New Jersey SEEDS Celebrates 25 Years at Anniversary Benefit, Honors Awardees with Leading Change Award

The New Jersey SEEDS 25th Anniversary Benefit took place on Thursday, April 27, 2017, at the Pleasantdale Chateau. During this wonderful celebration, SEEDS graduates, families, supporters, Trustees, and friends came together to look back on a quarter century of success providing high-achieving New Jersey students with educational opportunities. NJ SEEDS honored two individuals very close to the family, Amy Ziebarth and Soleio Cuervo (SEEDS ’95), with the Leading Change Award, for their initiative and commitment to enhance the educational opportunities of young people throughout New Jersey. Amy Ziebarth, who is currently the Head of School at Far Brook School, is the Former Executive Director of NJ SEEDS, having served from 1998 to 2010. Soleio Cuervo (SEEDS ’95) is a member of the SEEDS Board of Trustees and General Partner at Combine. Before founding Combine, he worked as one of Facebook’s earliest designers.

Alumni Ambassadors also introduced the inaugural class of honorary graduates - those whose significant personal financial investments have enabled SEEDS to change the lives of nearly 2,300 graduates. With a cocktail hour, dinner, silent auction and a surprise video introduction from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the 25^th Anniversary Benefit was a night to be remembered.

New Jersey SEEDS is a nonprofit organization founded in 1992 that prepares motivated, high-achieving, low-income students for admission to private schools and colleges across the country. Approximately 350 students will be served by SEEDS’ academic programs this year, with more than 500 additional students receiving additional support through SEEDS’ Guidance department. An additional 1,800 alumni are continuing their educations or in the workforce.