Board Members
Mark Mekota
President of Care For Others
Mark is the President and one of the founding members of Care For Others. Care for Others is a faith based non-profit organization that work with individuals and families avoid the throngs of poverty by issuing "independent living grants".
Mark is a graduate of Lake Erie College with a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and a minor in Finance. He was a partner of Invisible Fence Company of Northeast Ohio for 22 years and JGB Distributing Inc. (a wholesale electronic distribution company). He operated retail locations in Ohio, Michigan. Illinois, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Florida and Wisconsin.
Mark has been a member of St Helen’s parish for over 30 years. He has volunteered with the Geauga County department of Jobs and family services for over 15 years, working on various projects, sponsoring families, and delivering food and gifts during the holidays. He has also volunteered with the American Cancer Society (Lake and Geauga county), American Heart association and participated in raising money for Autism, Leukemia and breast cancer.
Mark has 3 adult children and lives in Marco Island, FL with his wife Mary.
Jim DiLella
Vice President of Care For Others
Jim DiLella is Vice President and one of the founding members of Care For Others. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from Seton Hall University and is a past president of Sigma Tau Gama Fraternity.
Jim was president of American Leather in Rahway, NJ for 10 years before relocating to Ohio in 1996. He has been president of Conneaut Leather in Conneaut, OH for the last 14 years.
Jim serves on the Board of Leather Industries of America and is a member of the Ashtabula Growth Partnership.
Jim has one adult son and resides on Kiawah Island, SC with his wife Laura.
Laura DiLella
Secretary of Care For Others
Laura DiLella is the secretary and one of the founding members of Care For Others. Laura earned her Bachelor’s degree in Nursing from Trenton State College and her Masters degree in Counseling and Human Development from Montclair State University. Laura retired from a career in Nursing in 1984 after a successful 10-year tenure in supervision and management at Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, New Jersey. After retiring from nursing Laura began a second career as a psychosocial oncology counselor at Hackensack Medical Center in Hackensack, New Jersey. In 1996 Laura and her husband Jim relocated to Ohio where she was able to devote more time to volunteering at school programs and a county run Crisis Intervention hotline.
Laura is responsible for taking all incoming calls, supervising the application process and acting as the applicant advocate during the Board Review.
Laura has one adult son and resides on Kiawah Island, SC with her husband Jim.
Mary Mekota
Board Member
Mary Mekota is Treasurer and one of the founding members of Care For Others.
Mary has worked for Invisible Fence of Northeast Ohio and JGB Distributing, Inc. for over 20 years. She handles day-to-day bookkeeping transactions for Care For Others.
Mary has three adult children and lives in Marco Island, FL with her husband Mark.
Kristen Mekota
Treasurer of Care For Others
Kristen Mekota is the Treasurer of Care for Others. She earned her bachelor's degree in accounting and finance from Mercyhurst College in Erie, PA. She is a Senior Associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers where she has been working on private company's audits for the past five years.
Kristen resides in University Heights with her husband Chris.
Steven Thompson
Board Member
Steve is the Investment Specialist for Skylight Financial Group with 17 years of experience in the investment arena. In addition, he is a Special Care Planner having made a commitment to serve people with disabilities and their families. As a member of the Michael Carter Financial Group, Steve’s objective is to help clients reach their financial goals, through the use of comprehensive, integrated financial planning.
He is a graduate of Miami University with a Bachelors of Science Finance degree. Steve also holds a Masters of Science in Financial Services, MSFS, from the Institute of Business and Finance.
Steve holds the following FINRA registrations: FINRA Series 24 (General Securities Principal); FINRA Series 53 (Municipal Securities Principal) and FINRA Series 4 (Registered Options Principal). He has also earned the Board Certified in Asset Allocation (BCAA), Certified Annuity Specialist (CAS) & CFS designation.
He has recently spoken at conferences around the country about Special Care Planning. These conferences include the 2009 World Congress on Disabilities (WCD) Expo in Jacksonville, FL and the 2010 MassMutual Academy in Phoenix, AZ and Baltimore, MD.
Steve currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors for Easter Seals Northern Ohio chapter and has volunteered with numerous nonprofit organizations, including: Fieldstone Farms-equine therapeutic riding for Special Needs children, Care for Others and Twins Days. Steve resides in Chagrin Falls with his wife, Vanessa and their three children.
