Westfield Woman Named Trustee With Court Appointed Special Advocates

WESTFIELD, NJ — Westfield's own Kristin Kiefer joined the board of trustees of Elizabeth-based Court Appointed Special Advocates of Union County. CASA is a nonprofit that recruits, trains, supervises and supports community volunteers to advocate for abused, neglected, abandoned and vulnerable Union County youth in the child welfare system.

Prior to her 2021 retirement, Kiefer was managing director at FinPro Inc., in Gladstone, focusing on facilitating acquisitions, raising capital, improving operations, and ensuring legal and regulatory compliance. Kiefer enjoyed a distinguished career in financial institution regulation, ending as the Deputy Comptroller in-charge of the Northeastern District in New York with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Earlier she also supervised bank portfolios in New York, New Jersey, California, and Minnesota. Kiefer earned her bachelor’s degree in finance from St. Cloud State University and her MBA from the University of California at Berkeley.

"Joining the CASA of Union County Board of Trustees is ideal; I’m able to combine the leadership skills I’ve honed during my professional life with my need to contribute within my own community in an intentional, meaningful way," Kiefer said, "I’m thrilled to be part of such an impactful organization focused entirely on advocating for our county’s most vulnerable youth."

Trained CASA volunteers have court-ordered access to foster parents, biological parents, doctors,
caseworkers, therapists and teachers, and ensure their assigned youth’s needs are met and best interests remain priority while in the child welfare system.