nj.com | Christina Giannantonio|The Star-Ledger | May 18, 2015 | Article.pdf | View Gallery

Elaine Katz receives Betty Pendler Award

SOUTH ORANGE — South Orange resident Elaine Katz, senior vice president of grants and communications for the Kessler Foundation, has received the Betty Pendler Award from Community Options Inc.

Community Options is a national nonprofit based in Princeton that provides housing and employment services to those with disabilities. Each year the nonprofit presents the award to an individual who “exemplifies the mission” of the organization.

Katz oversees, implements, and monitors Kessler Foundation grants that fund programs that help people with disabilities find employment, which in the past has included programs for Community Options. She is on the board of directors of Association of People Supporting Employment First, the Disability Funders Network and JESPY House, and is a member of the program committee of the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers. Katz is also a member of the Disabilities Issues Committee of the NJ State Employment and Training Commission, the Union County Human Services Advisory Council and the Essex County Workforce Investment Board Disabilities Issues Committee.

“I am pleased to be recognized by Community Options, which shares the Foundation’s commitment to empowering people with disabilities through employment,” said Katz.