Q&A with Ron Chen, the new Public Advocate
For more on Ron Chen, click here to read a recent profile in the Star Ledger, and click here to read his opening statement before the New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee during his confirmation hearing. Where did you grow up? I was born in Stamford, Connecticut and was raised in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey. Where is your family from? Both my parents came over from China after World War II to go to school. My dad was from Shanghai and my Mom was from Szechuan province. I have a brother who was raised with me in New Jersey and has lived in Hong Kong for the last 10 years. Where did you go to school? Growing up, I attended public schools in Berkeley Heights and then went to Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire for secondary school. I attended Dartmouth College and majored in both chemistry and Latin and then went to Rutgers Law School in Newark. What was your first job? My first real job was clerking for Judge Leonard Garth at the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. I consider him a professional mentor and father figure. He taught me much about the law and how it should work. What are your hobbies? Rowing. I was varsity manager during high school and college. I became a licensed referee during law school, and I refereed Princeton and Rutgers home races and also served on the jury during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. I am currently Vice President of the Board for the U.S. Rowing Association. Who has influenced you with regard to your career objectives? I am very lucky to have had many professional mentors such as Judge Garth, who taught me about the law and how it should work, the late Arthur Kinoy, who taught me constitutional law, and Frank Askin, my senior colleague at Rutgers who taught me about public interest advocacy. On a personal level, my grandmother was a great source of inspiration. She was an outspoken, very well known activist who flew across the United States during the 1940s raising money for Chinese refugees. What did you like most about being at Rutgers Law School? Having the opportunity to teach first year students how to think about things in a new way and how to have a broader perspective. I also enjoyed working cooperatively with independent-minded colleagues. What appeals to you most about the position and the mission of the Public Advocate? There’s no job that could be more fulfilling for someone dedicated to public interest advocacy than to be able to provide an independent look at state and local government and work with people of good will to make things better for New Jerseyans. I think this agency can do a tremendous amount of good for the people of New Jersey and I’m excited to get to work. What qualities do you think you bring to the office of the Public Advocate? I bring a lot of experience in public interest advocacy and I hope I bring a fresh and independent perspective on the issues facing our state. What will be some of the challenges in bringing back the department after 12 years? Creating a comprehensive unified advocacy program will be a challenge – a lot of the advocacy units have been functioning independently for the past 12 years. The department historically has had a reputation for addressing the needs of the most vulnerable; to be able to pick up that tradition is a great honor and responsibility. What kind of environment are you most comfortable working in? I enjoy working in open and interactive environments, where everyone has the opportunity to weigh in on an issue and have their voice be heard. A collaborative and diverse environment allows folks to work together in order to arrive at a solution. What will be your first initiative? There are a lot of issues we’d like to address, but since we are just starting a new department we are going to have to be strategic about the issues we pick because we don’t have many resources right now. Our first major initiative is going to be an examination of the use of eminent domain in New Jersey for private development. Eminent domain can be an important tool for revitalizing communities, but there are also lots of concerns about eminent domain being abused. I think it’s a very important issue that impacts a lot of people, so we’re going to take a look at it, and, in particular, we want to hear from New Jersey citizens about their views on this issue. What kinds of qualities did you look for in employees when putting together the department? The Department of the Public Advocate has to be an environment that is very accessible and open to the public. I looked for people who are committed to public interest advocacy and who bring a diverse perspective. Diversity is very important for what we do, both in providing different input and in determining what the public interest is. I also want people who can challenge and teach me what they know because, like everyone, I have a lot to learn. Where do you see this department in a year? Where do you see it in four years? Within a year I hope we are fully up and running and fully engage in serving all the constituencies that we’re charged with serving. It’s difficult to predict where we’ll be in four years, but in general I hope we can look back and we’ll have built a solid record of accomplishment, and that we will have made our state and local governments more accountable and effective. I hope we’ll be able to say we’ve done our part to improve the lives of New Jerseyans. Who is your favorite Author? I’m partial to Dan Brown. We went to the same high school; his father was my math teacher. What motivates you to put forth your best effort everyday? When you’re a lawyer, your client is your motivation. When you’re a professor, your clients are your students and they look to you to teach and educate them. The Public Advocate works for the entire state of New Jersey and the greatest motivation is knowing that if this department does not stand up for the most underrepresented, those communities may not ever get the attention they deserve. |
