New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency

DCA Announces 2011 Governor's Conference for Women Steering Committee

For Immediate Release:
February 25, 2011
Contact:
Hollie Gilroy
,
Lisa Ryan, Office of Communications
(609) 292-6055

Gail Gordon, Esq. of Fair Lawn will serve as Steering Committee Chair

TRENTON, N.J. – The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) today announced the Steering Committee for the 2011 New Jersey Governor’s Conference for Women to be held Tuesday, May 3, at the Atlantic City Convention Center in Atlantic City. This advisory group of prominent New Jersey women leaders and executives has committed to using their expertise, networks, and resources to advance the Conference’s goals and opportunities for women in the Garden State.
 
“The 2011 Governor’s Conference for Women promises to be our best ever, under the outstanding direction of our chair, Gail Gordon, and the commitment of an impressive and dedicated group of New Jersey women leaders,” said DCA Commissioner Lori Grifa. “We hope women – as well as men – will take advantage of the tremendous networking opportunity at the Conference and join us on May 3.”

This year’s Conference, "Read All About It," will offer a variety of workshops on women’s health and wellness, politics, personal finance, community, business and the economy.

Steering Committee members include:

  • Gail Gordon, Esq., Steering Committee Chair (Fair Lawn, NJ)
  • Laura Ahern, Director of Meridian Health (Neptune, NJ)
  • The Hon. Leanna Brown, former NJ State Senator (Chatham, NJ)
  • Mary Bentley-LaMar, Founder and Executive Director of The Sickle Cell Association of NJ (Newark, NJ)
  • Diana L. Buongiorno, Esq., Wolff & Samson PC (West Orange, NJ)
  • Ruthi Byrne, President of Zinn Graves & Field, Inc. (Florham Park, NJ)
  • Judy Chapman, Founder of Garden State Women (Long Valley, NJ)
  • Laura Coti Garrett, MS, RD, CEI, Realtime Nutrition, Inc. (Morristown, NJ)
  • Loredana Cromarty, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, Capital Impact Group (Trenton, NJ)
  • Teri Duda, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, Berkeley College (Woodland, NJ)
  • Reva Foster-Shropshire, NJ State Conference of the NAACP-WIN Chair (Willingboro, NJ)
  • Jessica Johannesen, Administrative Director of New Jersey Crime Victims’ Law Center (Whippany, NJ)
  • Jill Johnson, Co-Founder/Chief Operating Officer of the Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership (Plainfield, NJ)
  • Jeannine LaRue, Vice President of Public Affairs, Rutgers University (retired) (New Brunswick, NJ)
  • Jane MacNeil, President of Turn The Towns Teal® (Chatham, NJ)
  • Valerie Montecalvo, President of Bayshore Recycling Corporation (Keasbey, NJ)
  • Rebecca Perkins, President of The Perkins Partnership (Warren, NJ)
  • Wanda Saez, Vice President of Wells Fargo Bank (Trenton, NJ)
  • Eunice Salton, Principal at Creative Marketing Solutions, Inc. (Edison, NJ)
  • Kate Seewald, Executive Director of Merri-Makers Caterers (Edison, NJ)
  • Candy Straight, Private Investor and Director of Montpelier Re & Neuberger & Berman Mutual Funds (Bloomfield, NJ)
  • Liz Thomas, CEO of Thomas/Boyd Communications (Moorestown, NJ)
  • Debbie Walsh, Director of Center for American Women & Politics, Rutgers University (New Brunswick, NJ)
  • Melanie Willoughby, Senior Vice President of New Jersey Business & Industry Association (Trenton, NJ)
  • Lillie Wilson-Wells, President of National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc., Southern NJ Chapter (Wenonah, NJ)
  • Deborah Witcher Jackson, President of National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc. (Teaneck, NJ)
  • Helen Wronski, President and CEO of Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey (Randolph, NJ)
The Steering Committee will oversee the production of the conference sessions, panels and agenda for the state’s largest educational and networking opportunity for New Jersey women.

Registration is now open for the 2011 Governor’s Conference for Women. For more information or to register, log on to http://www.njwomensconference.com.