.J. State Bar Association, and  is a former board member of the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Punchatz has received several professional honors, including being selected the 2020 and 2013 Princeton Health Care Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers in America.

John Maret

John Maret is Chairperson of the SERV Properties & Management Board of Directors and a member of the board of SERV Behavioral Health System. He also is on the Finance Committee for SERV Behavioral Health System. 

He is affiliated with Surety Title Company, LLC in Lawrenceville, N.J., and is a consultant in the field of commercial finance. 

Mr. Maret is a member of the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce and a volunteer recording books for Learning Ally, formerly Recording For The Blind and Dyslexic. He is the recipient of the Ben Yedlin Award from the Central Jersey Board-Cancer Care, N.J., a charitable organization providing free support and advice to cancer patients, their families and caregivers. 

In addition to his work in the title industry, Mr. Maret is a professional voice actor, recording material for organizations in New Jersey and New York.

David L. Stafford

David L. Stafford, CPA, is treasurer of the Board of Directors of SERV Behavioral Health System, for which he also was Past Chairman. In addition, he serves on the SBHS Finance Committee as well as the board of SERV Centers of N.J.

Mr. Stafford is Chief Financial Officer for Daughters of Israel in West Orange, N.J.  Daughters of Israel is a faith-based not-for-profit long-term care organization providing skilled nursing care to individuals living in the Essex County area. As CFO, Mr. Stafford is responsible for directing the organization’s accounting, finance and treasury functions, including establishing and maintaining sound accounting policies and procedures.

He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the N.J. Society of CPAs.