Our Team's Bios

Christopher R. Schiavone
Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer & Principal
Mr. Schiavone’s experience in operating golf courses began with his family’s decades of experience owning and operating Fiddler’s Elbow Country Club, a 54-hole private country club in Bedminster, New Jersey. Mr. Schiavone is also co-founder of Dartcor Food Service, which owns and operates corporate food service facilities. The New Jersey Business Magazine rated Dartcor as one of Northern New Jersey’s Top 20 Privately Held Companies. In addition, Chris Schiavone was named Entrepreneur of the Year for the hospitality industry by the Morris County (New Jersey) Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Schiavone received an AB in Government from Dartmouth College.

Mr. Schiavone is involved in philanthropic activities and is a former Chairman of New Jersey Special Olympics. Mr. Schiavone co-founded the Higgins Classic charity outing at Fiddler’s Elbow Country Club more than a decade ago, which has raised more than million for New Jersey Special Olympics since its inception. In addition, Mr. Schiavone founded the Forsgate Foundation Charity Golf Classic which hosts an annual Pro-Am Skins Golf Tournament to benefit a variety of charities, which have included, Ronald McDonald House, March of Dimes, Make A Wish, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and several central-New Jersey based charities.

Kaitlin Hogan
Assistant to the President
Mrs. Hogan has been an integral part of this company since 2014. She serves as assistant to Christopher Schiavone and over the years has gained valuable experience in almost every facet of the business. Besides assisting Mr. Schiavone, she is responsible for overseeing our clubs' marketing and social media accounts. 

Born and raised in New Jersey, Kaitlin graduated summa cum laude from Rowan University with a degree in public relations and advertising, as well as graduating summa cum laude with an education degree from Kean University.

Detlev Williams
V.P. of Operations
Mr. Williams returns to Metropolitan Golf Group as VP of Operations. During his absence from Forsgate, where he previously held the position of General Manager, he served as the Club Manager at Shackamaxon Country Club for four years. In the intervening years between Forsgate and Shackamaxon, Det held GM positions at Trump DC, Rock Barn Country Club and Spa, and Hawk Pointe Golf Club.

Ronald Schiavone
General Manager
Mr. Schiavone got his start at Forsgate Country Club, well before he considered a career in hospitality. Since high school, he has spent every summer learning all about the various departments. First, he started on the grounds crew and washing cars. Now over a decade later, he oversees the growth of several F&B operations at various clubs. Having gained experience in almost every area of country club service, Mr. Schiavone is often tapped to assist General Managers at their current clubs, or assume the position in the interim when necessary.

He graduated from Rollins College in 2015 with a bachelor's in political science.  In 2020, he helped successfully transition Tam O'Shanter from private to public. Most recently, he serves as General Manager of Crescent Pointe Golf Club and Eagle's Pointe Golf Club.

Jennifer Edelman
Director of Human Resources
Mrs. Edelman's career in Human Resources began as the Human Resources Manager at the Sheraton Pentagon South, a Starwood Hotel, located in Northern Virginia. As Human Resources Manager Jennifer was responsible for administration of benefits as well as hiring, training, and counseling of all the hotel's employees. In October 2001, Jennifer was promoted to be the Director of Human Resources in Baltimore Maryland at the Sheraton Baltimore. At this property, which employed over 500 employees, she was responsible for all aspects of the Human Resources and training department and the direct supervision of 5 Human Resources employees.

In September 2005, Jennifer joined Metropolitan Golf Group as the Corporate Director of Human Resources. In this capacity, she oversees all aspects of our Human Resources department for all the company's owned and managed properties.

Born and raised in Northern Virginia, Jennifer graduated from University of Maryland Baltimore County with a degree in History.

Lemia Marinelli
C.F.O.
Mrs. Marinelli’s career in accounting began at Disney Direct Marketing Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company. As Staff Accountant, Mrs. Marinelli reconciled bank statements and balance sheets and was responsible for the administration of the organization’s royalty program/payments.

In December 1994, Mrs. Marinelli left Disney to become Staff Accountant at the renowned Forsgate Country Club in Monroe Township, New Jersey. Within one year, she was promoted to Accounting Supervisor for the club. Mrs. Marinelli joined Metropolitan Golf Group as Assistant Controller/Accounting Manager when the company acquired Forsgate Country Club in 1997.

In 2003, Mrs. Marinelli was promoted to Controller and in April of 2006, she was named Corporate Controller. In this capacity, Mrs. Marinelli supervises all accounting operations for our corporate office as well as the company’s owned and managed properties. Born and raised in New Jersey, Mrs. Marinelli graduated magna cum laude from Rider University with a degree in Accounting.

Michael Ingenito
Controller
Mr. Ingenito’s accounting career began at Shaughnessy, Giella & Co. in 1997. As Staff Accountant, Michael reconciled bank statements, balance sheets and was responsible for preparation of client Financial Statements. In 1998, Michael moved to Brick, NJ. He left Shaughnessy, Giella & Co. to become a Bookkeeper at Ocean Chevrolet in Toms River, New Jersey. Michael’s responsibilities included bank reconciliations, balance sheet preparation and working with the Finance Department in reviewing and reconciling bank funding. In 2004, he was promoted to Controller for both Ocean Chevrolet & Toms River Mazda.

Michael joined Metropolitan Golf Group as a Staff Accountant in February, 2008. Within a year Michael was promoted to Assistant Controller. In this capacity, he prepares monthly financial statements as well as balance sheet reconciliations for our clubs. He assists in accounting operations for Metropolitan Golf Group and other corporate entities.

Born and raised in New Jersey, Michael graduated from Bergen Community College with a degree in Accounting. 

Rakesh Sarkar
F&B Operations Manager
Mr. Sarkar’s has worked in virtually every aspect of the restaurant industry. Born in India, Rakesh earned a Bachelor’s degree at the Queen Margaret University College in the United Kingdom in international hospitality management. Following his formal education, he started working at Marriott Renaissance Mumbia before moving to the United States. After moving to New York, Rakesh worked at Inwood Country Club and Middle Bay Country Club and worked his way up from restaurant manager to food and beverage director before starting at Forsgate Country Club. His employment with Metropolitan Golf Group started in 2013, as the Food & Beverage Manager. He has over 15 years of experience with food and beverage operations and extensive background in club operations and event planning. He developed service standards and operational policies to effectively control and reduce costs while improving member satisfaction.

Stephen Kay
Golf Course Architect
Mr. Kay is an award-winning golf course architect who has been in practice since 1983 and has been affiliated with work on over 300 new and renovated projects in the United States and overseas. He prides himself by blending the classic principles of design in this highly technical modern era. His extensive experience restoring Tillinghast, Ross, Travis, Emmet, Banks, Trent Jones and others is second to none.

A list of awards Stephen has won is available online at http://kaygolfcoursedesign.com/awards/. To view a list of the courses he has worked on go to http://www.worldgolf.com/golf-architects/stephen-kay.html. Stephen Kay also teaches courses at Rutgers University’s Turf School. He started working for Metropolitan Golf Group over fifteen years ago.

Dr. August Leming
Elevate Fitness
Dr. Leming is an internationally recognized expert in human motivation, behavior change, and performance psychology. He has been invited to speak at Yale University, Princeton University, and Williams College among many other respected academic institutions in the United States. August has also worked around the globe, consulting with Qatar Gas in Doha, Qatar, City Fitness Group Ltd., in Wellington, New Zealand and Philippines Magazine International in Manilla, Philippines.

As an expert in human motivation, August begins by facilitating the individual's definition of success. He invites people to consider the lessons that are held within their own lives, bodies, and hearts. Teacher and student work together to apply a unique and synergistic combination of psychology, spirituality, and physical education toward a higher level of performance.

He attended Columbia University, where he earned a B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Philosophy. He completed his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at Seton Hall University, where he also served as an Adjunct Professor in Adolescent Psychology, Child Psychology and Statistics. August's pioneering academic work earned him the American Psychological Association's Outstanding Professional Development Award in 2003. He has been invited to speak at both the American Psychological Association and Eastern Psychological Association annual meetings. August started managing Metropolitan Golf Group’s sports and fitness complex five years ago.