Official Site of The State of New Jersey
Healthy New Jersey
Workgroups, committees, and councils
The HNJ Team consists of a Coordinating Committee comprised of NJDOH staff, an Advisory Council comprised of external partners, and Action Teams for specific Topic Areas. Click the bars below for more information about each group.
The Healthy New Jersey Coordinating Committee (HNJCC) is a small group of NJDOH staff members tasked with managing the development, launch, implementation, and maintenance of the HNJ project.
Members represent the Office of Population Health, Public Health Services, Integrated Health Services, and Health Systems branches of the NJDOH.
Current Members
- Camilla Comer-Carruthers, Population Health, HNJ Coordinator
- Maria Baron, Center for Health Statistics
- Loretta Kelly, Population Health
- Amanda Medina-Forrester, Minority and Multicultural Health
- Steven Moffett, Center for Health Statistics
- Wendy Sheay, Local Public Health
Former Members
- Yannai Kranzler, Population Health
- Allison Shippy, Health Facilities
- Corynna Limerick, Local Public Health
- Suzanne Miro, Communicable Disease Service
- Kaitlyn Woolford, Public Health Services
- Kelly Anderson-Thomas, Integrated Health
- Marisol Meyer, Population Health
- Andrea Mahon, Community Health
- Yvonne Mikalopas, Oral Health Services
- Jennifer Fearon, Policy and Legislative Services
Meeting minutes from all Healthy New Jersey workgroups are on the Meetings and Events page.
The Healthy New Jersey Advisory Council (HNJAC) is a small team of external partners charged with guiding the HNJ process from development through implementation. The HNJAC supports the work of the HNJ Coordinating Committee (HNJCC), including selection of topic areas, objectives, and leading health indicators and assistance with recruitment of Action Team (ACT) members. In the long-term, council members will guide, edit, and write portions of the next State Health Assessment (SHA) and State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP). All Council positions are unpaid.
Current Members
- Alycia Bayne, NORC at the University of Chicago
- Arthur Horn, Educational Opportunity Fund at Rowan College of South Jersey
- Bageshree Cheulkar, Community Based Services at Virtua Health
- Diane Hagerman, Rutgers Equity Alliance for Community Health
- Elizabeth Schedl, Hudson Pride Center
- Eva Mancheno, Community Food Bank of New Jersey
- Jeanne Herb, Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University
- Lynne Algrant, Greater Bergen Community Action
- Marissa Davis, New Jersey YMCA State Alliance
- Megan Avallone, New Jersey Association of County and City Health Officials
- Melissa Fox, Acenda Integrated Health
- Peri L. Nearon, NJDHS Division of Disability Services
- Administrative Support: Julia Wieczorek, New Jersey YMCA State Alliance
Former Members
- Camilla Comer-Carruthers, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital
- Laura O’Reilly Stanzilis, The North Jersey Health Collaborative
- Alysia Mastrangelo, Stockton University
- John Sarno, Employers Association of New Jersey
- Kwaku Gyekye, RWJBarnabas Health - Jersey City Medical Center
- Regina Riccioni, Saint Elizabeth University
- Sherry Dolan, Community and Urban Health at Capital Health
- Tyree Oredein, Montclair State University
- Victoria Brogan, New Jersey Hospital Association
The Phase II HNJAC application period was from August 30 to September 30, 2021.
A membership description and application form were posted online and links to it were posted on the DOH home page, as well as on DOH's Twitter and Facebook pages. DOH emailed a recruitment announcement to hundreds of potential candidates, including all Local Health Officers and HNJ Newsletter subscribers. Members of the Phase I Advisory Council, Coordinating Committee, and HNJ2020 workgroup were asked to forward the email to their partners. The New Jersey YMCA State Alliance emailed the recruitment announcement to its 5,000-member contact list.
Fifty-five applications were received during the month-long recruitment period. Applications will be reviewed during the month of October to select a competent, credible, compatible, and diverse team to provide fresh perspectives on maximizing HNJ2030's overall success.
The Phase I HNJAC application period ran from March 11 to April 30, 2019.
A membership description and application form were posted online and links to it were posted on the home pages for DOH, the Office of Population Health, and DSRIP, as well as on DOH's Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram pages. Emails were sent to hundreds of potential candidates, members of the DOH internal HNJ2020 workgroup were asked to forward the email to their external partners, and the email was also specifically forwarded by the Office of Local Public Health to all Local Health Officers and the Governmental Public Health Partnership Coordinators for each county.
Fifty applications were received during the 6-week recruitment period. Over the following four months, a dozen staff members and partners reviewed the applications in order to select a competent, credible, compatible, and diverse team to provide fresh perspectives on maximizing HNJ2030's overall success. Selection of a small team to represent a large number of sectors and experiences throughout the state was a more lengthy and difficult task than anticipated due to the overwhelming response from so many well-qualified candidates.
Meeting minutes from all Healthy New Jersey workgroups are on the Meetings and Events page.
ACTs consist of DOH staff and external partners working in areas related to a specific Topic Area.
The initial tasks of each ACT are to:
- refine the focus issues and establish high-level goals for its Topic Area,
- create strategies and action plans to achieve those goals,
- establish SMART objectives with corresponding target values to be achieved by 2030.
After the development phase of HNJ2030 is completed, ACT tasks will include:
- implementation of the action plans,
- collection and reporting of the data associated with each objective, and
- annual review of the plans with updates made as needed.
Phase II (2022)
- Equitable Access Subcommittee
- Ryan Houser, chair
- Antonia Carbone
- Colleen Kendrick
- Elizabeth Hill
- Nadia Glenn
- Renata Svincicka
- Health Care Integration and Coordination Subcommittee
- Kandice Cooper, co-chair
- Natasha Moore, co-chair
- Health Information Technology Subcommittee
- Karen Acker, chair
- Barbara Gurskey
- Mackenzie Carey
- Martin Tryka
- Quality and Safety Subcommittee
- Sara Speer, chair
- Casi Golazewski
- Eva Besserman
- Julie Kalabalik-Hoganson
- Letitia Holloway-Owens
- Bageshree Cheulkar, Community Based Services at Virtua Health, co-chair
- Kwaku Gyekye, RWJBarnabas Health - Jersey City Medical Center, co-chair
- Debra Wentz, New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies
- Ivette Guillermo-McGahee, Allies in Caring
- Jonathan Tew, Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers
- Linda Schwimmer, New Jersey Health Care Quality Initiatives
- Roger Sarao, New Jersey Hospital Association
- Selina Haq, New Jersey Primary Care Association
- Steven Landers, Visiting Nurse Association Health Group
- Wendy Sheay, NJDOH Office of Local Public Health
- Yvonne Mikalopas, NJDOH Community Health Services
Phase II (2022)
- Community Services and Programs
- Jackie Bavaro, chair
- Carla Clements
- Cheryl Thomas-Nduati
- Karen Courtney
- Karen Shapiro
- Kathryna Corpuz
- Katie Bisaha
- Lauren Skowronski
- Manisha Agrawal
- Mary O'Dowd
- Melissa Feltmann
- Osa Osemwegie
- Paula Bloom
- Serena Collado
- Community Planning and Development
- Joel Torres, chair
- Andrea Malcolm
- Elyse Pivnick
- Jesselly De La Cruz
- Karen Shapiro
- Kety Rosario
- Maya Wahrman
- Melanie McDermott
- Environmental Health
- Christine Schell, chair
- Alec Ayers
- Anne Heasly
- Ashley Connor
- Barbara Goun
- Chelsea Brook
- Christina Hernandez
- Darby McDermott
- Donna Rendeiro
- Jen Senick
- Michelle Gil
- Rob Newby
- Sarah Mahmoud
Phase I (2020-2021)
- Diane Hagerman, New Jersey Health Initiatives, co-chair
- Jeanne Herb, Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University, co-chair
- Regina Riccioni, Saint Elizabeth University, co-chair
- Charles Brown, Rutgers' Voorhees Transportation Center
- Chris Kirk, NORWESCAP
- Elise Bremer-Nei, NJ Department of Transportation
- Karen Alexander, Rutgers University & New Jersey Travel Independent Network
- Kathleen Avitt, New Jersey Recreation and Park Association
- Kati Angarone, NJ Department of Environmental Protection
- Kimberly Birdsall, Health Coalition of Passaic County
- Lauren Skowronski, Sustainable Jersey
- Leigh Ann Von Hagen, Rutgers' Voorhees Transportation Center
- Loretta Kelly, NJDOH Office of Population Health
- Memphis Madden, Trenton Department of Health and Human Services
- Natassia Rozario, NJDOH Opioid Response and Policy
- Sherry Driber, NJ Department of Environmental Protection
Phase II (2022)
- Childhood Vaccination Subcommittee
- Jeni Sudhakaran, chair
- Erika Lobe
- Jennifer Smith
- Jessica Kutikov
- Kristin Pyne
- Lia Palapanis
- Meg Fisher
- Naveen Mehrotra
- Pat Whitley-Williams
- Robin Nemeroff
- Zachary Ehrlich
- Family Health Subcommittee
- Kenneth Fowlkes, chair
- Elizabeth Coulter
- John Nardi
- Kareem Lovelace-Crump
- Kathryna Corpuz
- M. Theresa Daniels
- Mary O'Dowd
- Tim Woody
- Maternal and Infant Health Subcommittee
- Brandie Wooding, co-chair
- Renee Kraus, co-chair
- Carly Slutzky
- Ellen Maughan
- Genevieve Lalanne-Raymond
- Julie Blumenfeld
- Lisa D'Amico
- Nelly Quinones
- Phygenia Nimoh
- Sanford Starr
- Shakila Woltz
- Sexually Transmitted Infections Subcommittee
- Amelia Hamarman, chair
Phase I (2020-2021)
- Alysia Mastrangelo, Stockton University, co-chair
- Tyree Oredein, Montclair State University, co-chair
- Victoria Brogan, New Jersey Hospital Association, co-chair
- Ana Lopes Johnson, Association of Black Women Physicians
- Andrea Mahon, NJDOH Community Health Services
- Barbara May, Southern New Jersey Perinatal Collaborative
- Carolyn DeBoer, Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern NJ
- Dave Ellis, NJDCF Office of Resilience
- Debbie Nazzaro, New Jersey State School Nurses' Association
- Ellen Maughan, New Jersey Breastfeeding Coalition
- Hannah Korn-Heiler, Advocates for Children of New Jersey
- Jennifer Fearon, NJDOH Office of Policy and Legislative Services
- Jessica Lipper, Nurse-Family Partnership
- Joanne Rosen, Samaritan
- Keri Logosso-Misurell, Greater Newark Healthcare Coalition
- Kimberly Pierre, Newark Trust for Education
- Linda Sloan Locke, American College of Nurse Midwives
- Lisa D'Amico, NJDOH Division of Family Health Services
- Marilyn Gorney-Daley, NJDOH Division of Family Health Services
- Pamela Taylor, NJDOH Division of Family Health Services
- Prachi Patel, Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern NJ
- Robyn D'Oria, Central Jersey Family Health Consortium
- Sandra Grebel, Preferred Behavioral Health Group
- Timothy Woody, NJDCF Office of Resilience
- Trish Suplee, Central Jersey Family Health Consortium
- Velda Font-Morris, Newark Department of Health and Community Wellness
Phase II (2022)
- Behavioral Health Subcommittee
- Sreelekha Prakash, co-chair
- Christine Scalise
- Debra Wentz
- Donna Lisi
- Kaitlyn Mazzilli
- Suzanne Borys
- Uta Steinhauser
- Clinical Preventive Services Subcommittee
- Pamela Tew, chair
- Ana Natale Pereira
- Mouy Pan
- Natasha Coleman
- Pauline Thomas
- Healthy Eating and Active Living Subcommittee
- Tiffany Neal, chair
- Amy Faus
- Ashley Costello
- Brenda Snow
- Christine Parauda
- Debra Palmer-Keenan
- Denise Lanza
- Heidi Gorniok
- Imge Uludogan
- Jennifer Hopkins
- Karen Long
- Kristina Favo
- Marisol Ortiz
- Marla Klein
- Melissa Vargas
- Nicole Whittaker
- Nyssa Entrekin
- Payal Arora
- Sandy Sherman
- Tina Kim
- Uta Steinhauser
- Injury and Violence Subcommittee
- Tracy Nerney, chair
- Bretta Jacquemin
- Dawn Doherty
- Frank Neary
- John Nardi
- Kate O'Connor
- Laura Cerutti
- Rob Clawson
- Stephanie Bonne
- Tim Seplaki
Phase I (2020-2021)
- Alycia Bayne, NORC at the University of Chicago, co-chair
- John Sarno, Employers Association of New Jersey, co-chair
- Sherry Dolan, Community and Urban Health at Capital Health, co-chair
- Angelo Valente, Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey
- Barbara Johnston, Mental Health Association of New Jersey
- Carolyn Beauchamp, Mental Health Association of New Jersey
- Diane Litterer, New Jersey Prevention Network
- Eva Mancheno, Food Bank of New Jersey
- Juliet Jones, NJDOH SNAP-Ed
- Laura Cerutti, TransOptions
- Meredith Yorkin, Hackensack Meridien at Pascack Valley Memorial
- Nashon Hornsby, NJDOH Division of Community Health
- Nicole Nazy, Morristown Medical Center
- Suzanne Miro, NJDOH Epidemiology, Environmental, and Occupational Health
- Tiffany Neal, New Jersey Healthy Communities Network
The Phase II ACT application period was from August 30 to September 30, 2021.
A membership description and application form were posted online and links to it were posted on the DOH home page, as well as on DOH's Twitter and Facebook pages. DOH emailed a recruitment announcement to hundreds of potential candidates, including all Local Health Officers and HNJ Newsletter subscribers. Members of the Phase I Advisory Council, Coordinating Committee, and HNJ2020 workgroup were asked to forward the email to their partners. The New Jersey YMCA State Alliance emailed the recruitment announcement to its 5,000-member contact list.
Fifty-one applications were received during the month-long recruitment period. Applications will be reviewed during the month of October.
The Phase I ACT application period ran from January 31 to February 28, 2020.
A membership description and application form were posted online and links to it were posted on the home pages for DOH and the Office of Population Health, as well as on DOH's Twitter and Facebook pages. Emails were sent to hundreds of potential candidates, members of the HNJAC and HNJCC were asked to forward the email to their external partners, and the email was also specifically forwarded by the Office of Local Public Health (OLPH) to all Local Health Officers and other OLPH contacts.
Over 100 applications were received during the 4-week recruitment period and ACT members were chosen by the Advisory Council members who chaired the respective Action Teams.
Meeting minutes from all Healthy New Jersey workgroups are on the Meetings and Events page.
