30 Leaders for 30 Years LeadNJ honors some of the biggest names in the state

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Lead New Jersey, a statewide leadership organization, named its “30 Leaders for 30 Years” at a gala event held last week in Jersey City.The event, which honored individuals whose leadership has made “New Jersey a better place to live and work,” according to LeadNJ, also celebrated 30 years since the founding of the organization.

Since its first class in 1986, LeadNJ has graduated nearly 1,500 fellows, who have dedicated themselves to improving life in the state, it said in a news release.

“We are immensely proud of the leadership offered by LNJ fellows across the state over the past three decades,” Mark Murphy, LNJ president and fellow of the Class of 1991. “It was a tremendously challenging task to select just 30 individuals to receive this award, because each one of our fellows truly exemplifies our mission. Each has made a unique leadership contribution to their profession and toward improving life in our state.”

The honorees included:

• Michael Aron, chief political correspondent, NJTV;
• Dennis Bone, Class of 1992, director, Feliciano Center for Entrepreneurship, Montclair State University;
• Gloria Bonilla-Santiago, Class of 1991, Board of Governors Distinguished Service Professor, Rutgers University;
• Thomas Bracken, CEO and president, New Jersey Chamber of Commerce;
• Michael Catania, executive director, Duke Farms;
• Upendra Chivukula, Class of 1998, commissioner, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities;
• Henry A. Coleman, professor of public policy, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University;
• Linda M. Czipo, Class of 2003, CEO and president, Center for Non-Profits;
• Chris Daggett, CEO and president, Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation;
• Bernard Flynn, CEO, NJM Insurance;
• Douglas R. Forrester, Class of 1990, president, Integrity Health;
• Caren Franzini, Class of 1991, president, Franzini Consulting LLC;
• Angelo J. Genova, senior partner, co-founder and chairman, Genova Burns;
• Gwendolyn L. Harris, Class of 1988, executive director, Walter Rand Institute for Public Affairs, Rutgers-Camden;
• Eleanor Horne, trustee, Princeton Area Community Foundation;
• Barbara E. Kauffman, Class of 1991, executive vice president, Newark Regional Business Partnership;
• Ralph LaRossa, president and chief operating officer, Public Service Electric & Gas;
• Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, CEO and president, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation;
• Edward Lloyd, Evan M. Frankel Clinical Professor in Environmental Law, Columbia Law School;
• Amy B. Mansue, Class of 1996, president, Southern region, RWJBarnabas Health;
• Paul J. Matacera, Class of 1990, vice president, secretary and director, MBI GluckShaw;
• Scott McVay, LNJ founder, president, Chautauqua Institution;
• Mary P. O’Malley, vice president, corporate governance, Prudential Financial;
• Tom O’Neill, founding executive director, The Partnership of New Jersey;
• Monica S. Rivera, senior correction officer, New Jersey State Prison;
• Richard W. Roper, president, The Roper Group;
• Nina Stack, Class of 2006, president, Council of New Jersey Grantmakers;
• Bruce D. Stout, chair, Department of Criminology, The College of New Jersey;
• Art Weinbach, retired CEO, ADP;
• The Rev. Floyd L. White III, Class of 2000, president, Woodland Community Development Corporation;
• Cecilia Zalkind, Class of 1995, CEO and president, Advocates for Children of New Jersey.

“LeadNJ was one of the best experiences of my career,” Kauffman said in a statement. “The lifelong connections and friendships have proved invaluable, and the lessons learned during my fellowship year have influenced my thinking about issues facing the state.”