Bentzion

Chief Executive Talent

A Rabbi, a Dreamer, and a Native Charlottean walk into ZABS Place. Sounds like a joke but actually it’s Bentzion (or Rabbi Ben as we call him). As Chief Executive Talent, Rabbi Ben wears many hats at ZABS. You might find him pitching ZABS to a crowd of 1,000, chatting with a potential donor, or arranging a truck load of donated furniture from a showroom in High Point, NC. Whatever he’s doing it’s with enough passion for 10 people!

Fun Fact: Bentzion’s dream job is to be a pilot!

Blaire

Upcycling University Professor

ZABSpreneur Advizor

Blaire is ALL things crafty, creative, and organized. Wait, WHAAT?! Is that even a thing? Yup, seems it’s possible to be super crafty, creative, AND organized. Either that, or we’ve found a southern unicorn.  Always ready to try something new, Blaire is a master upcycled “Gnomesmith”, Vinyl Wizard, Mask Sewer, Paper Folder, and she plans it all out to make it fun and accessible for our Special Talent to enjoy.

Fun Fact: Blaire was a Principal in the Union County Public Schools for 20 years!

Jonny

Talent Coach

To coach ZABS Talent you need to have many talents, otherwise it’s hard to keep up. Thank G-d for Coach Jonny! Whether supporting our Online Sales Talent, Donation Sorting Talent, or Clothes Hanging Talent, he’s patient, understanding, team-playing, guitar-playing, idea generating, and all around ZABStastic! 

Fun Fact: Jonny used to run a ship anchored in the middle of the ocean! 

Kristen

Talent Accelerator

Is it her patience, her smile, or her creative approach to skill-building that makes her so amaZing at helping our Talent learn? She’s got the perfect balance between supporting and stimulating growth & independence. She’s all about meeting our Special Talent where they are and helping them get where they want to go.

Fun Fact: Kristen thought her dream job was to work in a hospital and it wasn’t till she started that she realized that wasn’t really her dream! Maybe that’s why she is super committed to helping our ZABS Talent figure out and follow their dreams!

Lisa

Snow Globe Shaker

Snow globes are beautiful until the glitter settles. Then they’re kinda boring. Lisa makes sure to shake things up just enough so the glitter swirls again! She’s all about opportunity and making magic happen at ZABS Place. She’s also the one who helps you find that special something when you happen to stumble in “just to look around.”

Fun Fact: Lisa has Super Talents! She’s been Director of a Preschool, Head of a Retail Store, and even Director of a Children’s Museum.

Inspirational Fact: ZABS Place is named after Lisa’s son Zachary who passed away from Leukemia when he was 19.

Rochel

ZABSaholic-in-Chief

Worker-bee. Workaholic. Workhorse. Call it what you want, but this girl is ALWAYS working. Pricing clothes, ringing up a customer, fixing furniture, upcycling a “curb-find”, are all things Rochel does on the side. Her main job of course is being the Director of ZABS Place!

Fun Fact: Rochel is sometimes called the “Girl on the Plane” thanks to an interesting experience she had on (you guessed it) an airplane back in the summer of 2017.

Stacy

Product Queen

Meet Stacy. Trust us, you’ll want to meet her. She can turn whaah into wowza and she makes it look easy! We’re not kidding, have you seen our displays? Stacy takes our incredible donationz and makes sure to evaluate and arrange them in the perfect way so you can see what makes them special and imagine how they’ll look in their new home.  She’s part decorator, part investigator, part retail guru, part magician… that’s why we call her Product Queen for short.

Fun Fact: Stacy has worn many hats in her life, but we were the first to crown her!

Marian

Chief Organizing Officer 

Imagine waking up in a treasure chest. It’s amazing because you’re surrounded by treasures but it can be a bit overwhelming. That’s what our ZABS Warehouse was like, but not anymore. Marian, with her incredible organizing talent, has transformed our Warehouse into a well-organized processing center for all our incredible donationz on their way to a new home. 

Fun Fact: Marian moves 1/4 TON in ZABS Stealz on an average day.

Scott Brennan

Board Member

Strategy, operations, finance, technology consulting, Fortune 500 companies… Sounds like we’re cramming for a business degree midterm. Actually, we’re talking about Scott’s career of over 32 years. But that’s not all! He’s a Partner with Social Venture Partners and a retiree from Accenture. He is on the board of several nonprofits including SVP Charlotte and GenOne Charlotte.

Fun Fact: Scott has three grown children and has called Charlotte home for over 20 years. 

Darius Chase

Board Member

Currently serving as Relationship Manager for South State Bank specializing in health care and commercial banking, Darius has over 19 years of experience serving clients in a variety of banking roles. He also is a Board Member for Loaves and Fishes of Charlotte. Darius believes that everyone has their own individual talents and should have the opportunity to realize their dreams of leading meaningful lives.

Fun Fact: Darius and his wife have two daughters and he’s a Charlotte Sports fan.

Jenny Dye

Board Secretary

After retiring from a career in accounting, Jenny began volunteering with a wide variety of non-profits. She’s a partner with Social Venture Partners-Charlotte and loves learning about all the inspiring stories that come from ZABS Place.

Fun Fact: Jenny enjoys playing tennis, reading and traveling.

Caren Gale

Co-Founder and Board Member

Caren is a true Mamma Bear! She won’t rest until all her cubs are cared for. Caren became a special needs advocate when her son was diagnosed with Autism at age 2. She realized that with a little encouragement and support, anyone and everyone can succeed. Today, Caren is the Chief Advocate and Community Liaison for ZABS Place.

Fun Fact: Caren is an incredible best story-teller and her cub son Jonathan was the first employee at ZABS Place!

Charles Gale

Co-Founder and Board Member

After switching careers with his family’s move to Charlotte, Charlie taught at the Fletcher School for nine years before retiring after the 2019 school year. After his son with Autism expressed interest in having a job after high school, Charles and his wife Caren realized they needed to help prepare him to enter the working world. They realized they were not alone and that job training was a need for thousands of other young adults in the Charlotte area. After meeting with the Groners, they set out to make this plan a reality for their son and many others.

Fun Fact: Charles lived in L.A. and worked in the film industry for 25 years.

Matt Herson

Board Member

Fun Fact: When not working, Matt enjoys household projects and vacations in the family RV.

Henry Lander

Board Chair

Henry is an undercover Magician. He excels at analyzing complex situations and magically creates actionable plans to help organizations achieve their goals. On second thought, maybe he’s a Ninja! As a Six Sigma Black Belt he uses Change Management techniques to simplify and improve problem analysis, decision making, and planning. It’s better than a knock-out punch! Take that complex situation! 

Fun Fact: Henry is a native of Venezuela and has a real passion for supporting Latinx-led businesses.

Amy Macari

Board Member

In addition to her primary roles as mom, wife, and semi-pro trip planner, Amy serves as Director of Strategy and Teaming for The Pelora Group. She has over 15 years of experience in delivering strategic and operational leadership. She attended Rutgers University for undergraduate studies and completed the Graduate School of Banking program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is also a certified Kolbe Consultant.

Fun Fact: Amy’s competitive nature only comes out during trivia games and she hopes to one day be a Jeopardy Champion!

Jon Massachi

Board Member

As a native of Charlotte, Jon is very involved in the local community. Jon graduated from ECU in 2007 and began his career with BB&T (now Truist) where he is now a top-producer in residential mortgages. Jon is an original board member of ZABS Place and loves to see the amazing things that ZABS provides to our community.

Fun Fact: Jon was born with Cerebral Palsy and he’s never let it get in the way of his dreams. 

Barbara Rein

Board Member

Sue Schreiber

Board Member

Sue began her career as a counselor who worked with young adults with special needs helping them find job opportunities and navigate the benefits system. That was followed by over 25 years in Early Childhood Education. Sue has always worked with children and their families and believes that everyone deserves to be in an environment that considers and respects their individual ability, cultural background and developmental needs. 

Fun Fact: Sue is learning Hebrew so she can keep up with her young granddaughters who live in Israel! 

Benjamin Schwartz

Board Member

Born in Charlotte, Benjamin is a Licensed NC Real Estate Broker and has interests in Politics, Finance, and the Environment. Benjamin is eager to see ZABS Place grow in the Charlotte market by helping raise awareness about what who we are and what we do to help local Special Talent.

Fun Fact: Ben has an 11 yr. old daughter and 4 yr. old son

Kelly Wollinger

Board Member

Kelly has worked in Marketing for over 10 years and has served on several organization boards and in other leadership positions… besides for being a Mom of two. She sees the socialization, peer networking, and friendships that happen at ZABS Place and the impact that they make outside of work. Kelly is passionate about being a part of a thriving and exciting grassroots organization that truly focuses on its mission. (That’s US!)

Fun Fact: Kelly is the Mom of one of our ZABS Gradz!