2024 Thanksgiving Ball Gala Honorees
Judith Schumacher-Tilton and Stephen Tilton
Judi Schumacher-Tilton has led the New Jersey Coalition of Auto Retailers (NJ Car) and over 200 dealers in support of The Valerie Fund since 2014. Judy has been a champion for the sickle cell program, seeking to highlight and support this underserved community.
Together NJ Car and New Jersey Auto Retailers have raised over $3 million for The Valerie Fund, supporting the growth of two additional Valerie Fund Children’s Centers in this time frame. The 2021 campaign with NJ Car, in particular, raised awareness of the sickle cell community and has been instrumental in expanding The Valerie Fund's hematology support offerings including the dedicated Nurse Navigator position at Morristown Memorial Center, Goryeb Children’s Hospital.
In addition to serving on the board of the Valerie Fund, Judith Schumacher-Tilton is president of Schumacher Chevrolet Auto Group, with five Chevrolet dealerships and one Buick dealership, all located in northern New Jersey.
Ms. Schumacher-Tilton is the president of the New York Chevrolet LMA Board. She is the past chairman of the General Motors Women’s Dealer Advisory Council and the former chairwoman of the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers (NJCar.org); being the first woman ever to hold that position. Judith is also a former director for Oritani Bank.
Locally, Judith serves on the Montclair State University Foundation Board, the Passaic County 200 Club Trustee Board, and the board of WASCO.
Judith was recognized as an Ally Dealer Hero by Ally Financial and was featured in an advertising campaign, highlighting automotive dealers who make a difference in their communities. She was selected for her extensive charitable work, specifically her family's non-profit organization, Give the Kids Hope Foundation, Inc.
Husband Steve is the Chairman and CEO of Tilton Securities, LLC, and supports Judi as the Chairman of Tilton Automotive, LLC. He also serves as the Chairman of Chaumont Holdings, Inc., Fletcher Holdings, LLC, and Lottery Hill Holdings, LLC,
Stephen R. Tilton earned his Bachelor of Arts in History with a minor in Economics at St. Michael’s College in Burlington, VT. He also attended the New York Institute of Finance for three years.
Judi and Steve are residents of Montclair, New Jersey. They have three children and six grandchildren. In their free time, they enjoy playing golf at one of the many clubs they hold memberships.
Ann Stocknoff, LCSW- Social Worker
Ann is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has been working for Atlantic Health System for the last 26 years and joined the Pediatric Hematology Oncology team at The Valerie Fund Children’s Center at Goryeb Children’s Hospital and Overlook Medical Center in 2007 where she began caring for patients with blood disorders and cancer. Ann’s educational background includes receiving her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Literature from Ithaca College in 1989, followed by receiving her Master’s in Social Work from Smith College in 1993.
Ann practiced in a variety of settings including adult inpatient psychiatry and outpatient mental health services, in addition to managing an employee assistance program. After several years, Ann transitioned to a position at Morris County Regional Day School while maintaining her own private practice, prior to making the move to Goryeb Children’s Hospital.
Ann’s foundational education in combination with her diverse employment and life experiences has enabled her to successfully care for patients and families over the last three decades. In her practice, her psychodynamic clinical training has enabled her to successfully support therapeutic counseling interventions while offering referrals to concrete community-based resources. Being able to support a patient and their family through some of the hardest and most vulnerable moments in their lives is where Ann thrives. Ann’s passion and commitment to her patients, their families, and her entire team truly is remarkable and unmatched.
Amongst her psychosocial team, Ann is looked to as a role model and loves to mentor staff. She is patient, kind and committed to assisting her peers with both professional and personal challenges so that they can grow, prosper and have fulfilling lives and careers. Ann is sought out to assist patients and peers in crisis, where she can successfully deescalate situations by utilizing her compassion, experience, and calming approach. Her collaboration with the team, allows her to provide comprehensive assessment, advocacy, support, and therapeutic intervention to every unique circumstance.
Ann actively participates in multiple division, departmental, hospital-based and interstate committees. .Ann attends the Pediatric Neuro Oncology Tumor Board monthly, she sits on the Atlantic Health Social Work PACT Committee, The Parent Advisory Board, the Goryeb Hospital Pediatric Bereavement Task Force, The Disabilities Business Resource Group and has a leadership role in the Goryeb Children’s Hospital Social Work Consortium.
In celebration of her commitment to patients and their families, Ann has obtained numerous awards from various organizations. From Atlantic Health alone, Ann has earned over 20 PRIDE awards in the categories of Purpose, Respect, Innovation, and Extraordinary Caring. These are representative of her peers’ appreciation, respect, and gratefulness. In addition, she has received several highly coveted PRIDE In Action recognitions awarded to her by her managers. Additionally, Ann has received multiple Hope Strength and Joy Awards from the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
As you can see, Ann has an unwavering dedication to her role and to this very special patient population. Ann truly loves partnering with families and she feels lucky and privileged to get to make a difference for families every single day at work. She will tell you there are many difficult gut-wrenching moments when you are working in this specialization but, there are more joyous moments. Just ask her and she will tell you!
