Governor Phil Murphy

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Senior Staff

Photo: George Helmy Portrait

George Helmy

Chief of Staff

George Helmy serves as Chief of Staff to the Governor.

A native of Jersey City, Helmy served as State Director to U.S. Senator Cory Booker for three years, serving on the Senator's senior staff and overseeing the day-to-day operations of his New Jersey offices. Prior to serving as State Director, he worked as Senator Booker’s state office Deputy Chief of Staff for two years. Prior to serving in Senator Booker’s office, he worked in the private sector with two Fortune 100 companies and served as an aide to the late U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg, handling issues such as gun safety and financial affairs.

Helmy currently lives in Morris County with his wife and two children. He received his Bachelors of Arts from Rutgers University and a Master’s degree from Harvard University.

 

 

photo: Parimal Garg

Parimal Garg

Chief Counsel

Parimal Garg currently serves as Chief Counsel to Governor Philip D. Murphy.

From 2018 to 2020, Parimal served as Deputy Chief Counsel, advising the Governor on a variety of matters affecting his Administration, including legislation, executive orders, litigation, regulations, and public policy issues.

Prior to becoming Deputy Chief Counsel, he served as a Senior Policy Advisor during the 2017 gubernatorial campaign, helping formulate the campaign’s substantive positions. Prior to joining the campaign, he clerked for New Jersey Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner. He previously worked as an attorney at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP in Washington, DC, where his practice focused on antitrust matters, financial investigations, and appellate arguments.

Parimal received his B.A. from Georgetown University, magna cum laude, and J.D. from Harvard Law School, cum laude. He grew up in Lawrenceville, NJ and resides in Jersey City, NJ.

Photo of Dennis Zeveloff

Dennis Zeveloff

Chief Policy Advisor

Dennis Zeveloff serves as the Chief Policy Advisor to the Governor.

He previously served as Deputy Chief Policy Advisor and has worked in the Governor’s Policy Office since the start of the Murphy administration in January 2018. During his time in the Governor’s Policy Office, he helped launch major initiatives, coordinated state and federal spending proposals, and oversaw the composition of several of Governor Murphy’s budgets. Prior to the administration, Zeveloff worked on Governor Murphy’s 2017 campaign and his transition team. Before he returned to his home state, he focused on education and community and economic development policy.

Zeveloff received his B.A. from Dartmouth College, cum laude, and his J.D. and M.B.A from Yale University.

photo: Christine Guhl Sadovy

Christine Guhl Sadovy

Cabinet Secretary

Christine Guhl Sadovy serves as Cabinet Secretary, working as the primary liaison between the Governor’s Cabinet and the Governor’s Office.

She joined the Murphy Administration at the Board of Public Utilities, where she rose to the position Chief of Staff, helping to spearhead Governor Murphy’s clean energy agenda. During her time at NJBPU, she worked on several key initiatives of the Administration including the 2019 Energy Master Plan, implementation of the 2018 Clean Energy Act, and development of the State’s electric vehicle incentive program.

Prior to serving in the Murphy Administration, Christine worked as the Legislative and Political Director for Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey.  At Planned Parenthood, she worked to ensure the election of pro-women’s health candidatesto state office and advocated for the restoration of funding for family planning, the first piece of legislation Governor Murphy signed upon taking office.

Christine began her career working on energy and environmental issues with the Sierra Club as a representative of the Beyond Coal campaign, where she spent five years advocating for clean energy policies in New Jersey.

Christine is a lifelong New Jersey resident. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from Rutgers University and serves on the board of Anchor House, Inc., a Trenton-based youth homelessness organization. She lives in Lambertville with her seven-year-old son, Julian.

photo: Official portrait of Noreen Giblin

Noreen Giblin

Deputy Chief Counsel
Director of Authorities

Noreen Giblin serves as Deputy Chief Counsel and Director of the Authorities Unit for Governor Phil Murphy. 

A native of New Jersey, Noreen previously served as Cabinet Secretary to the Governor and as Chief Counsel at the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.  At NJBPU, Noreen worked on advancing Governor Murphy’s clean energy agenda, including the 2019 Energy Master Plan, the Offshore Wind inaugural solicitation, the establishment of the State’s first community solar program, and the transition of the state’s solar market.

Additionally, she has also served as Counsel at Gibbons P.C. representing businesses on legislative affairs, public policy, and government affairs matters.

During the Corzine Administration, Noreen served as Chief of Staff at the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and as the Chief Advisor to the President of the Board.  In this role, Noreen oversaw the day-to-day management of the Board, including core operational, financial, and human resources initiatives. 

Noreen formerly served as Director of Executive Office Operations for Governor Corzine and, before that, as State Director to United States Senator Frank Lautenberg, where she oversaw the staff and operations throughout New Jersey. She also served as Deputy Director of the Authorities Unit during the administration of Governor James McGreevey.

Giblin received her B.A. from Villanova University and J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law.

 photo:Lisa Almeida

Lisa Almeida

Deputy Chief Counsel

Previously, she served as Senior Counsel, advising the Governor on consumer affairs, environment, and energy matters. Prior to joining Counsel’s Office, Lisa focused on environmental litigation and policy. She worked for the Environmental Practice Group of the Division of Law within the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General for many years with an emphasis on environmental enforcement litigation, solid waste licensing, and Superstorm Sandy recovery. She graduated from Widener University School of Law in Wilmington, Delaware and from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology.

Photo: Portrait of Matthew Berns

Matthew Berns

Deputy Chief Counsel

Berns previously served as Chief Counsel in the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. In that role, he oversaw civil legal matters for the Department, including providing oversight for the Division of Law, the Division on Civil Rights, and the Division of Consumer Affairs. From 2018 to 2021, Matt served as Counsel and Senior Counsel to the Attorney General. Before joining the Office of the Attorney General, he spent three years at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he served as a Trial Attorney in the Federal Programs Branch of the Civil Division. Matt previously worked as an associate at Covington & Burling in Washington and clerked for Judge Thomas B. Griffith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and Georgetown University Law Center, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Georgetown Law Journal.

photo: Mahen Gunaratna

Mahen Gunaratna

Director of Communications

Mahen Gunaratna serves as Governor Murphy's Communications Director, leading and managing the Governor's communications team.

He previously served as Deputy Communications Director to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and, prior to that, worked as the Mayor’s Research Director and as an aide to his mayoral campaign.

In 2016, he served as Florida Communications Director for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign during the general election and as Florida Press Secretary and Connecticut Press Secretary during the primary. In 2012, he worked as New Mexico and Arizona Communications Director for Obama for America, serving as the President’s regional spokesman for the Southwest.

He is a former Communications Director to Congresswoman Frederica Wilson (D-FL) and Press Secretary to Congressman Kendrick Meek (D-FL). In 2010, served as Research Director to Congressman Meek’s campaign for U.S. Senate.

Mahen is a graduate of Georgetown University.

photo: Alexandra Altman Portrait

Alexandra Altman

Deputy Communications Director

Alexandra Altman serves as Deputy Communications Director to the Governor.

Previously, Altman served as Deputy Press Secretary, leading the communications and messaging strategy for key areas of the Governor’s agenda including climate action and clean energy, public health, and First Lady Tammy Murphy’s Nurture NJ initiative. Altman joined the Murphy Administration as Public Information Officer for the New Jersey Department of Corrections before moving to the Governor’s Office in the Fall of 2018.

Prior to serving in the Murphy Administration, Altman held roles as Assistant Director for Communications and Media Relations at the Institute for Advanced Study and Head of Communications and Customer Relationship Management at HelloFresh USA.

Altman holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Legal Studies and Political Science from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a Master of Arts degree in Political Science from Oklahoma State University.

Born and raised in New Jersey, Altman currently lives in Montgomery with her husband and two sons.

photo: portrait of Jennifer Sciortino

Jennifer Sciortino

Senior Advisor for Strategic Communications

 photo:Jayné J. Johnson Portrait

Jayné J. Johnson

Director
Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Stephanie Lagos

Stephanie Lagos

Chief of Staff to First Lady Tammy Murphy
Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor

Stephanie Lagos serves as Chief of Staff to First Lady Tammy Murphy and Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor

Previously, she was a Senior Policy Advisory to the Murphy for Governor campaign. Prior to that, she served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director to Assemblyman Schaer.

Stephanie holds a Master’s of Science in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University and a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Biology, Ecology, and Environmental Science from Christopher Newport University. She served for over two years in the United States Peace Corps working on Environmental Sustainability and Diplomacy.

photo:Michelle DeAngelo Portrait

Michelle DeAngelo

Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations

Michelle DeAngelo has served as Director of Operations at the New Jersey Governor’s Office since January 2021 and Director of Scheduling, Advance & Briefings since January 2018. As Director she coordinates the creation and execution of the Governor’s public events. DeAngelo plays a critical role in stakeholder partnerships, collaborating across state agencies and departments, and with external organizations for all of the Governor’s meetings and public engagements. DeAngelo also served as the Director of Scheduling for Murphy for Governor in 2017. She previously worked for the Office of Congressman Bill Pascrell Jr. in Paterson New Jersey from 2008 until 2017, as well as Pascrell for Congress as Deputy Campaign Manager in 2016. DeAngelo was born and raised in New Jersey and is a graduate of Montclair State University.

photo:Brianna Earle Portrait

Brianna Earle

Acting Deputy Chief of Staff for Outreach

Eric Brophy

Eric Brophy

Deputy Chief of Staff for Economic Growth

Eric Brophy serves as Deputy Chief of Staff for Economic Growth, managing economic affairs for the Governor’s Office.

Previously, Mr. Brophy served as Senior Advisor for Economic Growth in the Governor’s Office and as Executive Director of the Educational Facilities Authority.

Prior to his service in the Murphy Administration, Mr. Brophy was a partner at Diegnan & Brophy, LLC, where he practiced municipal law and civil litigation. Mr. Brophy is a graduate of the University of Scranton and Seton Hall University School of Law.  

Mr. Brophy was born and raised in New Jersey and is a resident of Monmouth County, where he lives with his wife, two sons and dog Eli.

photo: Tim Hillmann Portrait

Tim Hillmann

Deputy Chief of Staff for Government Affairs

Tim Hillmann serves as Governor Murphy’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Government Affairs

Previously, Tim served as the Governor’s Director of Appointments. Prior to joining the Murphy Administration in 2019, he spent nine years on the staff of Senator Bob Menendez, rising to the position of Deputy State Director. 

He is a graduate of Fordham University and resides in Metuchen with his wife Catherine, son Owen, and dog Gus.