Official Site of The State of New Jersey

Christine Bakter, Deputy Director

Christine Bakter joined the Office of the Ombudsman for Individuals with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities and Their Families as Associate Director in February 2020. In this initial role, she supported the Ombudsman’s efforts to respond to individuals and families at the outset of the Covid-19 public health emergency, as well as developed and implemented the Office’s first website and case management database system. Promoted to Deputy Director in 2021, she continues to represent the Ombudsman’s Office with individuals, families, government entities, and other stakeholder groups. Additionally, her responsibilities now include the day-to-day oversight of office operations and the direct management of the intake and outreach operations teams.

Prior to joining the Office of the Ombudsman, Christine served as Director of Development for the Mercer County affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), where she was responsible for fund development planning, event execution, donor relations, communications, and grant writing for the organization. Early in her career, she worked in the private sector as a market research analyst and project manager, specializing in corporate reputations and customer satisfaction research.

Christine’s journey as a disability advocate began in 2001 when her oldest son was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Alarmed at the lack of autism awareness and weak federal response to autism at the time, Christine became involved with the Princeton-based National Alliance on Autism Research (NAAR), which later merged operations with Autism Speaks. During these years she participated in the federal and state advocacy programs of both organizations where she effectively built relationships with several Members of Congress, garnering support for the Combating Autism Act and its reauthorization, the Department of Defense Autism Research Program, and the Achieving a Better Life (ABLE) Act. In 2007, she became New Jersey’s first Statewide Advocacy Chair for the New Jersey Chapter of Autism Speaks and worked closely with fellow advocates to pass insurance reform requiring state-regulated health plans to cover evidence-based therapies for children with autism and other developmental disabilities.

Christine holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from The College of New Jersey.

Christine can be reached via email christine.bakter@treas.nj.gov or 609-984-3981.