Our Trustees

Brian Kathenes | President
President, Progressive Business Concepts, Inc.

Brian Kathenes is a consultant, writer, and speaker, specializing in team development and organizational performance. Brian served as Senior Associate of High Impact Training, the corporate training division of Project U.S.E.

Brian appears frequently on television and radio and has been quoted in the New York Times, Successful Meetings, and USA Today. He is the host of the weekly radio show: “Value This!! with Brian and Leon.” and is a science fiction and technology appraisal expert on The Discovery Channel’s: POP NATION: America’s Coolest Stuff. Brian was honored by the Mayor of Hope New Jersey with Hope Township’s Outstanding Citizen of the Year Award.

Anthony Capone | Vice President
Co-Owner, Alma Restaurant

Anthony began his association with Project U.S.E. in 1993 as an Instructor with the Wildcat Mountain Wilderness Center. Shortly thereafter he took over the reigns of TREK, a 30-day expeditionary program for incarcerated male teens. The TREK program, a partnership between Project U.S.E. and New Jersey’s Juvenile Justice Commission, operated for 11 years and had the lowest recidivism rate of any program in the state. In 2004 Anthony left Project U.S.E. to create Alma Restaurant, now widely known as one of the finest Mexican restaurants in New York. An accomplished salsa dancer, Anthony resides in Brooklyn with his Shihtzu, Barney, and three cats.

lou DeMarco | Treasurer
HR Advisor, Castrol

Lou has been associated with several boards in the past, including the American Institute of Banking, AIB (in both Central Jersey and Long Island) and Youth Education in the Arts (YEA!). A Human Resources professional for better than 23 years in retail as well as the financial services, Lou is excited about his involvement with Project U.S.E.

A Philadelphia native, Lou and his wife Loraine currently live in Hightstown, NJ.

Ken Goldman | Trustee
President, The Goldman Group

Ken became an outdoor enthusiast in his youth attending the National Outdoor Leadership School in Lander, Wyoming.  Those early experiences influenced him to focus his volunteer and philanthropic efforts toward getting quality backcountry experiential educational opportunities to children in Newark and surrounding areas.  Ken still applies the skills gained from his education in wilderness first aid, outdoor education and leadership at Project U.S.E., where he has worked as staff on multi-day backcountry camping trips at the Wildcat Mountain Wilderness Center since 2008.

Ken is President of The Goldman Group, a real estate management and construction company.  He holds a B.A. from Macalester College and served on its Board of Trustees for 4 years.  He lives in Short Hills, NJ.

L. Jose Gonzales | Founding Member
Retired Educator & Former Member of the Governor’s Youth Council

Jose joined forces with Phil Costello in the late 1960’s, and together they created Action Bound, the predecessor of what would become Project U.S.E.  Over the years Jose helped steer Project U.S.E. to become the innovative education leader it is today.  Jose served as a member of the Governor’s Youth Council, is a veteran of WWII, and in his youth worked on a crew that created the Appalachian Trail.

Jose lives in Langhorne, PA with his wife Betty.

Eric Henkel
Lecturer, James Madison University

John S. Majeski

John is Vice President, Training Manager for a major global financial institution. Previously, he was a Program Director at Project U.S.E. for over ten years. It was during that time period that John made the commitment to “always be involved” in the achievement of the Vision and Mission of Project U.S.E.

Born and raised on Long Island, NY, John lives in Tampa, FL with his wife Edy. They have been blessed with two wonderful children, John and Danielle.

Erin O’Connell
Teacher, The Pennington School

Eric Richmond
MBA Candidate, Wharton Business School

Eric became an outdoor enthusiast while attending college in Maine where he began lifelong passions for skiing, hiking, and rock climbing. He has also worked in K-12 education at the school, district, and federal levels, and is thrilled to bring these two areas of interest together in service to Project U.S.E. As a second-year MBA student at The Wharton School, Eric was connected with Project U.S.E. through the Nonprofit Board Leadership Program, an innovative approach to connecting the school’s students and resources with local nonprofits.

Eric currently resides in Philadelphia—his original hometown—but plan on moving to Brooklyn upon graduation with his wife Beth.

Dominic Skerritt | Trustee
Consultant, McKinsey & Company

Dominic continues his service on the Board of Trustees after joining us from the Wharton Business School Board Fellow Program. The Board Fellow Program connects second year MBA candidates with nonprofit organizations to provide a learning opportunity for the student and to enable the nonprofit to access the resources of Wharton.  Dominic was the first Board Fellow from this prestigious program to join Project U.S.E.  He is currently a consultant with McKinsey & Company in New York working on health care initiatives.

Dominic was born and raised in Australia.  He studied at the Australian Defence Force Academy and served as an infantry officer for nearly a decade.  Dominic holds a MBA and a MA in International Studies from Wharton.