Pam Mortensen Elected JFC Board Chair

New York--Jewelers for Children has announced changes to its board of directors, with new members beginning Oct. 1.

Pamela Mortensen, J.C. Penney’s senior vice president and general merchandise manager for fine and fashion jewelry and watches, will serve as chairman of the board. She succeeds Dennis Ulrich of the Richline Group, who was in the role for a two-year term and will continue to participate on the board as immediate past chair.

“I am thrilled to be elected as the chair of Jewelers for Children,” said Mortensen. “As a mother, I can’t think of anything more important than the work our industry does in helping children in need, and I’m honored to serve.”

Other officers elected at the annual board of directors meeting in Las Vegas in June include: Debra Puzio of Starluxe LLC, vice-president for fundraising; John White of Fossil Group, vice president for special programs; Jeffrey Cohen of Citizen Watch America, vice president for charity programs; Howard Hauben of H2 Events/Centurion Jewelry Show, vice president for marketing and public relations; Alan Zimmer of Reeds Jewelers, treasurer; and Sebastian Hobbs of Signet Jewelers Ltd., secretary.

Additionally, 12 new directors were elected to three-year terms and six directors were re-elected to second three-year terms.

The 12 new directors are: Debbie Azar of Gemological Science International; Chad Berg of Lee Michaels Fine Jewelry; Katherine Bodoh of American Gem Society; Jack Gabriel of Gabriel & Co.; Mark Goldberg of Rolex Watch USA; Kari Gray-Hoff of Blue Nile; Steven Kaiser of Kaiser Time; Sally Morrison, previously of Gemfields; Birain Parikh of Rosy Blue; Matthew Rosenheim of Tiny Jewel Box; Steven Vardi of Vardi Company; and Steven Velasquez of Madison Jewelers.

The six re-elected directors are: Benny Hematian of B.H. Multi Corp/Effy Group; Ezriel Rapaport of Rapaport; Ashok Kumar Sancheti of Pioneer Gems; Elliot Tannenbaum of Leo Schachter Diamonds; Rhonda Violet of Assurant; and Eric Zuckerman of Pac Team Group.

The nine directors who concluded their terms on the board are: former AGS and AGS Labs CEO Ruth Batson; Jim DeMattei of Viewpoint Sales and Marketing; Ellen Fruchtman of Fruchtman Marketing; Harvey Kanter of Blue Nile; Joel Schechter of Honora; Hank Siegel of Hamilton Jewelers; Laura Stanley of Laura Stanley Personal Jeweler; Stewart Wicht of Rolex Watch USA; and Ulrich Wohn.

“We are fortunate to have so many talented individuals serving on the board and we greatly thank them for their service to the charity,” said Mortensen.