Meet SOMA Action’s New Trustees

SOMA Action is thrilled to introduce the newest members of its Board of Trustees: Jeremy Dobrish, Tara Mallon, Allison Posner, Dianne Simmons, and Matthew Skeete. “We had an extraordinary and diverse group of people express interest in serving on the SOMA Action Board of Trustees,” says Mary Barber, chair of the SOMA Action Nominations Committee. “Recent events make clear that SOMA Action’s mission to drive equitable and just progressive change didn’t end with the election of Joe Biden. There is much work to be done, and this new group of Trustees will help lead the organization forward providing information, education and calls to action.” Photos and biographies of the new Trustees follow.

Jeremy Dobrish

Jeremy Dobrish has lived in Maplewood since 2004. He is the Senior Creative Director at Proscenium Live Events, and spent much of his life as an award-winning theatre director, published playwright, teacher, and artistic director (including of SOMA’s own Midtown Direct Rep, the resident theater company of the Woodland in Maplewood). In addition to SOMA Action, he serves on the boards of the South Orange Performing Arts Center and the Community Coalition on Race, and is a member of the Maplewood Arts Council.

Tara Mallon

Tara moved to South Orange from Brooklyn with her family in June of 2019. Life has been altered since then in many respects, so she is thrilled to be a new Board member with the opportunity to do the work and make a real impact. Tara is a special educator and school administrator and considers education her passion. She has two young daughters and she can’t wait to bring them to the Inauguration of the first woman President one day (soon!).

Allison Posner

Allison Posner is an actor, singer and voiceover artist who has performed at a variety of venues in New York City, including 54 Below, Ars Nova, Ensemble Studio Theater, Joe’s Pub, Urban Stages, ART/NY and the Signature Theater. A resident of Maplewood for 5 years, Allison is thrilled to be joining the board of Soma Action after co-captaining the Georgia Action team and participating in the Vanquish the Villains campaign, among other projects. She is the proud mom of Walter (6) and Harry (3) and enjoys collaborating with her husband, composer Eli Bolin, whenever possible. Graduate of Brown University (B.A Theater Arts) and Bank Street School of Education (M.S. Ed Early Childhood Education, Special & General Ed).

Diane Simmons

Diane Simmons, Ph.D,  is a writer and Professor of English at the City University of New York. An Oregon native, she has been a resident of Maplewood since 1994, where her daughter, Jane, attended Clinton School, South Orange Middle School, and Columbia High School. She is married to Burt Kimmelman, distinguished Professor of Humanities at New Jersey Institute of Technology. Diane has been a member of SOMA Action since 2016, serving on both the Climate and the Political Action Committees. She is particularly passionate about working on the issues of climate crisis and voter suppression. Her essays can be found at DianeSimmonswrites.com

Matthew Skeete

Matthew Skeete is a longtime progressive activist and SOMA resident. He has served as the vice chair of Our Revolution Essex County since 2016, and was a selected delegate for District 12 for Bernie Sanders during his 2020 primary campaign. Matt is passionate about intersectional social justice, structural progressive change and good governance at all levels of government. As a longtime SOMA resident, he’s eager to promote these values as a trustee of SOMA Action. Matt earned a BA in Psychology/Mental Health from Rutgers New Brunswick, and is currently a graduate student studying Mental Health Counseling with the goal of becoming an intersectionality-focused mental health counselor.