The Directors

Valerie Kriney

Recording Secretary

Christa Breen

Director of Handicaps & Hotline

Christa Breen works full time as a healthcare consultant and has been an active member of WGANJ since 2014. WGANJ has given her the opportunity to meet great new friends and be able to share memorable experiences with people who have the same interests.

She loves playing in her weekly league and has been a Board Member for several years, holding multiple titles including Director of Captains and now also manages the Communication Hotline for our members. She enjoys being part of a group who cares about the future of women's golf and wants to offer opportunities for others to explore as well.

Natalie Kavanaugh

Director of Leagues

Natalie first joined WGANJ in 2006 to reintroduce herself to her family’s sport of choice since she was a child growing up in Bergen County. Finding an organization dedicated to advancing women in golf was most intriguing as she learned at a young age that this was traditionally a “man’s sport” and found WGANJ as an opportunity to level the “playing field” for women who wanted to enjoy a round while meeting new friends and finding opportunities to network and socialize.  She likes to tell her friends that golf got its name from the shortening of the expression “Good Old Ladies Fun”! 

Belle Degenaars

Director of Leagues

Belle has been playing golf for four years, and enjoys playing with the women she’s met in WGANJ, as well as with her husband and friends. She likes to play in Northern New Jersey and at the Jersey Shore over the summer. Belle is a Registered Nurse, although she is semi-retired. She is most passionate about oil painting. Her latest project is painting the goings on in the New York City neighborhood where her two children live and a painting of the National Book Festival.

Peggy O'Flynn

Education Director

Peggy O’Flynn joined WGANJ in 2022 as a beginner golfer.  She immediately was drawn to learning more about the organization and started attending board meetings and became captain of her Advanced Beginner league in 2023.  She became a board member for the Education department in 2024 and is the captain of her Transitional league.  When Peggy is not on the golf course she can often be found immersed in a library book or tending to her mini garden on her balcony.  Peggy also enjoys spending time with her family and relaxing by the ocean at the Jersey shore.

Grace Jahng

Director of Data Management

Grace began playing golf to spend more time with her husband and two children, and very quickly got hooked on the game. After retiring from her long career as an investment banker, she can now dedicate more time to play as well as meet new friends. Grace loves the fact that WGANJ is so welcoming to both new golfers and veterans of the sport. An Essex county resident for over twenty five years, Grace hopes to play at as many courses as possible throughout New Jersey. Eat, Pray, and Play Golf!

Denise Colaitis

Captain of Captains

Denise Colaitis was introduced to golf by her two sons, who took her to the driving range one day for fun!  She enjoyed it so much, she joined WGANJ in 2018 to learn the sport and meet other women who share the same interest.   Responding to a request Denise became involved in the club loaner program for new golfers. She retired in 2024 after working 35 years in the financial end of the Fashion Industry. Being involved in WGANJ has offered the opportunity to meet other golfers, make new friends and be involved in an sport she loves, she even convinced some friends to take up golf and now they are members as well!

Devra Karleback

Event Director

Devra Karlebach joined WGANJ in 2022 as a beginner golfer and has since become an active and enthusiastic member. She enjoys playing in three leagues each week and regularly participates in the many outings and events WGANJ offers. Devra lives in Franklin Lakes with her husband. She brings more than 30 years of executive leadership experience across hedge funds, technology, and the cannabis industry. She retired in 2020 from her final career in cannabis, where she held numerous senior executive roles and board positions, including serving as Chief Executive Officer of Green Thumb Industries, New Jersey. She was also among the first recipients of one of New Jersey’s initial 12 cannabis licenses.

Pat Vincentz

Event Director

Pat Vincentz is a recently retired physical therapist who has worked in many settings including acute hospitals, acute rehab, outpatient and sports medicine, and management and operations.  She joined WGANJ 5 yrs ago in order to improve her game and meet other women who enjoyed the game.  She spent two seasons as an Advanced Beginner at Preakness and then Knolls West.  Then joined the general league at Paramus where she has made lifelong friends.  When not playing golf, Pat loves spending time with family and her duck rolling retriever Molly. She is an avid skier, a newbie Mahjong player, and a lover of travel.  Pat is excited to work on the events committee so to ensure fun outings for our members both on and off the course.  

Linda Tunik

Event Director

Linda Tunick joined WGANJ at the end of summer 2024 as a beginner golfer. She immediately jumped into all of the events and was drawn to learning about the organization after attending outings, board meetings, and social events, as well as volunteering to help where needed. She became a captain of her advanced beginner league in 2025 and had a great time with a wonderful group of ladies.

After retiring 10 years ago, Linda has been involved in a hiking group, book clubs, French clubs, mahjong, canasta, winemaking, and cross-country skiing. She volunteers for local food pantries and loves to travel. She enjoys spending time with her family and her four grandboys. Linda says she absolutely made the right choice in joining this organization of such amazing women! 

Jodi Kulczar

Event Director

Jodi Kulcsar is new to WGANJ and relatively new to the game of golf.  After receiving a set of clubs for her milestone birthday in 2022, she quickly embraced the game and sought a way to improve her skills while having fun.  Jodi spends her weekdays as a space and occupancy planner in the corporate world, but plans to return to her roots as an interior designer in the future.  She recently joined the Events Committee to meet new people and promote WGANJ in Central NJ. 

Patty Halpin

Finance Director

Patty Halpin joined WGANJ in 2022 to take lessons, improve her golf game, and to meet women with similar interests.  Previously she had mostly played golf with her sons.  She joined the advanced/beginner league at Spook Rock and volunteered as a captain.  It was a great season and she enjoyed making new friends.  In 2023, Patty was recruited to use her experience in Finance and Business Development to serve as Co-Finance Director.  She looks forward to another year of fun on the golf course and continued success for WGANJ.

Martha Bauer

Finance  Director 

Martha has been a member of WGANJ since 2021 when she joined to get back into golf. She had played growing up and again as a young adult before returning to work full time. Upon retirement she wanted to play again so she joined an advanced beginner league which offered an excellent refresher and led to meeting some wonderful women who she continues to play with today.  As a retired accountant, she was looking for a way to give back and joined the Board to apply her finance skills.  She also enjoys the volunteer opportunities that WGANJ has offered in local LPGA tournaments.  However, the best benefit she has realized are the women she has met and worked with on the Board. They are spectacular.  Aside from golf, Martha enjoys spending time with her four children, four grandchildren and wonderful husband. She is also involved with her church and belongs to Connections in Ridgewood.

Joanna Castellano

Website/App Director

Joanna joined WGANJ in 2020 to meet other women golfers and have the opportunity to explore new courses. Despite the late start of the season, both of these goals were reached with several new golf friends and new courses played.

Knowing what it takes people to have an organization run smoothly, Joanna is volunteering to help with the website.

Having spent 40 years as an Electrical Engineer in the telecommunications field she now keeps busy with yoga, pottery, gardening, skiing, recently knitting, and of course, golf.

Susan Amdur-Coburn

Communications Director

Sue has been a member of WGANJ since 2016 when she decided to look for more opportunities to play golf. She started out by joining one of the golf leagues, which turned out to be a great experience. Sue decided to volunteer with the WGANJ Board in order to give back to the organization and serves in the role as Communications Director. Sue owns her own business providing operations and administrative support to small businesses. Aside from golf, Sue enjoys gardening and playing pickleball.

Dani Richards

Director of Social Media

Dani Richards is a captain of an intermediate league and former Board Secretary, and values the friends she has made since joining WGANJ in 2016. In her new role as Social Media Director, she will work with marketing and communications to build WGANJ engagement on social media.   She is the owner of Danielle Richards Photography, LLC,  specializing in event and portrait photography, and is a licensed drone pilot.  She is also the founder of Bestie Booth, which provides photo booths for corporate and private events.

Tammy Baudisch

Operations Director

Tammy joined WGANJ in 2019 as a beginner golfer with a strong interest in learning the game. Over time, her dedication and love for golf helped her move into the General League, where she enjoys both the competition and camaraderie of weekly league play. She also enjoys giving back by volunteering as a Captain for beginner golfers at Spook Rock.

Outside the course, Tammy brings more than 30 years of experience in IT roles within a PBM organization and supports WGANJ by helping with website operations. She values being part of a welcoming community that supports women's golf and is passionate about helping others discover and enjoy the game.

Melanie Tiplady

Membership Director

Melanie Tiplady joined the Women’s Golf Association of New Jersey in 2025 with the goal of learning how to play golf so she could spend more time with the men in her family. What began as a new skill for the next phase of life quickly turned into a passion.  She discovered an immediate sense of belonging within her beginner’s league. The camaraderie, encouragement, and shared experiences with fellow golfers made her feel right at home in the WGANJ community.

Melanie loves the unique balance golf offers — the individual challenge of the game combined with the opportunity to connect with others and spend meaningful time in community, even with people she has just met on the course. Having spent many years working in service-oriented industries, Melanie is a natural connector and is energized by bringing people together through shared experiences.

As Membership Director, Melanie looks forward to welcoming golfers of all ages and abilities and is especially passionate about encouraging more women to learn and enjoy the game of golf.  When she’s not on the course, Melanie enjoys playing pickleball, participating in a variety of group fitness classes with her daughter and having lots of laughs with her friends.

Sharon White

Membership Director

Sharon has been a member of WGANJ since 2022. Joining the group has given her the opportunity to play golf more consistently with women who share a love for the game, and who also offer support and learning opportunities for golfers of all skill levels.

She has played golf for over 20 years on and off, balancing the sport alongside family and career. She has more than 25 years of experience in pharmaceutical sales and marketing and has consistently encouraged all to try the game of golf. She believes that golf allows her to experience joy and peace, while enjoying the challenges of the game.   

Sharon is excited to be an active member of WGANJ and the Membership Committee and looks forward to supporting current members while helping grow the membership.

Irene Moy

Volunteer Director

Deb Paster

Logistics Director

Deb joined WGANJ in 2023 as a new golfer. She was looking for a supportive and comfortable way to get started. After taking advantage of the free loaner program, at one of the many fun WGANJ events, she won her first set of golf clubs!!!
She interpreted it as "a sign from the golf gods that I had made the right choice and should stick with it!”
Because WGANJ is an organization run by volunteers, she feels it is important to pitch in and pay it forward.

Susan Zangara

Logistics Director

Linda Walters

Logistics Director

Linda joined WGANJ in 2021, as a new golfer and fell in love with the game after completing the beginner program at the Paramus Golf Course. Now retired, she enjoys dedicating her time to the game of golf and the camaraderie it brings. Through WGANJ, she has met many great friends and values the strong sense of community and connection the association provides.