Leadership

Callie Crowder is the Executive Director at The Maker's Place. Born and raised in Trenton, Callie is passionate about building relationships with people, especially those impacted by the political economy of racism and oppression. Callie is a businesswoman, entrepreneur, and a compassionate leader. She has a MDiv/MACEF from Princeton Theological Seminary, and has worked for over 18 years as a CPA. She lives in Wilbur in Trenton, NJ, and is the mother of two young adults. 

Andi Laidlaw is the Field & Operations Specialist at The Maker’s Place. Relationally driven, she is passionate about connecting with, and meeting the needs of those in the Trenton community. Having served the organization in multiple capacities as both an intern and volunteer, she is uniquely equipped for leadership.  Andi received her B.A. from Thomas Edison University in Communications and M.Div. from Drew Theological School, where she concentrated in social justice advocacy.

Lori Pantaleo is a retired Spanish teacher, who spent 20 years teaching elementary and/middle school children.  She is currently both a trustee and a volunteer with The Maker's Place.  She is a servant leader at Princeton United Methodist Church as well, and is co-coordinator for the church's Cornerstone Community Kitchen free clothing store.  Lori is passionate about helping the families of marginalized and exploited families.  She is thrilled to be able to use her Spanish skills to nurture relationships of trust with families in the Latino community in Trenton. Lori lives in Mercer County, and enjoys traveling to California to visit her children and grandson

Tim Ewer is a retired engineer after 38 years in the field of rotating machinery and power generation. He is a long time member of Princeton Cornerstone Community Kitchen (11 years) and is serving as their current CFO for the past 5 years. He is also heavily involved in their weekly meal service, doing everything from setup to cleanup. He is a long time member of Princeton United Methodist Church where he has served as a Trustee for 9 years, ushers and helps as a money counter.

Laurel Jones is a Colorado native at heart who actually really likes New Jersey. She moved to Lawrenceville 14 years ago with her husband (Mike) and daughter (Camille). Laurel loves teaching ELA at Trenton’s Ninth Grade Academy and volunteering with the Tornadoes softball team. She strongly believes in community being more than a zip code and The Maker’s Place makes this happen. 

The Rev. Gregory S Smith has been ordained itinerant Elder in the African Methodist Episcopal ("AME") Church for the past 10 years. As a second career Pastor,  he also is a licensed clinical social worker and works with individuals, families and groups. He has experienced the privilege of serving as pastor in a variety of churches in the AME, United Methodist and Baptist congregations. He is an advocate for history and social justice issues and serves on several local community boards advocating for the restoration of African-American history and servicing the needs of others. He loves the mission of The Maker's Place as a mechanism to engage faith in the tangible strengthening of families. In addition to serving others, Pastor G enjoys art, gardening, anything old, and especially the beach.

Pamela Sims Jones is the Program Associate at Mercer Street Friends Food Bank, managing agency relations as well as procurement and distribution of government, purchased and donated commodities for over 160 agencies via the Food Bank’s various food programs. She is a member of the Trenton Food Stakeholders group, serves on three non-profit boards, and has more than 20 years’ experience in leadership and organizational development, program management and publishing. Pamela was the Fellow/Director of Leadership Trenton at the John S. Watson Institute for Public Policy at Thomas Edison State University for eight years. Previously, she served as Deputy Director of the New Jersey Dept. of State’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Commission, and sixteen years as the associate publisher for Africa World Press and Red Sea Press, Inc. in Mercer County. A graduate of Allegheny College where she earned a B.A. in Sociology and Anthropology, Pamela is a member of the college’s Volunteers in Support of Admissions (VISA) and Office of Diversity Affairs’ Multicultural Alumni Mentoring programs, and served six years on the Alumni Council. A Freehold, NJ native, she has been an active Trenton resident for 40 years, is an avid reader, world traveler, and die-hard Yankees and humpback whale devotee.     

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