Director of Communications

Deborah Howlett was named as director of communications by Governor Corzine in February 2008. Howlett comes to the administration after spending three years at the Newark Star Ledger, the largest daily newspaper in New Jersey. Prior to her tenure at the Star Ledger, Howlett worked for USA Today in Chicago for 16 years, covering stories around the globe with datelines from more than a dozen countries.

Howlett has written on issues ranging from the United State’s war in Afghanistan, to Ross Perot’s 1992 presidential campaign, to the O.J. Simpson murder trial. Howlett was also a regular guest on “Beyond the Beltway,” a syndicated radio talk show about national politics based in Chicago. She is a contributing author to the book Desert Warriors, an account of servicemen and women who fought in the Gulf War.

Howlett received a bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Oregon and attended the University of Michigan as a journalism fellow. She now lives in Pennington with her life partner and two daughters.