Meet Our Team

Ira founded Garden State Trust Company in 2008. He has over 40 years in the trust industry primarily providing trust, estate, and investment solutions for retired and soon-to-be retired individuals. As CEO of Garden State Trust, Ira has grown the company with the simple premise that caring for and thoughtfully guiding clients develops strong trusting relationships that span generations. In 1990, Ira co-founded Manchester Trust Bank that became the wealth management division for Sovereign Bank. Under Ira’s leadership, the wealth management division of Sovereign Bank grew to $2 billion in assets under administration. Ira stepped away from Sovereign as Managing Director of Wealth Management to form Garden State Trust Company. In 1981, Ira worked with the senior management of Berkeley Federal Savings, a Savings and Loan Association located in Millburn, NJ, to establish a Trust Department under the newly enacted Monetary Deregulation Act. Berkeley was granted the First Trust Charter by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board for the New York, New Jersey and Puerto Rico District as a Division of a Savings and Loan Association. In his professional activities, Ira was a member of the Samaritan Healthcare and Hospice President’s Advisory Council; a former member of the Virtua Foundation Gift Planning Advisory Council and is a Trustee of the 21 Plus Foundation. Moreover, Ira is past president and a Paul Harris Fellow of Central Ocean Rotary, Toms River. He also served as past president of the Ocean County Estate Planning Council and the Ocean County Bankers Association.

Barbara is a principal of Garden State Trust Company. She has over 25 years of experience in fiduciary administration and operations. In her role as EVP and COO, Barbara oversees all facets of fiduciary activities. Additionally, she is responsible for all financial reporting for Garden State Trust Company. The depth of Barbara’s experience and dedication to problem solving promotes a culture within the company for the delivery of quality and responsive service to clients. In 1990, Barbara joined Manchester Trust Bank and became the Chief Financial Officer. When Manchester Trust became the wealth management division for Sovereign Bank, Barbara served as senior manager on various management committees overseeing the daily administration and investment activities for the fiduciary accounts ensuring regulatory compliance and risk management for a multi-billion dollar division serving a multi-state market. Barbara has a B.S. degree in accounting and her MBA from Georgian Court University.

Adam was appointed President of Garden State Trust Company in January 2023. He is focused on the overall delivery of wealth management services to our clients. Since joining the company in 2012, Adam has always taken pride in finding solutions for client’s needs while developing strong and lasting relationships. Adam earned a B. S. in Marketing from West Chester University. He is a member of the Estate and Financial Planning Council of Central New Jersey. Adam is a graduate of the Cannon Trust School and earned his Certified Trust & Fiduciary Advisor (CTFA) designation. In addition, he has been invited to speak at multiple seminars for other trust professionals on the topic of special needs trusts. He worked for over 10 years in the field of commercial insurance and held a Life Insurance and Property & Casualty Insurance license through the State of New Jersey as well as the designation of CIC Certified Insurance Counselor and CRM Certified Risk Manager.

Siobhan joined Garden State in January of 2009. As Senior Vice President and Trust Officer and Director of Administration her focus is on client relationships and day to day contact with our investment management, trust, and charitable foundation clients. Siobhan’s expertise over the last few years has grown in the area of Special Needs Trusts which often requires navigating the dilemmas faced by special needs clients and their families. Siobhan enjoys working with these families and takes pride in helping them provide the best life possible for their loved one. Prior to joining Garden State Trust Company, she owned her own business and worked in Corporate Communications in NYC. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Social Community Activities Network serving the large retiree population of Monmouth and Ocean Counties. Siobhan graduated from Cannon Trust School and earned her Certified Trust & Fiduciary Advisor (CTFA) designation. She also holds a Master’s in Education from Long Island University and a Bachelor of Science from University of Albany.

In January 2023 Sean was appointed Senior Vice President and Trust Officer. Sean also serves as Regional Manager for our South Jersey and Philadelphia markets. Since 2012, Sean has been a Wealth Management Advisor working diligently to expand our client relationships and professional network in his markets. Sean plays a pivotal role in attracting and retaining clients by cultivating new relationships via professional associations, local community events, and a wide array of relationship-building activities. Sean is also involved in the following professional and service organizations:

• Camden County Bar Foundation – Board of Trustees
• Estate and Financial Planning Council of Southern New Jersey – Executive Board Member
• South Jersey Young Professionals Association – Member
• Moorestown Rotary Club – Member

Sean graduated from Cannon Trust School and earned his Certified Trust & Fiduciary Advisor (CTFA) designation. He earned his B.S. degree in Management and a Minor in Business Law at Smeal College of Business at the Pennsylvania State University.

Leveraging more than 26 years of helping clients reach their goals in connection with trust and investment management, Kurt plays a vital role in GSTC’s north/northwest New Jersey marketplace client development efforts. In addition to attracting and retaining clients by cultivating new business relationships via a wide range of legal, financial and other professional associations, Kurt builds strong relationships with long-time clients, spanning generations. In 1997, Kurt joined the Peapack-Gladstone Bank’s Trust Division located in Bedminster, NJ where he was instrumental in helping the division grow its assets under administration consistently each and every year. He was a senior managing director heading their trust and estate administration group, was the plan administrator for their savings & investment plan and a member of the Peapack-Gladstone Bank, Delaware Board of Directors. Kurt began his career in 1990 with United Trust located in Bridgewater, NJ where he was a vice president and trust officer responsible for administering personal and charitable trusts, estates, retirement funds and investment management accounts. Kurt obtained the designation of Certified Trust and Fiduciary Advisor (CTFA) from the American Bankers Association and is active in many local estate planning associations.

John’s role is to expand our Investment and Fiduciary Service business. His approach has always been to provide trust, estate, investment and tax services in a coordinated manner to enhance the client experience. He is a Certified Trust and Fiduciary Advisor (CTFA) through the American Bankers Association and serves as Trustee of various foundations and associations within the community. He works from the Lebanon office.

John joined Garden State in January of 2018. As a Senior Vice President and Trust Officer who has been working in the trust and wealth management industry for the past thirty-five years. His knowledge of trust administration, portfolio management and retirement planning has enabled him to provide guidance and maintain relationships with clients for decades. He graduated from Rowan University with a B.S. in Business Administration, majoring in Accounting and the Central Atlantic School of Trust at Bucknell University.

Emily joined Garden State in July 2018 as Compliance Officer. She brings with her over 12 years of extensive experience working in both the compliance and legal departments of a large national bank supporting the consumer lending department. As compliance officer, she will be responsible for ensuring that Garden State continues to adhere to the highest industry standards through diligent oversight of policies and procedures necessary to properly manage and safeguard our client’s accounts. Emily graduated with honors from Monmouth University in West Long Branch, NJ with a B.A in History/Political Science. She also holds a J.D. from Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY.

Kerri joined Garden State Trust Company in March 2018 as a part time Administrative Assistant aiding in office administration and managing client bill pay. Kerri’s responsibilities grew quickly, and she became a key operations person managing transfers, charitable distributions, IRA account procedures and starting her path into the area of tax. With her Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Kean University, she has advanced into her current role of Tax & Operations Officer, where she coordinates tax preparation and works directly with the company’s Chief Financial Officer to support the tax planning needs for our clients and manage business operations. Kerri has completed Trust I,II & III, as well as various trust tax courses from the Cannon Financial Institute.

Mary began her career with Garden State in 2010 as an Administrative Assistant supporting our trust and investment officers with administrative client requests and account maintenance. Since that time Mary’s responsibilities have grown to include working directly with clients in meeting their needs and account management. Mary takes pride in working with our clients and helping them reach their goals and addressing their needs.

Carolyn joined Garden State Trust in July 2023 as an Assistant Trust Officer. Carolyn brings a wealth of banking and finance experience from the corporate and private banking sectors in the UK and USA. She has specialized experience in annuities, estate planning and life insurance. Carolyn graduated from Pace University, NYC in Marketing & Foreign Languages and trained at Citibank’s School of Banking, NYC. She holds Series 6 and 63 and NJS Life and Health Insurance Licenses. Carolyn lived in Mexico as a college student, speaks conversational Spanish, raised a family in the UK, volunteers locally and loves living life on the Jersey shore.

Corey Dawson joined Garden State Trust in November 2023 as an Assistant Trust Officer. He joined GSTC with 6 years of experience working in Wealth Management. Corey has a strong background in Finance, Investment Management, and Trust & Estate Planning and is a licensed life insurance agent. He has a passion for helping individuals and families protect their financial future. Corey has built a reputation for his meticulous attention to detail and ability to develop tailored financial strategies that align with client’s unique needs and objectives and is proud to have successfully helped numerous individuals and families achieve financial security through wealth management.

Walter Pennett joined Garden State Trust as a Trust Administrator in the Lebanon New Jersey office in January 2023. Walter spent four years working in the financial services industry assisting clients with personal financial planning, investment strategies and estate planning. His clients were small and mid-size businesses and the owners of such businesses. Walter takes pride in getting to know the clients he serves and developing strategies to achieve their financial goals. Walter graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University in 2018 with a Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Finance. Outside of work, his interest includes sports, golfing, and fishing.

Michelle Black joined the GSTC team in August of 2019. As an Administrative Assistant working out of our Lebanon, NJ location Michelle handles internal office management including interoffice communications and operations as well as assisting trust officers with client relationship management. Prior to joining GSTC Michelle was an executive assistant to the CEO of a design company overseeing internal operations and marketing events as well as growing and maintaining relationships with top accounts. Her detail-oriented and client-centered approach has made her a welcome addition to our team. When not in the office Michelle loves spending time with her children and being involved in their school’s PTA.

Linda joined the Garden State Trust Company team in July 2022 working at our Marlton, NJ office as an Administrative Assistant providing support to Trust Officers and Clients. Linda brings 13 years of experience working as a marketing professional in the banking industry. In her free time, Linda’s passion is travelling the world.

Gale joined Garden State Trust Company in 2021 as the receptionist for the Main Office in Wall, NJ. She assists our administrators and trust officers with account maintenance and accounts payable as well as handling incoming calls and interoffice communications. Prior to joining GSTC, Gale worked as an office manager and administrative assistant. Gale brings a friendly and positive attitude to her position that provides our clients with a warm and positive experience. When not in the office, Gale enjoys spending time with her grandson and family.