NJSSA Board

Cait Wexler Red Cross Representative

Cait Waxler

Board Chair

Cait Waxler has been a change agent within the non-profit sector for over a decade. For the…

Nancy curtis Pegues - NJSSA board member

Nancy Curtis

Board Vice Chair

Nancy Curtis, known to most as Coach Nancy, is a lifelong swimmer and has been coaching…

Leighann Day

Board Secretary

Leighann Day is the owner of North Jersey Aquatics, a premier swim school with six locations in New Providence, Parsippany, Denville, Morristown, Randolph, and Clinton…

Chuck Warner - NJSSA board member

Chuck Warner

Board Member

Chuck Warner is the owner of the Little Dolphins Swim Academy and ARETE Aquatic…

Joe Oehme - NJSSA board member

Joe Oehme

Board Member

Joe is the Founder and Owner of Njswim (New Jersey Swim Schools, Inc) the largest…

Judith Leblein Josephs - NJSSA board member

Judith Leblein Josephs

Board Member

Judith Leblein Josephs is President of JLJ Enterprises, a New Jersey based aquatic…

Kristen Holcroft - NJSSA board member

Kristen Holcroft

Board Member

Kristen Holcroft, along with her husband Pete, are the owners of the NL Aquatic Center in…

David Kotz

Board Member

David is the Founder and President of National Safety Training Center and its predecessor companies – Elite Tactical Academy and Mine Brook Search & Rescue, Inc…

Doreen M Gualtieri

Board Member

Doreen is President of the NJ Pool Managers Association, an organization of which she has been a part of for has been a part of that organization for 25 years…

Jon Siegel

Board Member

Jon Siegel is the Head Age Group Coach at Cougar Aquatic Team in Montclair NJ and currently the Senior Coaches Rep for NJ Swimming LSC. Previous to that Jon was at the Madison Area YMCA

David Eggert

Board Member

David Eggert is the proud Owner and Founder of Eggert Aquatics. He has been teaching people of all ages and abilities to swim for over a decade…

Robin Taylor

Board Member

Robin started her career in swimming as an instructor, coach, and volunteer for special…

Cait Waxler has been a change agent within the non-profit sector for over a decade. For the past five years, she has been an aquatics and public safety specialist, serving the Philadelphia Metro Area and New Jersey for the American Red Cross.

Highlights of her tenure at the Red Cross include serving as the liaison between Diversity in Aquatics and the American Red Cross, and lead for Recognition Events for top Aquatics Providers.

Prior to being at the Red Cross, Cait worked at numerous non-profits specializing in aquatics safety, training, development, and implementation of programming for individuals with extra needs.

Cait is a graduate of Penn State and while not working enjoys serving on the board of a YMCA in North Philadelphia, going to the beach, and spending time with her spoiled dog.

Nancy Curtis, known to most as Coach Nancy, is a lifelong swimmer and has been coaching swimming for over 30 years.

Coach Nancy started as a tri-county coach in 1981 and has continued coaching in summer league, high school, and USA Swimming ever since. As an integral part of the South Jersey Swimming Community, Coach Nancy has experience on all levels of swimming, including 7 years as the MA Zone Coach.

She has been running inclusion swim teams for over 20 years. Nancy is the owner of Tide Water Aquatics Club, a swim team and swim lesson program emphasizing inclusion.

Coach Nancy earned a bachelor’s degree in Physical and Health Education from West Chester University, and a Master of Science in Nutrition from Immaculata University.

She currently teaches Nutrition at Rowan College of South Jersey. Nancy also lends her expertise to the board of TideWater Adaptive Aquatics Center.

Leighann Day is the owner of North Jersey Aquatics, a premier swim school with six locations in New Providence, Parsippany, Denville, Morristown, Randolph, and Clinton. The school provides swim lessons for infants to adults, private technique analysis, competitive clinics, and lifeguard courses. NJAC is also a satellite swim team of the Jersey Aquatic Center. Recently appointed as the CEO of the Jersey Aquatic Center in New Providence, Leighann now oversees the club swim team, swim lessons, masters swimming, and all other aquatic programming in the building.


Furthermore, Leighann is one of the three owners of Powerhouse 3 Consulting, a women-owned small business consulting company that supports small businesses. In this role, she specializes in operations, staff management and training, and scaling. Leighann is a certified K-8 teacher and previously held positions in Kindergarten, 4th grade, middle school, elementary computers, gifted and talented, and basic skills. She was also an Assistant Athletic Director for the Morristown Beard School


Leighann’s connection to swimming and education in New Jersey spans her entire life. She started as a YMCA and club swimmer and transitioned to YMCA and club coaching 25 years ago. . Before incorporating North Jersey Aquatics, she served as a head age group coach in NJ, where her focus shifted to water safety instruction and education.

Chuck Warner is the owner of the Little Dolphins Swim Academy and ARETE Aquatic Services. He was head coach of Rutgers Men and Women’s Swimming and Diving from 1997 to 2010.

He was three-times named a USA National Team coach and has served as President of the 11,000 member American Swimming Coaches Association.

Coach Warner served on the Executive Board for the International Swimming Hall of Fame and has authored three highly acclaimed books on swimming.

Joe is the Founder and Owner of Njswim (New Jersey Swim Schools, Inc) the largest privately owned swim school in New Jersey. At 18 he was introduced to Pierre Gruneberg of France, whose innovative swim breath training and fear-reducing techniques provided a new approach for swim instruction.

By incorporating these techniques into his own style, he was able to create an innovative instruction which allows students to overcome their fear of water and attain personal liberation.

In addition to the NJSSA, Mr. Oehme is on the Board of Directors of the non-profit Stop Drowning Now, a global nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization with a mission to save lives through water safety education.

He is an active member of the United States Swim School Association, and an advocate for the National Drowning Prevention Alliance. Recently, he has been working with Assemblyman Sean T. Kean to provide insight on a Water Safety curriculum to be introduced in NJ public schools.

Joe enjoys sharing his methods with others while enjoying his time in and around the water with his family.

Judith Leblein Josephs is President of JLJ Enterprises, a New Jersey based aquatic consulting firm serving private, public, and commercial aquatic venues.

She is an award-winning speaker, author, and trainer. As member of the World Waterpark Hall of Fame and Aquatics International’s Power 25, her work has been recognized on an international level.

Judith’s 40 year career in the leisure services industry has included a passionate commitment to drowning prevention and equity in aquatics.

Kristen Holcroft, along with her husband Pete, are the owners of the NL Aquatic Center in Voorhees, NJ.

Kristen and her husband also run the South Jersey Aquatic Club (SJAC) Swim Team and Swim School that run out of the same facility.

She spent the first part of her career in the entertainment industry, producing reality tv shows and coordinating logistics in film and television.

However, when the opportunity presented itself to help her husband, a longtime swim coach, build a business and make a difference in the South Jersey Community, Kristen jumped at the chance!

She believes everyone should learn to swim and wants to help make that happen!

David is the Founder and President of National Safety Training Center and its predecessor companies – Elite Tactical Academy and Mine Brook Search & Rescue, Inc.  He is  a seasoned business leader and public safety education expert. He currently focuses on running this large training center and keeps active teaching both provider level classes and many instructor level classes.

He holds numerous certifications including:

  • American Red Cross Instructor / Trainer
    • BLS / ALS / PALS
    • Lay Rescuer
    • Lifeguarding
    • Babysitting
  • American Heart Association Training Center Faculty
    • BLS
    • HeartSaver
  • National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians Instructor
    • Tactical Emergency Casualty Care
    • Pre Hospital Trauma Life Support
    • Mental Health Resilience Officer
    • Psychological Trauma in EMS Patients

 

David has previously worked as a Red Cross employee in 2 roles:

  • Public Safety Instructor for the Northern VT Chapter – teaching corporate classes for the Red Cross
  • Lifeguard Instructor / Trainer / Educator for the National Association – Teaching the Instructor / Trainer Academies to create new Lifeguard Instructor / Trainers.

 

David lives in the Martinsville section of Bridgewater NJ with his family who are also active in the Public Safety Training / Medical training business. He is a local volunteer Firefighter / EMT, something he has been doing since 1984! David also serves as a volunteer in the US Coast Guard on a specialized deployable communications team.

Doreen is President of the NJ Pool Managers Association (NJPMA), an organization of which she has been a part of for 25 years. Throughout her time with NJPMA, she has been responsible for running a professional nonprofit volunteer association dedicated to the enhancement and education of aquatic management and programs within its member facilities. Doreen’s passion for swim and swim safety started in 1977 as a physical education teacher teaching Learn-to-Swim, Lifeguarding, CPR, First Aid, Oxygen Admin., AED, and Preventing Disease Transmission. Not to mention coaching men and women’s varsity swim teams. In addition, she ran the summer swim program for the Jersey City Department of Recreation for 17 years. Her ultimate objective is to serve on the Board of the New Jersey Swim Safely Alliance and bring her aquatic experiences to the organization to help unify the many aquatic communities in the state of New Jersey. 

Jon Siegel is the Head Age Group Coach at Cougar Aquatic Team in Montclair NJ and currently the Senior Coaches Rep for NJ Swimming LSC. Prior to that Jon  served as Senior Director of Competitive Aquatics at the Madison Area YMCA (MAY). During his tenureat MAY he helped design and oversee the construction of their new FM Kirby Aquatic Center, directed outdoor programming during the pandemic and acted as Senior Aquatic Director to bring the aquatic department back online. Over his coaching career, which has spanned 30+ years, Jon spent nine-and-a-half-years with the Montclair YMCA Dolphins as their Director of Competitive Aquatics, eight years as Head Coach at the Madison Area YMCA, three years at the West Essex YMCA, and a year as an Assistant Coach at the Summit Y. In addition, he has coached the Livingston Aquajets, Berkeley Heights Streamliners, Minisink Manta Rays and Morristown Beard High School. Jon is an ASCA Level 5 Swim Coach and was selected as the Head Coach of the NJ Swimming All Star Zone Team in 1999, 2002, 2005 and 2008, and as an assistant coach at Zones in 2000, 2003 and 2023. Jon also coached USA Swimming’s Eastern Zone Select Camp in 2006. Jon’s swimmers have competed in all levels of swim competition including Olympic Trials and an alumni to the Olympics. In addition to coaching, Jon has years of service to various swim boards and committees which include working on the New Jersey YMCA Swim League Executive Committee, New Jersey Swimming Board of Directors, and on the USA Swimming National Communications Committee and the National Camps Committee. John looks forward to bringing his extensive swim knowledge and experience to the Nj Swim Safety Alliance.

David Eggert is the proud Owner and Founder of Eggert Aquatics. He has been teaching people of all ages and abilities to swim for over a decade. David is a certified Water Safety Instructor-Trainer with the American Red Cross, meaning he teaches other people how to be passionate and highly-effective instructors. David is also a Special Education Teacher and is passionate about teaching people of all ages and ability to swim and enjoy water SAFELY! David is an avid runner, traveler, and loves spending time with family and friends. David is excited to serve as a board member for the New Jersey Safe Swim Alliance and promote positive interactions in, on, and around the water! 

Robin started her career in swimming as an instructor, coach, and volunteer for special needs swimmers at what is now the Ocean County YMCA.

In 2000, she set out to build an aquatic center and opened the Brigantine Aquatic Center in 2001.

Since opening, the BAC has taught more than 5000 children how to swim and has an established swim team, Special Olympics swim team, and a Master’s Team.

In 2017 she started the non-profit, Green Whales INC, whose fundraising efforts, through the nonprofit, fund the Whelan’s Whales, a swim and water safety program for the underserved youth and special needs community in Atlantic County.

Robin feels lucky to work with her husband, her daughter, and her niece!